Columbus Crew toppled Orlando City in extra time 2-0 to advance to the Eastern Conference finals of the MLS Cup playoffs.
The visitors hammered Orlando’s goal in the opening stage, forcing the veteran Pedro Gallese to action as he came up with several key saves to prevent Columbus from going ahead. The likes of Cucho Herandez and Aidan Morris tested Gallese and he met each shot with an impressive save.
Neither side were able to find a breakthrough in the first 45, as Columbus had the better chances in the contest with Orlando still feeling their way through the game.
Both teams traded blows throughout the second half, but the two sides lacked the quality and sharpness in front of goal. Things started to get interesting with roughly 15 minutes remaining in regulation, when Rodrigo Schlegel was shown a second yellow card for essentially clotheslining Diego Rossi as he was speeding past him and Robin Jansson toward Gallese’s goal.
Through 90 minutes played, the game remained in a deadlock at 0-0, meaning extra time and possibly penalty kicks would decided who moved on to the Eastern Conference finals.
However, Columbus went in front in the 93rd minute as substitute Christian Ramirez got on the end of a low-driven cross from Aidan Morris, as the pass skipped past the Orlando defense before taking a lucky bounce off the 32-year-old before finding the back of the net.
Then, substitute Kyle Smith found himself through on goal but his effort was almost straight at Patrick Schulte as the shot-stopper stuck out his left leg to prevent the equalizing strike. Schulte then again came up another close-range reaction save to keep the Black and Gold in front as the clock ticked on.
With time running out for the Lions, Gallese raced up near the halfway line to help out his team in attack, but Hernandez noticed how far he was off his line and sent in a strike toward an open goal to put Columbus in front with a commanding 2-0 lead, securing passage to the next round.
Columbus moves on to take on either FC Cincinnati or Philadelphia Union, where they could end up playing host to the Union at home or on the road vs the Orange and Blue.
GK: Pedro Gallese – 6/10 – Was busy in the first half making several key saves to keep his team in the fight.
RB: Dagur Dan Thorhallsson – 6/10 – Found himself in a lot of good positions out wide but couldn’t deliver quality crosses to the box.
CB: Rodrigo Schlegel – 4.5/10 – Put in a crunching challenge near his own box to deny the Crew a look at goal but a foolish challenge saw him receive a second yellow card.
CB: Robin Jansson – 7.5/10 – Did well to play out from the back and came up with a couple huge blocks to deny Hernandez from close range.
LB: Rafael Santos – 6/10 – The player neither helped nor hindered his side.
DM: Cesar Araujo – 6/10 – It wasn’t the best performance from the young midfielder. He and Cartagena just weren’t clicking together.
DM: Wilder Cartagena – 6/10 – Didn’t have a bad first half and was unlucky to be hooked early in the second.
RM: Facundo Torres – 6.5/10 – A quiet and rather disappointing night from the young star.
AM: Mauricio Pereyra – 6/10 – Pulled the strings once again for the Lions but was lacking the sharpness needed in the final third.
LM: Ivan Angulo – 6.5/10 – Failed to put a glorious chance away early on after spinning his man.
ST: Duncan McGuire – 5.5/10 – Wasn’t able to do much up front with the lack of service he received.
Substitutes
SUB: Martin Ojeda (62′ for Cartagena) – 6/10 – He lacked the quality to make an impact off the bench.
SUB: Ramiro Enrique (71′ for McGuire) – 6/10 – Encountered the same problems as Ojeda.
SUB: Junior Urso (71′ for Pererya) – 6/10 – Had a moments with the ball in front of goal but it amounted to nothing.
SUB: Antonio Carlos (82′ for Angulo) – N/A
SUB: Kyle Smith (82′ for Santos) – N/A
Manager
Oscar Pareja – 6/10 – His starting XI was strong, but his team were unable to create many chances with the Crew dominating possession. His subs didn’t really help the cause, either, and his team nearly clawed back into the game but Schulte stood tall.
GK: Patrick Schulte – 9/10 – Didn’t have much to do on the night thanks to his center-backs’ stout defending until extra time, where came up with a massive one-on-one save to deny Smith.
CB: Steven Moreira – 7/10 – Got put in a blender on the first go-around against Ivan Angulo, but did well to recover on the second meeting and got better as the game wore on.
CB: Rudy Camacho – 7.5/10 – Kept things in check in front of Schulte, not allowing McGuire and Co. too much time on the ball.
CB: Malte Amundsen – 7/10 – A solid display at the back from the Denmark international.
RM: Mohamed Farsi – 6.5/10 – Went on a few darting runs through the Orlando defense but was lacking the end product.
CM: Darlington Nagbe – 7/10 – He controlled the midfield once again showing his experience and undeniable quality.
CM: Aidan Morris – 7.5/10 – His low-driven cross proved to be the difference maker in his stellar showing.
LM: Yaw Yeboah – 6.5/10 – Had brilliant moments here and there on the ball driving through the midfield.
AM: Diego Rossi – 7.5/10 – A thorn in the Orlando defense’s side and even got a defender sent off by making a run at goal.
ST: Alexandru Matan – 6.5/10 – Didn’t bring the desired impact up front.
ST: Cucho Hernandez – 8/10 – Troubled the Orlando backline with his quick passing in and around their penalty area. Sealed his team’s qualification to the next phase with an intelligent strike from way out.
Substitutes
SUB: Christian Ramirez (91′ for Matan) – 8/10 – Could possibly go down as one of the all-time great super subs in Crew history should they make it to MLS Cup final.
SUB: Sean Zawadzki (95′ for Moreira) – N/A
SUB: Kevin Molino (107′ for Rossi) – N/A
SUB: Evgen Cheberko (107′ for Yeboah) – N/A
Manager
Wilfried Nancy – 7/10 – His team selection was nothing surprising and it furstrated Orlando throughout the contest. Columbus created several good looks at goal but just wouldn’t pull the trigger when close enough to shoot. However, they kept at it and pulled through with two extra time goals off the back of a stunning performance from Schulte.
