Columbus Crew were coming of a two-goal comeback vs FC Cincinnati, but failed to repeat the Hell is Real outcome in Nashville.
It was familiar territory for the Crew when they fell behind within the first two minutes during a 3-0 road loss to Nashville SC on July 16.
Just four days earlier, the Crew allowed FC Cincinnati to score in 42 seconds, and they were in a two-goal hole before the five-minute mark. The Crew rallied by scoring twice in the final minutes of the first half before solidifying a 4-2 victory over Cincinnati with an additional two goals in the second half.
The Crew, however, failed to replicate the same success against Nashville.
"When we make this mistake twice, this is not a mistake - this is a decision," Crew coach Wilfried Nancy said. "We start well, and suddenly, we concede a goal because of a lack of communication and decision-making. ... They were faster than us in this situation. It was not a good start."
In the second minute, defender Sean Zawadzki put Nashville ahead 1-0 when he chipped midfielder Alex Muyl's shot with his upper body, which bounced the ball past the Crew's goal line.
Zawadzki's own goal marked the 11th time this season a Crew opponent has scored during the first 15 minutes of a game, accounting for more than one-third of their 32 conceded goals.
"It's certainly disappointing," Crew midfielder Max Arfsten said. "I think it's a mentality thing and maybe a discipline thing. I know everybody starts the game wanting to do well and start well, so that's good, but at the same time, there's definitely a reason why this continues to happen."
In each of those games where early goals were allowed, the Crew have recorded at least one of their own. Against Nashville, the Crew came up empty on 22 shot attempts, recording their first scoreless loss since September 2024 against the Seattle Sounders.
Why Crew's comeback vs Cincinnati hurt a possible comeback in Nashville
The Crew felt the physical and mental toll of having to chase down Cincinnati and score four goals on the road to finish Hell is Real with a win. Being put in the same position less than a week later made the task of coming back even more difficult.
"This is something that I discussed with the players last time and today, too," Nancy said. "This is so difficult to score goals, this is so difficult to play games. We need to sort it out. Obviously, I'm going to find a solution with the players and my staff, but we need to get better on that because this is so difficult mentally to chase the game."
In Cincinnati, Arfsten connected on one of the Crew's two goals before halftime, changing the momentum and mentality of the matchup going into the locker rooms.
The Crew went into the locker rooms in Nashville down 2-0.
"We’ve just got to be better, plain and simple," Arfsten said. "Myself definitely included."
Columbus Crew struggle for second game vs Nashville frontline
Following the own goal, Nashville forwards Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge iced the victory, starting with Mukhtar's goal in the 30th minute.
The play started with an upfield pass from defender Andy Najar to Surridge, who connected with Mukhtar as he beat out the Crew's Darlington Nagbe and Steven Moreira in the middle of Columbus' box.
"The second goal, also on transition, was really well played," Nancy said. ".... Again, we have to be better because we were in between, so we got punished."
Surridge passed Inter Miami's Lionel Messi in the race for most MLS regular-season goals by scoring his 17th at the 89-minute mark. Both Mukhtar and Surridge also recorded goals against Columbus in the 2-2 draw on May 28.
Columbus Crew fall into old scoring problem vs Nashville SC
The Crew were already dominating Nashville in shots taken in the first half with 11 compared to five, and matched that total in the second half while maintaining a majority possession, finishing with 57.6%.
Nashville transitioned into a more defense-focused style of play with a 2-0 lead in the second half, while Columbus was desperate to convert.
"At a certain point, I just really wanted to try and create something," Arfsten said. "Whether it's beating my guy, shooting or crossing, and I feel like I did have some of those moments, but at the end of the day, we weren't able to get a goal."
The 22 missed shots were the Crew's most since their scoreless draw against New York City FC on March 22.
The Crew return to action at Lower.com Field against D.C. United on July 19. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew fail at comeback, fall to Nashville SC: Takeaways
Category: General Sports