After 'painful' loss to FC Cincinnati, Crew look for rebound in U.S. Open Cup round of 16
When Wilfried Nancy looked back at the Crew's 3-2 loss to FC Cincinnati, he found a 15-minute stretch of the first half where the Crew couldn't handle adversity. For much of the rest of the game — apart from the game-changing mistake that led to FC Cincinnati's third goal — the Crew coach felt that his team was in control, which made the result even harder to accept.
The Crew trailed 2-0 in the 23rd minute after giving up goals just six minutes apart, and the goals were even closer together in terms of game action; defender Philip Quinton conceded the penalty kick that became the second goal just three minutes after the first goal was scored.
"Before the first goal, we did a good job," Nancy said. "After that, we took the first one. We took the second one, and when we took the second one, too much emotion. We were not playing. We were fighting against ourselves in terms of how to deal with a lack of composure. We were already a bit all over the place. We were complaining. I didn’t like it at all. At all, at all, at all.
"I would say until the first goal that we scored, all this gap was not good enough. ... We had also a lack of courage. I cannot accept that. The way we play, like I told them, courage, for me, this is the most important virtue."
With the loss, the Crew have just one win in their last six MLS games, a 2-0 win over the LA Galaxy last Wednesday. But while they've struggled in recent weeks to take points from league competition, the Crew are also in the midst what could be their deepest run in the U.S. Open Cup since making it to the final in 2010.
The Crew beat Indy Eleven on April 26 and beat Loudoun United on May 10, marking the first time the team has won multiple games in a single Open Cup tournament since 2010. On Wednesday, they travel to Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh to face the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the round of 16.
For coach Nancy, having another game just a few days after their loss to FC Cincinnati is key.
"Painful because the story of the game was a good story, but it ended up in a way that we killed ourselves," Nancy said. "But we have to go through that. I was really pleased with the way we played against, for the moment, one of the best teams in the league, the way they are so efficient with two different styles. In a big environment like this, we were close to doing something, but in terms of result, yeah. This is not what we wanted, but we have to move forward."
Veteran goalkeeper Evan Bush, who has started each of the Crew's two U.S. Open Cup games this year, has seen firsthand the way a win in cup competition can re-inspire a team for MLS play, which the Crew will need, as their next league game is at Nashville SC, the second-place team in the Eastern Conference.
"Cup play gives you very interesting opportunities in the middle of the season to kind of shift that momentum, regardless of who is on the field," Bush said. "We went to Loudoun and we got a good result with guys that we were able to keep back here, but I think it energized the group. ... It creates a momentum, and the further you go in cup competition, the more that multiplies on top of each other."
Bush also knows that Wednesday's game won't be a seamless rout similar to the Crew's easy domination of Loudoun United. As D.C. United's reserve team, Loudoun features a younger lineup, and a 10th-minute red card put the Crew in firm control for the rest of the game in the 5-1 win.
Pittsburgh, by contrast, upset the New England Revolution in the fourth round — at Gillette Stadium. The Riverhounds' coach, Bob Lilley, has over 300 wins as a professional coach and has been involved in quite a few "Cupsets" in the U.S. Open Cup.
"Their coach is really good at these competitions," Bush said. "Bob Lilley’s been doing this for a long time. Anybody that’s been around Open Cup, been around the different levels of soccer in this country, knows that any time you play him in any type of competition, it’s going to be a tough game."
In a season that's something of a transitional year for the Crew in MLS, as players learn Nancy's style of play and adapt to their roles within his structure, their best opportunity to win a trophy is likely in the U.S. Open Cup. To do that, the Crew will need to win four more games, beginning with Wednesday's round of 16.
On the heels of a difficult loss to their most intense rival, the courage and belief that Nancy felt the Crew lacked on Saturday will be tested on Wednesday.
"I’m happy because, regarding the last game that we had, it was not easy, the outcome," Nancy said. "The fact that we’re going to play (Wednesday), this is perfect. We have to focus on the next game. As you know, this is always the next move that counts. We focus on Wednesday because we want to go as far as possible in every competition."
How to watch the Crew take on the Riverhounds:
Columbus' U.S. Open Cup game on Wednesday is being broadcast by the CBS Sports Golazo Network.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew look to rebound from FC Cincinnati loss in US Open Cup
