Krisztian Nemeth scored in the 84th minute to give the Columbus Crew a 2-1 victory on Sunday over visiting Philadelphia, denying the Union a chance to clinch the Major League Soccer regular-season crown.

Only seconds after entering the match as a substitute for Gyasi Zardes, Hungarian forward Nemeth tapped in a right-wing pass from Luis Diaz, finding the net on his first touch of the game.

That proved to be the decider as the Crew improved to third in the Eastern Conference at 11-5-5. Philadelphia's league-best mark slid to 13-4 with five drawn.

Brazilian midfielder Artur scored in the 37th minute, firing into the lower left corner to give Columbus a 1-0 lead.

Dutch midfielder Jamiro Monteiro hit the equalizer for the Union from the penalty spot in the 57th minute.

That followed a foul in the area on Philadelphia's Sergio Santos by the Crew's Jonathan Mensah.

The Union could have clinched the best overall season record with a victory and Toronto failing to beat Inter Miami.

In most global leagues, the champion is decided by the most points from season matches, but with MLS playoffs determining the crown, the league season winner gets the Supporters Shield trophy.