CINCINNATI - While the Crew secured a playoff spot on Saturday, they were left feeling unsatisfied with their result.
The Crew finished their second Hell is Real rivalry match with a 0-0 draw against FC Cincinnati on Saturday. With Cincinnati and Columbus being the respective second and third ranked teams in the Eastern Conference, a draw was all either needed to officially reach the playoffs.
But the Crew wanted more.
"This is a tough place to play," Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte said of TQL Stadium. "Even though they didn't score, it's a game that you feel like you should, and you want, to win. And we could have won. It’s hard to describe, I definitely feel like the vibes in the locker room weren’t great, I will say that.”
Schulte and the Crew defense were half the reason Columbus was able to walk out of TQL Stadium unscathed, recording two saves and four blocked shots on Cincinnati's eight shots throughout the match. The other half was due to luck, as Cincinnati failed to capitalize in multiple areas. Cincinnati was unable to make anything of the Crew's more than 75 missed passes or 12 missed shot attempts.
From the perspective of coach Wilfried Nancy , there were clear chances for the Crew to connect on at least one of those attempts. Columbus was credited with only three shots on goal in the game, and Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano saved all three.
"A bit disappointed that we didn't score at least one goal," Nancy said. "We could have been better in terms of sizing up the moment with the ball to speed up the player to keep it, but it was a good game. ... Not easy to play against this team. We were good in terms of controlling the offensive transition (against) Cincy. We could have been a little bit better and more patient at certain moments."
Replay: Columbus Crew vs FC Cincinnati Hell is Real match ends in scoreless draw
Crew midfielder Alex Matan said he felt that the Crew were the better team on Saturday and that the inability to score was a matter of cleaning up their game in the final stretch of the field. Matan realizes there is a lot more season left, especially after clinching a playoff spot.
"Like coach (Nancy) said, being there is the first step," Matan said. "Now the sky is the limit. We’re going to go like we went last season with the same amount of belief. Hopefully, we’re going to go win it again.”
Status of Columbus Crew back line following strong, but physically rough, outing
Schulte said keeping a clean sheet against Cincinnati was something that couldn't have been done without the back line of Rudy Camacho, Steven Moreira and Sean Zawadzki. Schulte said he would 'owe a dinner' after a blocked shot Camacho recorded in the second half to keep Cincinnati's Kevin Kelsy from scoring.
"Rudy saved me tonight," Schulte said. "Definitely just give a lot of credit to those guys. We wouldn't be here without them, for sure.”
Following the blocked shot, Camacho collided with Cincinnati forward Niko Gioacchini in an attempt to retrieve the ball and Camacho suffered an apparent head injury. Both spent several minutes being evaluated by their respective medical staffs, who eventually determined they could stay in the match.
Camacho suffered another hard blow in the second half that looked to cause the defender back pain, but Schulte and Nancy stated in the postgame that Camacho was feeling "good" after a rough match.
Before the match, the Crew back line took a blow when Yevhen Cheberko failed to make the trip to Cincinnati. Nancy said Cheberko was dealing with neck pain in the days leading up to the match.
Columbus Crew vs FC Cincinnati kept high intensity from 'the tackles and every duel'
With the regular-season series between the Crew and Cincinnati wrapped up, it is Cincinnati finishing with the better 2024 Hell is Real record of 1-0-1. But Nancy wouldn't be surprised if there is another MLS Cup matchup between the teams in the future.
"The league is like this. It's true that we might face them again," Nancy said. "It's going to be good because we know each other, and we have to find ways all the time to adjust certain things."
Last season, the Crew defeated Cincinnati in the MLS Cup Eastern Conference final 3-2 at TQL Stadium , but this season Cincinnati won 2-1 to handed Columbus its first home loss since April 2023.
Saturday's match was closely contested in every aspect (even the possession rate was 51% to 49% in favor of Cincinnati), and the Crew are expecting the next meeting to have just as high of an intensity.
"This game means more than other games," Matan said. "The tackles, the intensity of the tackles and every duel is different, but we’re professionals and it’s still a football game. It’s all good.”
bmackay@dispatch.com
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew clinch MLS Cup playoff spot, but record 0-0 draw vs FC Cincinnati: Takeaways
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