The Hell is Real Derby delivered another fiery battle between the two rival clubs from Ohio.
The Crew played to their third consecutive draw Saturday night, finishing 1-1 with FC Cincinnati at Lower.com Field.
FC Cincinnati striker Kévin Denkey quickly silenced the rowdy home faithful as he put a right-footed shot past goalkeeper Patrick Schulte to give Cincinnati a 1-0 lead.
Crew center midfielder Sean Zawadzki said the team remained composed despite the early setback.
“To concede a goal that early, especially in a game like this—you know, it’s going to be tough to come by,” Zawadzki said. “I think the resiliency of the guys pushed the rest of the first half.”
Cincinnati was physical early, committing six fouls in the first 20 minutes, including a yellow card on Pavel Bucha in the 20th minute.
Despite some back-and-forth attacks, both offenses remained quiet for the rest of the half.
At halftime, Columbus had controlled 65.9% of possession but had just two shots on goal compared to Cincinnati’s three.
The Crew came out of the locker room and flipped the script offensively, trying to reenergize the once-electrified crowd. After left wing Dániel Gazdag narrowly missed a shot over the crossbar, center forward Diego Rossi converted a penalty kick in the 54th minute to level the match at 1-1.
Just four minutes later, Columbus earned a second chance from the spot after center back Nick Hagglund committed a foul in the box.
Trying to regain the lead, Cincinnati created scoring chances in the 62nd, 63rd and 67th minutes but failed to capitalize.
Columbus responded with sustained pressure, earning three corner kicks in a two-minute span but came up empty on each opportunity.
Neither side broke through in the final 15 minutes, and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Despite the tie, Columbus dominated the stat sheet with 67.5% possession, 17 total shots and six on goal. Cincinnati managed nine shots, with three on target.
While the Crew couldn’t secure a win for the home crowd, head coach Wilfried Nancy praised the energy inside Lower.com Field.
“First of all, the song that we have in the beginning was loud, and I really enjoyed that. After that, it was like a movie,” Nancy said. “We were together. The connection was there and was amazing.”
Columbus (7-1-6) will travel to face Charlotte FC (6-7-1) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Bank of America Stadium.
