A brace from Ethan Finlay fired the Columbus Crew to a 2-1 comeback victory over the New York Red Bulls in their MLS clash.

Only three minutes elapsed before Columbus staked their claim for an early lead through Justin Meram, whose effort flew narrowly over the bar.

It proved a costly miss as Anatole Abang latched on to Bradley Wright-Phillips's through ball five minutes later to fire beyond Steve Clark.

Mike Grella and Abang went close to adding a second on 10 and 20 minutes but both failed to find the target from promising positions inside the box.

Shortly before the break, Finlay found himself with a chance to level matters by missing from close range - a wasted opportunity that he would eventually atone for.

Four minutes later, Kei Kamara's cushioned header was thumped into the far corner by Finlay as the hosts ensured parity at the break.

Gregg Berhalter's side retained that momentum throughout the interval and made a fast and furious start to the second period.

First, Finlay turned provider to set up Kamara, whose shot whizzed past the post from inside the box on 46 minutes, before Federico Higuain also fired wide moments later.

Kamara continued to be a threat for the home side as he came close to handing them the lead as he collected the ball inside the box, but his strike was well saved by Luis Robles.

However, Columbus did take the lead in the 73rd minute when Kamara released the run of Finlay, who maintained his composure to fire the ball past Robles into the net.

The Red Bulls made a late surge to get back into the game and Wright-Phillips almost found an equaliser, but he was denied by Clark as the home side held out for the three points.