Crew Coverage pres. by Medical Mutual | Nancy: Crew was ‘in control’ in win at Revs

On Wednesday night, the Columbus Crew rolled into Foxborough and gave the New England Revolution its first home loss of the season. Yeah, that’s pretty massive. 

Needing a win to leapfrog the Revs in the Eastern Conference standings, the Black & Gold produced an impressive performance to claim the three points in a vital 2-1 win at Gillette Stadium. 

“I really liked the game because yes, we won, and this is the first loss for New England at home – I'm proud of that for the players – but also the way we played,” head coach Wilfried Nancy said afterward. “We played our game on a difficult pitch, and we were disciplined. We were disciplined defensively knowing that New England, the way they play, they like to move a lot, and they like to change position, make rotations and so on. I felt my team was disciplined when we didn't have to ball. We were in control. 

“The story of the game is I'm really pleased because we scored, after that we conceded the goal that again we can avoid in terms of the way we defended this one, but after that, we stayed on the task, and we kept going. We had the two or three clear situations that again the final pass could have been better, but really happy with the composure that we had. This is the way they play, this is the way they are and they grew a lot.”

Columbus claimed an early lead in the 20th minute when Diego Rossi scored his third goal of the season. The Crew hit New England on a counter when Aidan Morris played a through ball toward Alexandru Matan on the left flank. Matan then dribbled down the left side and cut a pass back to Rossi, who tucked the ball to the back post.

The Revs found their equalizer three minutes into the second half when Tomás Chancalay scored an admittedly great goal. However, the Black & Gold continued to press and search for the lead once more. 

The efforts paid off in the 86th minute, as Malte Amundsen produced the game-winning goal off a corner. Rossi played the ball into the box, where the defender was able to produce a first-time shot that kissed the woodwork before nestling into the net.

With the win, Columbus is fourth in the Eastern Conference standings with 53 points from 32 games. The Revs dropped to fifth with 52 points, while the Philadelphia Union is third with 54 points. 

The penultimate match arrives Saturday when the Crew plays sixth-place Atlanta United FC on the road. Following that match, the Black & Gold return to the Ohio capital on Decision Day to host CF Montréal.