Cucho Hernandez, Lucas Zelarayán goals lift Columbus Crew past FC Cincinnati

COLUMBUS – When you hit on expensive player signings like Columbus Crew has with Lucas Zelarayán and Cucho Hernandez, you have nights like the Crew did Sunday against FC Cincinnati at Lower.com Field.

In a water-logged match in Central Ohio, Columbus rocked its home venue in front of a stadium-record crowd of 20,471 with a 2-0 victory in the latest chapter in "Hell is Real" derby lore.

In the 16th minute, Zelarayán knocked a free-kick from a wide position into Cincinnati's penalty area, and Hernandez nodded the ball into the side netting for a 1-0 lead.

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Hernandez, the former Watford FC player turned record transfer acquisition by the Crew, scored his fourth goal in three matches since arriving to Major League Soccer this month.

For Zelarayán, the third-year MLS veteran, the assist was his ninth of the year. And his fifth goal of 2022 arrived late to clinch the win when he buried a penalty kick for a handball call against FCC's Obinna Nwobodo.

“With players like that on the ball, you can’t play them the same way," FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano said. "With Zelarayán on the ball and Cucho, they can do anything. They’ve played the game for a while, they’re both creative players. You can never be caught sleeping, so you just have to be ready for whatever they can bring and they brought it tonight.”

FC Cincinnati fell to 7-8-6 and winless in its last five matches. Columbus (7-5-6) overtook Cincinnati in the MLS Eastern Conference standings with the victory, although FCC remained above the playoff cut line in seventh place even after the defeat.

On a night when FC Cincinnati managed to tamp down on the Columbus attack from the run of play, head coach Pat Noonan still conceded the Crew was the better team.

“It just felt like it wasn’t our night. I thought it was a good start and in the first five minutes, we had a really good look to go up, and missed out on that opportunity," Noonan said. "I think where we lost some rhythm and momentum was just our defensive pressure. I think we dropped too deep. You know, I said it at the break. Our wingers were often dropping, which allowed their outside backs to really get forward and at the same time we had Obi (Nwobodo) and Allan (Cruz) just too deep centrally.

"I think we were, maybe, too respectful of two very talented players in the middle of the field but it didn’t allow us to get pressure to the ball higher up the field. So, we took on a lot of pressure. I thought in the second half it improved but on the night, you know, defensively, I just don’t think we were consistent enough in how we defended higher up the field. And then in the box, we had a couple good looks but lacked a little composure in the final product tonight… They were the better team on the night."

Cincinnati landed an opening blow in the third minute when Brandon Vazquez slid the ball across the goal mouth to Alvaro Barreal, but his one-time shot was turned away by Columbus goalkeeper Eloy Room.

Room finished the game with two saves. Columbus defender Josh Williams also could be credited with a stop after denying Allan Cruz's headed attempt on the goal line in the 34th minute.

Brandon Vazquez, FC Cincinnati's leading scorer, had just one shot in the match. He played alongside Arquimides "Quimi" Ordonez at times in the second half after Ordonez entered as an intriguing substitute.

In what was arguably the most important club appearance of Ordonez's young professional career, he managed to pop up in threatening areas and forced Room into one of his two saves.

Cincinnati was left to wonder how the match might have played out had it been buoyed by captain and MLS All-Star Game-bound, Luciano Acosta, who served the second match of three he'll miss due to suspension for a July 9 red card.

With Acosta unavailable, Cincinnati placed Brenner Souza da Silva in the midfield. The adjustment wasn't a fruitless one – Brenner fired off two shots and completed about 91% of his passes – but Cincinnati lacked for some of its usual possession numbers, and general bite in the attack.

Afterward, Noonan was critical of the MLS Disciplinary Committee's decision to uphold the club's appeal of Acosta's two-match suspension.

Defensive midfielder Obinna Nwobodo captained FC Cincinnati for the first time since his arrival in late April, which was also a consequence of Acosta's absence.

Nwobodo was at fault for a hand ball in FCC's penalty area late in the 90 minutes, resulting in the penalty kick that Columbus' goal for 2-0.

"It was very disappointing for us," Nwobodo said. "This was very opposite of what we planned and what we hoped for. What I can say is very disappointing. The only thing we can do is try as much as possible to get over it and come back next week, and show that we can be a good (competitor) in the league, as we have shown before. We have to try and forget about today because everything about today was opposite of what we planned and what we worked for."

tado.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Columbus Crew defeat FC Cincinnati in latest MLS rivalry match