“Hell Is Real” has often had one-sided affairs, but never at this degree at this point in the season. If Cincinnati wants to advance in this Best-of-Three series, they’ll have to recover from their worst postseason effort to date.
Columbus rode goals from four different players and took advantage of a first-half Cincinnati red card to win 4-0 at Lower.com Field. The series swings back to Cincinnati, where the Orange & Blue will have to figure out what went wrong and avoid another first-round exit.
“That was a tough night and one to quickly forget about. No time to put our head down,” Pat Noonan addressed after the match. “We get to go again on Saturday, and our focus will be on us having a good week, being ready to step on the field and have a much better performance on Saturday.”
FC Cincinnati came into the second match after riding a solid defensive performance against the Crew on Monday. Kevin Denkey’s goal in the 78th minute was the decider, as the Orange & Blue took early command of the series with a 1-0 victory.
Cincinnati rolled out a Starting XI that resembled the first match, save for one vital spot. Nick Hagglund was held out of the lineup after a late knock in last Monday’s match, replaced by Alvas Powell. Lukas Engel (leg) and Ayoub Jabbari (leg) also returned to the roster for bench depth. Matt Miazga and Brad Smith remained out with injuries.
The Columbus Starting XI also remained mostly identical. However, academy talent Taha Habroune started in place of Lassi Lappalainen to provide midfield depth. Designated player Daniel Gazdag remained on the bench to start the match. Both Wessan Abou Ali (ankle) and Mo Farsi (pelvis) were held out again.
First half
To say that the first 45 minutes felt like a tidal wave is diminishing the power of the wave itself.
While Cincinnati managed to capture some early steam in possession, much of the first half was a dominant display by a wounded Crew team. The Orange & Blue failed to take a single shot on frame in the first half, the closest attempt being an Olimpico effort from Evander in the 37th minute after an almost own-goal from Steven Moreira.
Some of the trouble came from the back line being on the back foot and slipping at inopportune times. Powell’s slip on a Diego Rossi challenge in the 33rd minute freed up Max Arfsten on the edge of the box. The left wingback’s shot skirted past Roman Celentano to make the game 1-0 a third of the way through.
The bad news continued close after that. Already on an early yellow card, Yuya Kubo was forced to foul Andres Herrera on the top of the box in the 38th minute. Referee Guido Gonzalez Jr. went straight to the red card to send the left back off and force Cincinnati to play from behind.
The resulting free kick in the 41st minute doubled the score. The wall failed to block Dylan Chambost’s shot, making it 2-0.
Overall, Columbus hounded Cincinnati in possession (63/37) in the first half, while Cincinnati only managed one shot off target.
Second half
With the goal differential not mattering too much, the best Cincinnati could do was absorb punishment and avoid any additional cards. The Crew were happy enough to oblige with more offense.
The score doubled in the span of five minutes from two similar goals. Andres Herrera cleaned up a cross from Jacen Russell-Rowe in the 65th minute, followed by a similar motion by Russell-Rowe in the 69th minute from an Arfsten cross.
With yellow cards to Evander and Miles Robinson, Pat Noonan had to pull his players off to prevent any further collateral damage. Much of the rest of the match was cosmetic, with the Nordecke shouting for a fifth goal before time expired.
The 4-0 victory was the Crew’s biggest overall win since a 4-0 win versus New England in October 2023. Overall, the stats were top-heavy for the Crew, amassing 10 shots on target, while Cincinnati could not find the frame once.
The loss forces FC Cincinnati to recover and lick their wounds, as goal differential does not play a factor in this first-round series. The Orange & Blue will have the advantage in that they have not lost at home in the past four matches. Columbus will have to show that they can win back-to-back matches, something they have not done since June.
“This isn’t the end of the season,” Noonan addressed. “It’s a bump in the road, and hopefully we get a good response. There’s no reason for (the team) to lose confidence of going and performing like we did in Game #1. It’s just lessons of why the game looked like it did. Really, you got to play with 11 men and you got to start another way.”
“The game’s a game of moments, and there were a few moments we weren’t sharp enough,” Robinson admitted afterward. “That kind of cost us, but obviously there’s another game, so there’s everything to play for.
“It’s a playoff game, a playoff atmosphere, playoff intensity, so you have to recognize that we’re at our best when every single player is moving together as a team and that every moment is as massive as anything in the season.”
It doesn’t get any more massive than Saturday’s pivotal rubber match between Cincinnati and Columbus. The winner will take on either Nashville or Miami in the next round.
Major League Soccer, MLS Cup Playoffs, First Round, Match #2
FC Cincinnati at Columbus Crew
Lower.com Field, Columbus, OH
Attendance: 19,506
Result: FC Cincinnati 0, Columbus Crew 4.
BOX SCORE
FC Cincinnati Starting XI (5-2-1-2):
Roman Celentano (GK); Ender Echenique, Alvas Powell (Gilberto Flores 46′), Miles Robinson (c) (Luca Orellano 63′), Teenage Hadebe, Yuya Kubo; Pavel Bucha (Obinna Nwobodo 70′), Samuel Gidi; Evander (Ayoub Jabbari 77′); Brenner, Kevin Denkey (Lukas Engel 46′).
Bench: Evan Louro, Gerardo Valenzuela, Brian Anunga, Kei Kamara.
Columbus Crew Starting XI (5-3-2):
Patrick Schulte (GK); Andres Herrera (Lassi Lappalainen 70′), Steven Moreira (Rudy Camacho 81′), Sean Zawadski, Malte Amundsen, Max Arfsten; Dylan Chambost (Daniel Gazdag 71′), Darlington Nagbe (c), Taha Habroune (Amar Sejdic 81′); Hugo Picard, Diego Rossi (Jacen Russell-Rowe 61′).
Bench: Evan Bush, Ibrahim Aliyu, Yevhen Cheberko, Cesar Ruvalcaba.
Scoring summary:
CLB – Max Arfsten 33′ (Rossi)
CLB – Dylan Chambost 41′ (unassisted)
CLB – Andres Herrera 65′ (Russell-Rowe)
CLB – Jacen Russell-Rowe 69′ (Arfsten)
Discipline:
YC – Yuya Kubo 7′ (CIN, foul)
YC – Miles Robsinson 30′ (CIN, foul)
RC – Yuya Kubo 38′ (CIN, foul)
YC – Evander 74′ (CIN, poor sportsmanship)
Next up:
MLS Cup Playoffs: vs. Columbus Crew, Saturday November 8th; Apple TV+
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