Columbus Steal the Derby: Crew Blank FC Cincinnati 2-0 Despite 23 Shots Against
Cincinnati dominated the ball and the shot count at TQL Stadium, but Gonzalo Tapia and Taha Habroune made Hell is Real hurt — and tightened the East's playoff race to a single point.
The Hell is Real derby flipped the form book on its head. FC Cincinnati out-shot Columbus Crew 23 to 3 and held 68% of the ball on Sunday night at TQL Stadium — and still lost 2-0, a result that squeezes the Eastern Conference playoff race to almost nothing with the regular season winding down.
How Columbus did it
The visitors struck twice from almost nothing. In the 22nd minute, Gonzalo Tapia rose unmarked at the far post to head in a Brais Méndez corner — with Cincinnati effectively down a man while Tyrell Malacia received treatment off the pitch, according to Cincinnati Soccer Talk. Early in the second half, Tapia turned provider, getting in behind and pulling the ball back for Taha Habroune to finish past Roman Celentano in the 54th minute.
In between, goalkeeper Patrick Schulte denied Tom Barlow on a breakaway, and Columbus — who rotated their squad with Wednesday's U.S. Open Cup final against St. Louis CITY in mind — defended the lead the rest of the way. Cincinnati's night was complicated early when Julian Malatini limped off after 18 minutes.
A playoff race down to one point
The stakes could hardly be higher. The loss drops Cincinnati (36 points) to ninth in the East — the final playoff spot — while Columbus (35 points) now sit just one point outside the line, per Yahoo Sports. The Crew have also now won three straight regular-season derbies.
"In the end, we lost an important game, and that's what matters," Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said afterward. Schulte, meanwhile, called the win momentum for a huge week: Columbus host the Open Cup final Wednesday, chasing a fifth trophy in six years.
Cincinnati still hold a game in hand, and the response comes fast — they host D.C. United on Wednesday, the first of two meetings with D.C. in a week. But the margin for error is gone.