The result was worth the wait.
“Wise Men” roared around Lower.com Field an hour later than everyone would’ve preferred, but it’s a small sacrifice to beat the top team in the Eastern Conference – and win a third-straight match.
Thanks to Mohamed Farsi’s first-half stoppage time goal, and the first clean sheet since March, the Columbus Crew beat the Philadelphia Union, 1-0, on Sunday night in the Ohio capital.
The win wasn’t pretty, but that’s just fine.
“I did not like the game – simple as that,” head coach Wilfried Nancy said. “I didn't like it. I cannot lie. It could happen. What I like is the mindset of my players, and I'm really, really proud of that because it's not easy to play against this team. They don't quit, they run, they run and they fight.
“We did well on that. After that, with the ball we struggled to connect, and we struggled to recognize the player in behind on the weak side or in between. Again, good for the mental aspect.”
To Nancy’s point, the first half lacked a rhythm that Crew supporters are accustomed to seeing. The muggy, rainy midsummer conditions certainly played a starring role, but the Union spent the first half bunkered down. At times, the visitor’s 4-4-2 block was stagnant, as if players had cinder block cleats.
Naturally, the Black & Gold punished the Union for this tactic on the stroke of halftime.
Two minutes into first-half stoppage time, Amar Sejdić played a piercing through ball to Lassi Lappalainen, who sprayed a wonderful cross from the left flank toward Farsi. The Algerian international lashed a thunderous first-time strike for his first goal of the season – and Lappalainen’s second assist in three games.
“I just saw that it was an open ball,” Farsi said. “Amar [Sejdić] tried to play me at first, but he couldn't. So, Lassi made a great run, Amar played a perfect ball to him, and I was already like in front of the left back [Kai Wagner] so I just kept my run, and then Lassi gave me a perfect ball. I just had to put it in.”
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only “strike.”
A weather delay was issued during halftime, which resulted in a 58-minute wait. During the pause, Nancy said the Black & Gold watched the Concacaf Gold Cup match between the U.S. Men’s National Team and Costa Rica. Of course, Max Arfsten started and produced a goal and an assist.
In the second half, Columbus absorbed pressure, denied Philadelphia a single shot on target, and earned a first clean sheet since Mar. 22.
“First of all, I'm happy for Bushy (goalkeeper Evan Bush),” Nancy said. “Obviously, a clean sheet this is always good. It means that defensively the guys did a really good job. It's been a long time so this is good to do it. We could have had more clean sheets, but in terms of execution, it was not good. Today, it was a bit better.”
The win, which is the Crew’s third-straight this month, also snapped the Union’s 11-game unbeaten run in MLS that dated back to April.
Farsi said he was unaware of snapping the streak, but he said the only thing that matters is what Columbus controls.
“I had no idea that they were unbeaten to be honest,” Farsi said. “But you know, when we play at home, we always try to give good energy, good momentum and control the game. Away too. So yeah, we did a really good game. We didn't watch the standings and say ‘okay, they are up on us, they are unbeaten during 11 games so we were scared’. We just continue to play our game.”
