COLUMBUS, Ohio — Niko Hansen scored in his MLS debut, Ola Kamara got a goal in his third consecutive game and the Columbus Crew beat the Portland Timbers 3-2 on Saturday night at Columbus, Ohio.
Hansen, the ninth pick in the 2017 SuperDraft, came on in the 60th minute for Justin Meram and gave Columbus (2-1-1) a 3-2 lead with his first goal in the 84th minute. Kamara, charging to the top of the 6-yard box, played a perfect cross by Harrison Afful from the right wing. Jake Gleeson made a diving stop, but Hansen put away the rebound.
Dairon Asprilla put the Timbers (3-1-0) in front in the opening minutes.
Kamara’s header off a corner kick by Federico Higuain was deflected and Meram tapped it in from point-blank range before Kamara made it 2-1 in the 19th. Higuain dropped an arcing pass from beyond midfield to the left corner of the box, where Kamara chipped a half-volley over Gleeson and into the far corner of the net.
Portland’s Fanendo Adi made it 2-2 during first-half stoppage time, his 45th career regular season goa. That tied John Bain for most in franchise history.
The Timbers are 1-12-6 in their last 19 road games.
