Aidan Morris: Columbus Crew make 'statement' with shutout win against FC Cincinnati
Aidan Morris had a clear definition for Sunday night’s Crew performance.
In a return to MLS action that happened to be a “Hell is Real” rivalry showdown with FC Cincinnati, it was Morris’ right foot that got the Crew off on the right foot. The Crew midfielder blasted home the game’s opening goal in the 15th minute, setting a tone for what would be a 3-0 win in front of the third-largest crowd in Lower.com Field history. The predominantly black-and-gold crowd of 20,730 went home cheering after the Crew stifled a Cincinnati team that entered with an eight-point cushion atop the Supporters’ Shield standings.
Call it what you want, but Morris knows how he saw it – and what he thinks it could mean as the Crew enter the stretch run of the regular season.
“This game’s special,” he said. “A lot of weight to it. It’s a statement game. I think that’s what everyone said and it speaks perfectly. They’re the best team in the league, so kudos to them. I think us as a team, we can take down anybody, whether it’s Miami right now or whoever it is. I think if we play our game and focus on ourselves, I think we’ll have success.”
So to be clear: Does Morris feel that this was a statement game for the Crew?
“For sure,” he said. “One hundred percent.”
Despite the loss, Cincinnati remains seven points clear of second-place St. Louis City SC at 51 points. The Crew, through 24 games, climbed to fifth in the Eastern Conference.
They did it by handing their rivals only their third shutout of the season. It’s also the fifth time the Crew has shut out Cincinnati in 12 games and the second consecutive time the visitors have left Lower.com Field without a goal. Adding to the list, Cincinnati has lost five road games to the Crew, tying with Atlanta and Philadelphia for the most road losses to a specific team in the club’s history.
Those prior Cincinnati teams aren’t quite like this one, though. Cincinnati had a plus-14 goal differential entering Sunday night while boasting a lineup with MLS MVP candidate Luciano Acosta still learning how to link with recently acquired forward and designated player Aaron Boupendza. He had three shots on goal, but Acosta was held without a shot or an assist while playing a full game for the first time this season.
“They have a very offensive-minded front three and also very skillful so you have to stay alert like all the time,” Crew assistant coach Yohan Damet said. “I think we stayed close enough tonight to work to be able to deal with the transition in front of us and not too much in behind us. I think that helped a lot in the game overall to manage their attack and to be able to stay in possession as high as possible on the pitch.”
Cincinnati finished with six shots on goal. All but one of them came during the first half.
“They had some opportunities, but I thought we had a good spell in the game and every time it dropped a little bit I thought we did a good job coming back up and setting the standard again and playing how we know we’re capable of playing,” Crew captain and midfielder Darlington Nagbe said. “Up and down, but overall good.”
It helped the Crew avoid what has been a growing propensity to concede late. Opponents had scored in the 75th minute or later in the Crew’s last three MLS games and in two of the three games they played in the Leagues Cup. Sunday night, instead of allowing a late goal that could have made things interesting, the Crew got a final one in the 96th minute to set the final score.
Ten games remain in the regular season. None of them involve Lionel Messi and Miami, but this 3-0 win against Cincinnati showed what could still be ahead for the Crew, Morris said.
“It’s just demanding standards,” he said. “Keeping the standard the whole game high. We came in here at halftime and we were up 2-0 but we weren’t satisfied at all. We knew we could’ve been better, sharper, cleaner. That’s what great teams do. They’re always pushing to be better, never satisfied.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Aidan Morris: 'Hell is Real' shutout a 'statement' win for Crew
