After weeks of very forgettable results, Columbus finally got a game to remember as the Crew came back in dramatic fashion to beat FC Cincinnati 3-2 at the first ‘Hell is Real’ derby at Lower.com Field on Friday evening.
It was a game Columbus really couldn’t afford to lose and the team looked nervy during a tense first half that saw defensive errors on one end and a double woodwork save on the other before Lucas Zelarayan put the hosts in front with almost the last kick of the half.
The Crew playmaker once again added to his goal tally with another perfectly placed free-kick that flew past the despairing dive of Cincinnati ‘keeper Kenneth Vermeer.
Cincinnati leveled the game in stoppage time and then took the lead deep into the second half, triggering that sinking feeling among Crew fans as the team stared down the barrel of another defeat.
With only ten minutes of regular time remaining, it was the Crew, and super-sub Miguel Berry, that tuned the game around with two goals in two minutes, both coming after goalkeeping spills from Vermeer in the Cincinnati goal that found the Crew forward in the right place at the right time to lift the roof off of the Crew’s new home and hopefully set the team back into the push for the play-offs.
For more information, visit columbuscrewsc.com.
Matt Ellis is a freelance photographer who covers bands that visit the city and the Columbus Crew MLS team. More about Matt can be found on his Instagram.
All photos by Matt Ellis
