TORONTO - A red card, combined with a possible case of mistaken identity, made for a disappointing 1-1 tie for Toronto FC.

"It's a pity that we have given away the game," Toronto coach Aron Winter said. "Because we started very well."

For the Columbus Crew, Saturday's MLS result was also a missed opportunity as the visitors could not manage more than one goal despite their numerical superiority for the last 48 minutes.

"The red card was huge," said Columbus captain Chad Marshall. "Obviously it was nice playing a man up the second half.

"The way we came out in the second half and tied the game up pretty quickly, I think we're all disappointed that we didn't carry that on and get another one and get the three points.

"But it's a tough place to play so we'll take the point."

Toronto outshot Columbus 4-3 in the first half (3-0 in shots on target) but the visitors led 9-2 (3-0 on target) in second-half shots.

The Crew have never lost to Toronto, with a 5-0-7 record. The last five games between the two at BMO Field have ended in ties.

The game, played before 20,145 on a sunny, windy day, turned around both sides of halftime.

After dominating the first half, Toronto (1-2-4) went ahead in the 41st minute when Julian de Guzman sent a looping ball over a defender to Tony Tchani, who beat goalkeeper William Hesmer with a left-footed shot to the corner in the 41st minute.

Tchani celebrated his first Toronto goal by jumping over the advertising boards to share the moment with the fans. As a result, he got a second yellow card -- he had been cautioned four minutes earlier after a melee at the Columbus bench -- and was ejected.

Venezuelan striker Emilio Renteria evened the score on the other side of halftime, with a glancing header off a cross from the right flank in the 49th minute. And Columbus (2-1-3) began to take control.

Tchani thought his first yellow was a case of mistaken identity. He said he was playing peacemaker after Columbus midfielder Kevin Burns was cautioned for a reckless tackle.

"It wasn't me ... one of my teammates came from behind and just pushed the guy," he said. "I think the ref thought it was me."

Winter agreed with Tchani on the first yellow. But he did not dispute the second.

"It was not clever," he said of the exuberant celebration punished by referee David Gantar.

But TFC players wondered about the consistency of officiating when it comes to goal celebrations and going to the stands, pointing to recent unpunished celebrations by Charlie Davis of D.C. United and Toronto's own Alan Gordon.

Tchani didn't think it rated a yellow. "I've seen players do it before," he said.

De Guzman understood Tchani getting caught up in the moment. But he also said his action was a gamble having already got a yellow.

"Another lesson to take from this game is not to jump over the boards ever again," said de Guzman.

For Columbus, the tie extended its current league unbeaten string to five games.

The Tchani goal ended Columbus' 414-minute shutout streak, which reached club record status one minute into the game. Columbus came into the contest riding a streak of four Hesmer shutouts, two of which were 0-0 ties.

The goal also ended a 284-minute scoring drought for Toronto.

"We showed a lot more passion than in our previous games," said de Guzman. "A lot of positives to take out of this game.

"But at the end of the day, the result isn't something we were looking for. We were looking for three points."

For Winter, it was a tie that felt like a loss.

"It's not the first time," he said.

English defender Richard Eckersley made his TFC debut, coming on as a substitute with 27 minutes remaining.

He praised the atmosphere, saying the 20,000 fans "sounded like 50,000, to be honest."