Hell has cometh: Columbus Crew topple FC Cincinnati win streak
Damon Gumbert
A spectacle to behold for the first twenty minutes unraveled in a series of bad moments that overshadowed what was an evenly fought match.
Saturday’s 4-2 loss to Columbus may be something that the team is forced to put behind them as they look forward to their match on Wednesday, but it's something that will likely sit with fans for a while. A night that brought back visions of Columbus celebrating in TQL Stadium following the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, as Columbus fans rained down chants of “this is our house.”
The first five minutes of the match were electric for FCC fans, with Pavel Bucha scoring the opening goal just 39 seconds into the match. That goal was followed by Evander notching his 13th goal of the season in the fifth minute. The Orange and Blue threatened many times over the next 85 minutes, despite what many online would like you to think. Kei Kamara had a couple of chances in the first half to get his first goal with FCC and add to his impressive 147 MLS goals, but was unable to finish and looked every bit of his 40 years at times. Kevin Denkey had a chance in the second half to even the match at 3-a-piece when Dado Valenzuela found him inside the box with no defenders in front of him. Instead of putting the ball into the back of the net, Denkey shanked the ball wide left.
“We started playing a little too direct,” Head Coach Pat Noonan said of the team in his post-match press conference. “We lost our discipline and composure a little bit and allowed them to get into the game, but we had a lot of transition moments where we could have had more goals in the first half.”
Discipline and miscommunication defined the match for The FC. At various times, miscommunication between players led to either blown chances on offense or dangerous chances on defense. In the first half, Evander, Denkey, and Kamara were all streaking down the pitch in transition; everyone in the world knew the ball was going to Kei Kamara, except apparently Kei Kamara, who did not make the extra run to get to the ball when Evander sent it to him. The ball was turned over in the opponent's box, and the chance came to a disappointing end. Other times, it seemed like FCC players were just not sure what the others were doing. In the second half, passes were played into dangerous spots or directly to Columbus players.
When asked if he thought there were miscommunications in the second half, Noonan said, “No, I don’t think so. Second half there were still plenty of stretches of moving the ball to try and break pressure defensively, to me, I think they were strong in the second half. Decision making in the moment to understand where the space is in the attack and where the advantages are, just missed out on more of those in the second half.”
The stats back up Noonan’s opinion, with the team having an accuracy of 87% on passes in the second half and hitting 245 accurate passes, more than Columbus’ 199. Those stats don’t really tell the whole story. Out of 408 accurate passes in the match, according to FOTMOB, 218 came from the back three of Matt Miazga, Miles Robinson, and Lukas Engel. The team’s midfield of Pavel Bucha, Brian Anunga, and Evander only combined for 90 passes. The strikers of Denkey and Kamara did not combine to even hit 50.
On top of these missed chances, Columbus was taking shots at Evander all night and didn’t seem to get the attention of the referee until late in the first half. That was when the Brazilian stood up after a hard foul that attacked his legs and shouted at the referee. Evander was eventually given a yellow card for dissent, but when this happened again after the halftime break, the referee finally pulled a yellow card for a Columbus player. In comparison, all three of Cincinnati’s midfielders received yellow cards in the first half, with Anunga immediately getting a yellow for a similar play that did not result in one for Columbus against Evander. Evander ended the night being the most fouled player in the game with 7 fouls committed against him.
While the scoreline makes it seem like the team had a horrible game defensively, they were doing very well against the Columbus attack for most of the match. Engel joining Robinson and Miazga on the backline added speed that would help keep track of streaking players and end transitions without getting too dangerous. Miazga made a few key blocks and interceptions in the middle of the field, and Robinson was able to essentially lock down Jacen Russell-Rowe. That’s not saying there were no bad moments.
“You can put the blame on me for the loss, and I accept that wholeheartedly,” Robinson said after the match. The defender scored an own goal in the 59th minute of the match after trying to block a cross that was coming in. It was an unfortunate moment that seemed to weigh heavily on the star defender. “You always have to take accountability, just in general, it helps me realize how I can get better and help this team win. Obviously, it’s tough, a tough result, kind of a reality check.”
“It could be a reality check for sure,” Engel added post-match. “If we’re not motivated now, I don’t know what we are.” When he was told about Robinson’s comments about the loss, he said, “It’s not on anyone but the team, really. It’s not on Miles, it’s on every one of us.”
The loss is very much not on Robinson. Along with the club’s lack of playing the ball forward for much of the game, they were unable to get the ball to their strikers for most of the match. Denkey had 29 touches, with only three coming in the opposing box, and Kamara added 31, with 5 coming in the box, for a combined total of 60. Columbus’ Diego Rossi had 50 touches and 5 in the box by himself. Combining with Russell-Rowe’s 33 touches, they had 83 total touches. This is not the first time the club’s stars have been outplayed; it seems to be something that has consistently happened this season.
When I asked Noonan before the Dallas match about what the club needs from its supporting cast, he said they need to step up. Bucha has stepped up, scoring in this match and adding some much-needed help for the star trio of Kamara, Denkey, and Evander, but Orellano’s lack of offensive help has handicapped the team this season. Orellano finished last season with 17 goal contributions, 10 goals, and seven assists. So far this season, he has only one goal and five assists. If the team is going to contend for a cup, they need him to get back to his old self, or they need to move on and find someone else.
With the loss, The Orange and Blue fall to second in the Eastern Conference after Philadelphia kept a clean sheet against the New York Red Bulls in a 2-0 victory. Cincinnati is tied with San Diego for second place in the Supporter’s Shield standings. They next face a surging Inter Miami on Wednesday, with Lionel Messi now leading all of MLS in goals. After that match, they will then have a short rest before traveling to Utah to face Real Salt Lake on Saturday, July 19.
Disclaimer about the photo gallery below; The last few photos will cause you to want to break something.
