The latest installment of the "Hell is Real" rivalry was an instant classic, but also one for FC Cincinnati to lament after a two-goal lead was surrendered.
In the midst of on-field shoving matches, a flourish of yellow cards, the kind of physical play that has typified the in-state feud between FC Cincinnati and Columbus Crew, and great goals, FCC and the Crew split the points in a 2-2 draw at TQL Stadium on Saturday.
FC Cincinnati played for more than a half with a one-player advantage after a Columbus red card, which led FCC players and their head coach to conclude that the tie was ultimately a disappointment.
That the tie came after FCC raced out to an early lead against in the fiercest rivalry the club knows made the result that much harder to stomach.
"We wanted to win our first game at home, especially against these guys," FC Cincinnati defender Joseph-Claude Gyau said. "We had it. We could almost taste it a bit and I think that's kind of what got us. Later on in the game, we were forcing the ball a little too much. They were a man down. We could have just kept the ball, tired them out a little bit. Yeah, definitely does feel like a loss but can't lose our heads over this... We've just got to keep going."
Edgar Castillo lit the fuse on a powder keg of emotion with his missile of a goal 25 seconds into the match. An already-engaged crowd exploded at the sight of the show-stopping goal, which Castillo hit from outside the Columbus penalty area.
Luciano Acosta's third goal of 2021 doubled FCC's lead and created the appearance of delirium around the grandstands, except for the upper-deck corner section where Crew supporters were stations.
The rout appeared to be on when Columbus went down to 10 men after Harrison Afful's second yellow-card offense in the 42nd minute, but Lucas Zelarayan pulled Columbus to with a goal just prior to halftime.
"Obviously, their first goal was a great striker and kind of against the play, essentially," FC Cincinnati center back Geoff Cameron said. "We lose the ball in particular areas and they have good players to hurt us."
Playing down a man for more than a half didn't appear to bother the Crew, though, as they seemed to control the flow of the proceedings over the final 45 minutes.
The pressure from the visitors finally produced an equalizer through Miguel Berry in the 77th minute, cementing Columbus' comeback.
After being praised for killing off the game at Houston Dynamo FC a week earlier in a 1-1 draw, FC Cincinnati was unable to do the same job in seeking a victory.
"A game a little bit with two faces," FC Cincinnati head coach Jaap Stam said afterward. "We started very well, very quick in a 1-nil lead. We kept on pressing to go forward, to score a second one... Of course, you're very happy but you need to be solid. You need to be aware of the quality of the opposition in what they can do and what they can bring, but what happens with a team a lot of times in soccer, if you're 2-nil up and you've got the feeling that there's more to get, then sometimes you get overconfident at times and you lose that ball and the opposition comes out in transition, and they score. And it's 2-1 when you go into halftime. It's a different situation.
"Second half, you talk about what you need to do against 10 men in possession, to be very calm on the ball to keep possession. At the end of the day if you keep possession, you wear them out... You don't need to against ten men make certain subs to kill the game off in terms of keeping that lead. The thing is, from the start of the second half, start well in what you need to do and what you have been doing, then there shouldn't be a problem with all due respect to the competition. The opposition has got a good team; they've got good players we all know that. When you have one player extra in possession you should make a difference in the second half, and that's what we didn't do well enough in the second half.”
Columbus wasn't worn out by deficit of manpower. Even down a man, the Crew still managed to edge the possession statistics, claiming just over 50 percent of the ball by game's end.
A transition moment led to Berry's equalizer, and the Crew played like a side contented to exit TQL Stadium with a point from that moment on.
While disappointing, Cincinnati (3-5-3) managed secure its first-ever result at TQL Stadium with the tie. FC Cincinnati also extended its unbeaten run to four matches (2-0-2), setting a record for the franchise since it entered MLS for the 2019 season.
"Disappointed obviously not getting three points," FC Cincinnati center back Geoff Cameron said. "A little naive, just simple mistakes, kind of undoing of ourselves really. But Columbus is a good team, good players, and they made it difficult for us in the second half. First half, we were on it and we played some good football and obviously it's a tale of two halves and we need to be better. We need to close out the game in a 2-nil situation... Yeah, disappointing, but it's still a point. It's still, in a positive way, unbeaten, but it definitely feels like a loss."
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