Columbus Crew were down two goals within five minutes vs FC Cincinnati on the road, but scored four unanswered to secure a victory.
CINCINNATI - When the Crew went down 2-0 in the first five minutes of their Hell is Real matchup against FC Cincinnati, coach Wilfried Nancy was confident the game was far from being a lost cause.
"I want to stay humble, but I knew that we were still in the game if we scored," Nancy said. "I felt it in the middle of the first half, and again in the locker room in the way we were calm, composed and tried to be precise and concise. They did the job because they play for their teammates."
Scoring four unanswered goals, the Crew defeated Cincinnati 4-2 at TQL Stadium on July 12.
It took until the 42-minute mark for the Crew to find their way onto the scoresheet with a goal from forward Diego Rossi, his team-leading 11th of the regular season.
Midfielder Max Arfsten, in his first game back with Columbus since his stint with the United States men's national team, fully swung the momentum in the Crew's favor by evening the score three minutes into first-half stoppage time.
The Crew came out of halftime eager to find the tie-breaking goal, which showed in the shot forward Ibrahim Aliyu took from a few feet outside Cincinnati's box.
Inside the box, Cincinnati defender Miles Robinson attempted to clear Aliyu's shot out of play, but instead kicked the ball past goalkeeper Roman Celentano for an own goal.
"This is so difficult to cross like this between the goalkeeper and the defender when he's running back towards his goal," Nancy said. "Well done by Ibra (Aliyu), this is good for him because he didn't start well the game, but he was able to come back."
Columbus landed a final blow in the third minute of second-half stoppage time with midfielder Taha Habroune scoring his first-career MLS goal.
The victory was the Crew's first over Cincinnati since the 2023 MLS Cup Eastern Conference final. It also marked the third time in their last five games that they have defeated the team at the top of the MLS standings.
"This one was difficult because we went 2-0 down in five minutes," Arfsten said. "Obviously, nobody plans for that or wants that. But once again, like I've said it all year, I feel like this is the resilience this group has. ... I think it’s a testament to this group and all the guys on our team and how we're able to bounce back. So, I'm proud of our guys, and there's obviously things to learn from."
What went wrong for Columbus Crew in opening 5 minutes vs FC Cincinnati
Nancy looked away from the game for two seconds to grab his water bottle. When his eyes went back to the field, he saw the consequence of what he referred to as the Crew's "horrendous" kickoff execution.
"We gave up possession on the right side," Arfsten said. "And then, they did well to kind of just counter and cut back. And the guy was free and made a good finish."
Midfielder Pavel Bucha was credited with the goal, scoring off a cross pass from defender Lukas Engel.
Cincinnati remained aggressive on the Crew's side of the field following Bucha's goal, displaying no hesitation in the attack. When Robinson took a shot that deflected off Crew defender Yevhen Cheberko, midfielder Evander Da Silva Ferreira capitalized with a long shot for Cincinnati's second goal.
"Evander with the volley was outstanding," Nancy said. "We know that he's able to do that. (Cincinnati) had everything in five minutes. ... It was not a good start, I cannot explain."
Columbus-native Taha Habroune records first goal vs inner-state rival
By the time Habroune entered the game in the 78th minute, the Crew had already secured a 3-2 advantage, and the 19-year-old knew his job was to do anything necessary to keep Columbus in front.
A prime opportunity came when Habroune beat several Cincinnati players to a loose ball. He then outran Celentano and sent his shot into the bottom-left corner of the net.
"It couldn't have been a better first goal," Habroune said. "Growing up in Columbus, I always went to the games, and I know how big the rivalry is. So, it means a lot to me to seal the game for us."
The Crew go back on the road to face Nashville SC on July 17 at 7:30 p.m.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew comeback, defeat Cincinnati in Hell is Real: Takeaways
Category: General Sports
