Columbus Crew return to form in 4-0 rout of FC Cincinnati
Damon Gumbert
“That was a tough night, and one to quickly forget about,” Head Coach Pat Noonan said after Sunday's abysmal performance in a 4-0 loss against the Columbus Crew in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Tough night may be the understatement of the century, as FC Cincinnati looked completely unprepared and unwilling to play any cohesive amount of soccer on Sunday.
The match started with Columbus commanding an 80% possession rate in the first 15 minutes, spending most of that time in the attacking third and putting pressure on Roman Celentano and the Cincinnati defense. A defense that was undermanned with the loss of Nick Hagglund for the evening due to a knock he suffered in the previous match. That “forced” Noonan to start Alvas Powell beside Miles Robinson and Teenage Hadebe on the backline.
While Cincinnati evened up the possession in the following 10-15 minutes, at no point did they look dangerous in that time. Starting at wingback were Yuya Kubo and Ender Echenique, with Noonan running out the same lineup as Monday, except for Powell. Kubo, who had a good night in Game One, had a terrible night in Columbus, securing a yellow card in the seventh minute of the match.
Columbus continually got behind the defense and made deep runs at the goal; Miles Robinson snuffed out the first major one. Robinson was on Rossi for much of the first 30 minutes, after a soft foul on Rossi earned him a yellow card, a moment that would set the stage for those that came after.
The first goal came in the 33rd minute when Alvas Powell tracked down a ball while staving off Diego Rossi, but in typical Powell fashion, chaos struck when he slipped and gave up possession to Rossi. The Columbus striker sent the ball to a streaking Max Arfsten, and with a slight juke out of Celentano, fired the ball into the top of the net, above a sliding Robinson, who had moved into a defensive position behind Celentano in goal.
Things only got worse for Cincinnati. Kubo, who was already on a yellow card, fouled a racing Rossi just outside the box. Kubo was sent off with a straight red card for impeding an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. The FC would play down a man for the remaining 60+ minutes of the match.
The succeeding free kick would put Columbus up 2-0 and lock the game up for them. Dylan Chambost sent the free kick directly at the wall between him and the goal, but Cincinnati’s defenders failed in their duties and moved out of the way, leaving a clear path past Celentano and into the goal. Hadebe and Brenner are the main culprits in this failed defensive moment, with Hadebe fully moving out of the way of the ball and Brenner moving his face out of the path of the ball.
The first half came to a merciful end and allowed Noonan to make substitutions. Gilberto Flores came in for Powell, and Lukas Engel, in his first game back from injury, came in for Kevin Denkey. Denkey had a completely forgettable night, only having 12 touches in his 45 minutes of play. Noonan used the second half as an opportunity to give players who have been injured recently valuable playing time, bringing in Luca Orellano, Obinna Nwobodo, and Ayoub Jabbari.
The most notable thing that happened in the second half for FC Cincinnati was Robinson coming off for Orellano and passing the captain's armband to Celentano, and Evander picking up his second yellow of the series in the 74th minute. If Evander were to receive a yellow in Game Three and Cincinnati were to advance to the second round, he would not play in that game, as he would have reached the yellow card accumulation limit in the playoffs.
Wiflried Nancy’s side took the second half to get their groove back. Jacen Russell-Rowe replaced Diego Rossi in the 61st minute and immediately impacted the match. He assisted on a Marcelo Herrera goal in the 65th minute and scored on a Max Arfsten assist in the 69th minute. Nancy, who may or may not be leaving after the season to join Celtic in the Scottish Premiership, out-coached Noonan in the second match-up, after being shown up in the first.
For Noonan’s side to have a chance on Saturday, his offensive playmakers are going to need to step up. Evander has been a ghost over the first two matches of the series, being completely shut down by the Columbus midfield. Brenner, who has never scored against Columbus, will need to finally excel against the heated rivals. Denkey, who has scored multiple times against Columbus, will need to show more effort defensively. The Cincinnati press was weak in this match and allowed Columbus to pick apart the defense. If Denkey, Brenner, and Evander can put more pressure and force the Columbus defense to make shorter passes instead of firing the ball downfield and getting behind the defense, that could make the difference in keeping the Crew off the scoresheet.
It would be totally understandable if the Orange and Blue’s fans show up on Saturday with nervous energy. Columbus has shown their teeth in this match and reminded MLS that they are still a dangerous team. Memories of the Crew celebrating after their 3-2 victory in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals and the 4-2 July match will creep into the heads of even the most dedicated Cincinnati fans.
This is something that most Cincinnati sports fans will understand: disappointment. What they will need to channel is a more intense energy. Rather than feeling nervous because of those matches, feel angry. Remember how disappointing the Cincinnati Reds have been over the last 30 years, how the Bengals are completely shitting the bed right now, and then remember that FC Cincinnati is the only professional sports team to win a playoff game in Cincinnati in nearly three years.
Show up, show out, get loud, and remind the city up north that Hell is Real in Cincinnati.
