When the halftime whistle chirped, the Columbus Crew players walked toward the locker room trailing, 1-0, to a CF Montréal team that carried play far too much for Wilfried Nancy’s liking.
“The first half was not good,” he said. “Montréal played well, yes, but I told [the team] after we didn't run. If you don't run, you can’t play, simple as that… We didn't deserve to score because we didn't do the requirements to what we usually do.”
But Columbus looked more familiar in the second half. The press returned, as did the Black & Gold controlling the pace of the match. Naturally, this led to a deserved goal, and a 1-1 midweek draw at Stade Saputo.
“For me, it's a good reminder that we can talk about tactics, and we can talk about a lot of things, but the mindset has to be here all the time,” Nancy said. “When it is here, what happened in the second half happens, but the first half was not good.”
But there were good moments in the result. Playing without Diego Rossi and Sean Zawadzki, who Nancy rested ahead of Saturday’s match, the Black & Gold pushed for three points.
After scoring the equalizer in the 63rd minute by provoking a Montréal mistake, Jacen Russell-Rowe nearly bagged the game winner in the 82nd minute if not for a strong save from Jonathan Sirois.
“I just see a back pass, and it was kind of behind the center back [Jalen Neal], he didn't go for it,” the forward said of his goal. “And the goalie, he's coming out, but there's a lot of open space, and just to beat him to the ball, I know that if I get a good deflection, 50/50, off this, then there's nobody in the net. And I was fortunate that the ball kind of bounced up on my body. I just had to put it away.”
The equalizer was Russell-Rowe’s fifth this season, which matches his career high with the Black & Gold. With six goal contributions through 13 matches, he is already one shy of tying his career-high seven (four goals, three assists) set in 2023.
With the draw, the Crew remain unbeaten on the road through six away contests this season. Additionally, the Club sits third in the Eastern Conference standings with 26 points from 13 matches.
Of course, we all know a big one arrives Saturday night.
Hell is Real returns to Lower.com Field when Columbus hosts FC Cincinnati in the first derby meeting of the fiery rivalry in 2025. Cincinnati is first in MLS with 28 points, and beat Toronto FC, 1-0, on Wednesday night in Canada.
“Going to be an intense game,” Russell-Rowe said. “Cincy loves to be on the front foot and it's big rivalry, ‘Hell is Real’, and we're just going to take these next couple days to prepare our bodies and go 100% for it.”
