With two road wins under their belt, the Columbus Crew took their talents to the most magical place on Earth to take on Orlando City SC. The Crew, without Cucho Hernandez for a third straight game, are looking to extend their point streak to three games as the Black & Gold hit the midway point of their six-game road stretch. Orlando, however, were without Duncan McGuire and hoping to capitalize on their 1-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes.

The Lions came close to opening the scoring just minutes into the first half when Ivan Angulo found Luis Muriel inside the penalty box all alone. The ensuing shot from the Colombian forward was saved by keeper Patrick Schulte, resulting in a corner kick.

In the 13th minute, Muriel was able to put the ball into the net, but the goal was negated after the offside flag was shown on Muriel.

Columbus called for two fouls in the 20th minute. The first coming after Alex Matan was taken down inside the box in the air, but referee Jair Marrufo looked the other way. This would see Orlando try to pry the ball away from Rudy Camacho — who played his 150th MLS game — at midfield. Camacho felt he was fouled as well, and Orlando City were quickly on the attack at the other end, but the ensuing shot was sent wide of the frame.

The match would turn controversial in the ladder stages of the first half; A first for many that they have never seen before.

Columbus were on the attack in the 40th minute when Cesar Araujo pulled down Aidan Morris inside of the penalty box. Morris — fuming at this point — wanted a penalty but the official once again waved for play to continue. In the same sequence, Muriel was all alone against Schulte before he was taken down by an on-rushing Steven Moreira inside the box. Orlando was given a penalty, but Marrufo was sent to the monitor to take another look at the Morris foul at the other end.

The final decision saw controversy due to the timing between both fouls, with the Orlando penalty being negated and Columbus earning a penalty for the earlier incident. Diego Rossi would convert the spot kick, giving Columbus a 1-0 lead and tallying his third goal in as many games.

Up at the half, Columbus looked the better team.

Just minutes after halftime, Max Arfsten had a chance to double the Crew’s lead but his shot was blocked and sent out of play by Rodrigo Schlegel.

Rossi would nearly bag his second of the night, but his shot was sent just wide. But the Uruguayan forward would claim his second of the night, after Yaw Yeboah played a well-placed through ball to the foot of Rossi, who then chipped Pedro Gallese to double his goal tally.

More controversy arose in the 62nd minute when Columbus were looking to make some changes.

Sean Zawadzki was set to enter for Rudy Camacho, but was then forced to wait one minute due to the new timed substitution rule. Marrufo claimed that Camacho did not leave the pitch in the allotted 10 seconds. However, according to head coach Wilfried Nancy, “The referee off the pitch told me he was quick. I did not like that,” exclaimed the French manager.

A plethora of chances for Orlando sought the Columbus defense stand tall to the task, and see out the 2-0 win.

Diego Rossi goal machine

Diego Rossi now has seven goals on the season across all competitions. He has three in Concacaf Champions Cup and four in league play, scoring in the last three consecutive games.

Columbus getting hot

With three wins in a row on the road, winning away from home in the past seemed like an uphill battle. Columbus is getting hot at a good time, gaining points and climbing the table.

What’s next?

Columbus travels to Mexico to take on Pachuca in the Concacaf Champions Cup Final. Kickoff from Estadio Hidalgo is set for 9:15 p.m. EDT. You can watch the match on Fox Sports 1, or join fellow Crew fans down at the Chase Plaza at Lower.com Field and Condado Tacos for the official watch party.