An over two-hour rain delay on the same night of downtown Columbus' Red, White & Boom celebration made it possible for Diego Rossi to score with fireworks going off near Lower.com Field in the Crew's 2-0 victory over Nashville SC.
The game was originally scheduled for 6:30 p.m., to avoid conflict and heavy traffic due to the event, but lightning in the area pushed kickoff back to 8:45 p.m.
In the first half, the Crew were put on the board with a header goal from forward Christian Ramirez, marking his fifth goal contribution in as many games.
With the delay, it was expected that the downtown fireworks show, scheduled for 10:00 p.m., would start at some point during the second half. Lower.com Field's close proximity to the show made the fireworks audible and visible from behind Nashville's goal.
Less than 10 minutes into the fireworks show, Rossi found the back of the net to give Columbus the 2-0 victory, and the Crew's third victory in a row.
Nashville SC midfielder Dru Yearwood was given a yellow card on a foul to the back of Crew midfielder Sean Zawadzki.
With the stoppage of play, Columbus was able to make two substitutions, Marino Hinestroza for midfielder Mo Farsi and Alex Matan for forward Christian Ramirez. Nashville also made substitutions, Sean Davis for Yearwood, Taylor Washington for defender Daniel Lovitz and Teal Burberry for midfielder Alex Muyl.
With fireworks going off in the background, forward Diego Rossi extended Columbus' lead to 2-0. Rossi was given an up-field pass from midfielder Yaw Yeboah, in which Rossi gained control of with a dribble move past Nashville's defender Jack Maher.
From the left side of Nashville's box, Rossi's shot went past diving goalkeeper Joe Willis and into the back, right corner of the goal.
Due to the weather delay, the Red, White & Boom fireworks taking place in downtown Columbus at 10:00 p.m. can be seen and heard from Lower.com Field during the second half of the Crew-Nashville match.
Following a VAR review of Nashville forward Tyler Boyd's goal, it was ruled that he committed a handball violation, and the goal was void. Crew still lead 1-0.
Nashville was quick to tie the game coming out of halftime, with a goal from forward Tyler Boyd from the middle of Columbus' box less than five minutes into the second half. The goal is under VAR review for a possible handball.
Brian Anugna of Nashville received the first yellow card of the game due to a foul against Crew forward Diego Rossi.
The Crew made one substitution during halftime, midfielder Yaw Yeboah for Max Arfsten.
The Crew have a 1-0 lead going into halftime behind a goal from Christian Ramirez. In the first half, both Columbus and Nashville each took seven shots, two on goal. The Crew controlled the ball for a majority of the half, recording a 58.9% possession rate.
To set up the goal, striker Cucho Hernandez found forward Christian Ramirez from the right side of Nashville's box. Hernandez made a pass through multiple players to Ramirez, who was in the center of the box near the goal line and sent a header shot into the net off the pass.
The Crew lead against Nashville 1-0.
Nearing the 15-minute mark, Crew midfielder Sean Zawadzki went down following a hit near midfield, by the Crew's bench. Zawadzki was holding his right knee and medical staff was needed to evaluate the injury.
Zawadzki was able to walk off the field on his own and after two minutes on the sideline, re-entered the game.
Here is who is unavailable for Nashville vs Crew:
- Julian Gaines (ankle): Out
- Anibal Godoy (lower body): Out
- Brent Kallman (lower body): Out
- Randall Leal (hip): Out
- Lukas MacNaughton (ankle): Out
- Jacob Shaffleburg (international duty): Out
- Sam Surridge (lower body): Out
The Crew vs Nashville is now set to kickoff at 8:45 p.m. following a weather delay. The game will overlap with the Red, White & Boom fireworks, but nothing about the game will change due to the fireworks.
Here is who is unavailable for Crew vs Nashville:
- Evan Bush (arm): Out
- Jacen Russell-Rowe (international duty): Out
The Crew-Nashville match has been delayed due to weather conditions near Lower.com Field. There is no official kickoff yet.
Due to lighting in the area, there is a weather warning at Lower.com Field ahead of kickoff. Fans at Lower.com Field are being asked to wait on the concourse for their safety.
It is expected that the original 6:30 p.m. kickoff time is pushed back due to weather conditions, but there has yet to be an official update
Here is the starting 11 for Nashville vs Columbus:
- GK: Joe Willis
- DF: Daniel Lovitz
- DF: Jack Maher
- DF: Josh Bauer
- DF: Walker Zimmerman
- MF: Hany Mukhtar
- MF: Dru Yearwood
- MF: Alex Muyl
- MF: Brian Anunga
- FW: Tyler Boyd
- FW: Forster Ajago
Here is the starting 11 for Columbus vs Nashville:
- GK: Patrick Schulte
- DF: Malte Amundsen
- DF: Rudy Camacho
- DF: Steven Moriera
- MF: Max Arfsten
- MF: Mo Farsi
- MF: Darlington Nagbe
- MF: Sean Zawadzki
- FW: Cucho Hernandez
- FW: Christian Ramirez
- FW: Diego Rossi
Here are the officials for the Crew vs Nashville on Wednesday night:
- Referee: Joe Dickerson
- Assistant Referee 1: Kevin Klinger
- Assistant Referee 2: Kali Smith
- Fourth Official: Pierre-Luc Lauiziere
- VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero
- Assistant VAR: Mike Kampmeinert
The Crew are 3-2-3 overall against Nashville SC.
The Crew vs. Nashville English-speaking radio broadcast will be on Alt 105.7 FM and available via the iHeartRadio app. Columbus' regular radio broadcaster Chris Doran will be on the call.
The Spanish radio broadcast can be found on La Grande 102.5 FM and the La Grande radio app with Juan Valladares doing play-by-play.
The Crew-Nashville match will be available on Apple TV , but to watch, an MLS Season Pass subscription is required. Here are the broadcast teams for tonight:
- English broadcast: Steve Cangialosi (play-by-play), Danny Higginbotham (analyst)
- Spanish broadcast: Jorge Perez-Navarro (play-by-play), Marcelo Balboa (analyst)
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m., Saturday, July 3 at Lower.com Field.
bmackay@dispatch.com
@brimackay15
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Diego Rossi scores during Red, White & Boom fireworks, Crew defeat Nashville 2-0: Replay
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