Columbus Crew SC got a much-needed victory over FC Cincinnati as they defeated them 3-1 at Nippert Stadium.
Columbus and Cincinnati both came into the second match of their rivalry dubbed “Hell is Real” wanting to take away a much-needed victory. The victory would be much more than three points as both sides were looking to get the first win over each other in MLS. While Cincinnati had beaten the Crew 1-0 in the U.S. Open Cup in 2017, Columbus probably fancied their chances more after dominating most of the first match just two weeks prior.
Columbus dominated the first half with 60% possession and five shots on target to Cincinnati’s one. Gyasi Zardes opened up the account in the 22nd minute off a tap-in after a great ball from Luis Díaz.
Zardes doubled his tally in the 33rd minute after chesting down a cross from Harrison Afful and knocking the ball over Przemysław Tyton.
Luis Díaz completed the scoring for Crew SC after expertly controlling a through ball by Pedro Santos to provide a tidy finish.
But Columbus were denied their first clean sheet since April after former Black and Gold player Kekuta Manneh got a consolation goal in the 89th minute.
“To send our supporters home feeling good was very important tonight,” said Crew SC head coach Caleb Porter. “We talked about not thinking about any games prior. It’s been a rough year, it’s been a challenge. We’ve had adversity… In spite of all those things, we wanted to send our supporters home feeling good and show everybody the type of club we are.”
The biggest story among the players had to be Zardes’s brace as he managed to gain some much-needed confidence back after a couple of high-profile misses in the previous two matches.
“The coach gave me a couple days off mid-week and I think that was great for myself,” said Zardes. “It allowed myself to have a little more rest and prepare for this game.”
“To put the ball in the back of the net and put us up a goal and then two goals means a lot,” said Zardes after he mentioned how happy he was with his teammates’ confidence in him.
The Crew were also in unfamiliar territory as they lead at halftime for the first time since their match against the Seattle Sounders on July 6th.
“Everything in your mind and body is telling you to relax when you are up 3-0,” said Crew SC midfielder and captain Wil Trapp. “We certainly have to make it a priority of, look, keep doing what you are doing, keep being the aggressor, keep working hard and making plays. Because if we don’t do that, it allows them into the game. I think we could have that better, of course, in the second half, but overall, up until the 90th minute we were up 3-0. So we did a decent job of limiting their chances.”
Columbus will take on the Chicago Fire on Saturday, August 31 as they look to build on a much-needed victory against FC Cincinnati.
