Entering Saturday night’s match in Charlotte, Columbus Crew supporters were aware of the downright strange things that have happened to the Black & Gold at Bank of America Stadium. Go figure, more things can be added to the list.
First, there was a pre-match injury. Then, another injury after 20 minutes. Even head coach Wilfried Nancy, who was sick, said it was a “weird’ game.
Of course, this doesn’t change that the Crew lost, 3-2, to Charlotte FC, but it does add context.
“To be honest, I don't know about Charlotte. I am sick, too, and I was sick last time,” Nancy said. “Listen, this is the way it is. … To be honest with you, it was a weird game.”
In warmups, goalkeeper Patrick Schulte was injured when he felt pain landing on his side. Out of precaution, he was swapped with Nicholas Hagen, who had a fine performance, the coach noted.
Then, in the 20th minute, Malte Amundsen replaced Steven Moreira, who had pain in his foot. Nancy said that was a known injury.
But the adversity didn’t stop the Crew from striking first, as the visitors opened the scoring at the quarter-hour mark. Ibrahim Aliyu, making his second-straight start, produced his first goal for Columbus when he nodded home a Mohamed Farsi cross.
However, Patrick Agyemang scored the equalizer four minutes later, then put Charlotte in front five minutes after that. This set the stage for Amundsen to score his first goal of the season in the 65th minute to even the match once more.
But then Charlotte found the game winner 10 minutes later, and the Black & Gold, who entered the match unbeaten on the road, failed to earn a point away from home for the first time this season.
“Regarding the game, I think that we started well with the goal, and after that, we conceded this goal on the set piece,” Nancy said. “Usually, we are able to control the run in behind. We know that they wanted to play this kind of run behind, but we didn't do well. Inside the box and around the box, also, we had chances, but we didn't aim with the target, I would say.
“We know Charlotte. The way they play, they want to counter quick. Yeah, it was a weird game in term of the intensity. The game was a bit open because we wanted to go to score another goal. It wasn't working.”
But there will be chances for the Black & Gold to redeem themselves on short notice. On Wednesday night, the Club hosts Nashville SC at Lower.com Field. Get your tickets now.
Following the midweek tilt between the two gold clubs, the Crew head to South Beach, where they play Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF in a rematch from last month’s clash.
“Yeah, luckily, we have a game soon again, and then we're able to, hopefully we're able to go and get it right,” Amundsen said. “We're not happy, obviously, right now, and in this moment, I'm glad. I think everyone's glad that we have a game coming soon so we can go and set it right, to set it straight.”
