Crew, Cincinnati play to scoreless draw

CINCINNATI, OH - The second leg of the Hell Is Real Derby took place, with playoff contentions for both teams on the line. After a 4-0 loss to the Seattle Sounders that saw Abraham Romero get sent off in the 38th minute while Columbus was down six players already, anger surrounded the Club. For the opposition, FC Cincinnati came into this match after a 4-1 win over CF Montreal without the likes of Ian Murphy and Miles Robinson after the duo were suspended one match for yellow card accumulation.

Cincinnati started on the strong foot, getting into the Crew's defensive half with almost every opportunity, but couldn't convert to put the ball in the back of the net.

In the 14th minute, Columbus had their best opportunity to take the lead after a good possession spell that saw Cucho Hernandez square a ball across the face of goal to the back post to meet Diego Rossi, but his sliding effort was put off target.

Just minutes later, Hernandez was able to dribble around multiple FC Cincinnati defenders before slipping a through ball to Christian Ramirez, but Cincinnati keeper Roman Celentano saved the ensuing shot.

The 25th minute saw Cincinnati with a decent chance to put the ball on frame, but a Luca Orellano shot from the end line was easily claimed by Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte. Two minutes later, Steven Moreira was dispossessed by Kevin Kelsy trying to play a pass to Mo Farsi. Kelsy had a shot from distance but just missed the far post.

The attacking prowess of Cincinnati did not stop, as Orellano was able to dribble around Max Arfsten and have a shot on goal with his left foot, but Schulte was quick to make the save down to his left side. Cincinnati thought they had the opening goal just before halftime, but that offside flag negated the Luciano Acosta goal.

Both teams headed into halftime, with Columbus the main ones scratching their heads on how they can break down the FC Cincinnati defense.

A scary moment for both teams in the 52nd minute, after Rudy Camacho and Nicholas Gioacchini collided heads inside the Crew's defensive penalty box. The collision came after Schulte turned the ball over to Acosta, who then found Kelsy. The shot was blocked by Camacho, thus resulting in the head-on-head collision.

Columbus had two decent opportunities but couldn't covert on either attack.

Hernandez picked up a loose ball in the 62nd minute and took his dribble towards goal. The pass to Farsi was then cleared by Obinna Nwobodo. The next attack in the 63rd saw Farsi leave the ball for an overlapping Christian Ramirez, who served a cross to the back post towards Hernandez, but the header was put just over the crossbar.

Luca Orellano had a chance to put the hosts in the lead, but his left-footed attempt was sent high over the back post and out of play.

Hernandez found himself on-goal after collecting a through ball from Ramirez but was soon taken down by Chidozie Amaziem who was subsequently shown a yellow card.

Neither team could find the goal to break the deadlock, as both teams split the points.

Columbus is back home next Saturday as they host Orlando City SC. Kickoff from Lower.com Field is set for 7:30 p.m.