On the back of a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds this past Wednesday in the Round of 16 of the U.S. Open Cup, the Columbus Crew set the team’s sights on the Music City, taking on Nashville SC on Sunday night at GEODIS Park. The visit wasn’t a pleasant one as the Crew dropped a 3-1 result, conceding three second half goals after going up early.

It took a mere 90 seconds for the Black & Gold to get on the board. Wing back Yaw Yeboah won the ball in the midfield and sprang an attack, finding forward Cucho Hernandez just ahead of him. Holding possession just outside the 18-yard box, Hernandez laid the ball off to an onrushing Yeboah who took a shot from distance and connected upper 90 to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Both teams traded possession back and forth throughout the first half, with Nashville making the most of their time on the ball. Forward Fafa Picault came close to equalizing late in the half, after winning a battle with defender Philip Quinton. His ensuing shot towards the far post went just wide, with forward Teal Bunbury almost redirecting the shot past an outstretched Patrick Schulte.

The home side had another look in the waning moments of the first half. Midfielder Alex Muyl was able to find space at the top of the penalty box, firing a shot on goal but Schulte was there to parry the shot above the frame. Carrying the lead into the half, Columbus felt positive about the team’s.

However, out of halftime, it was Nashville who decided to play.

Bout 10 minutes into the second half, attacker Hany Mukhtar dribbled towards goal against three Crew defenders, the ensuing corner was the one chance the home side needed to get back into the game. Picault was on the end of a Mukhtar serviced corner kick and was able to put the ball past Schulte.

In the 70th minute, Mukhtar had a golden opportunity to give his side the lead when his header attempt on goal was saved by Schulte.

Ten minutes later, Nashville get the go-ahead goal. Bunbury headed home another corner kick from Mukhtar to make the score 2-1. After a strong start, the Black & Gold needed to find some magic somewhere to steal at minimum a point on the road.

Hernandez had a good look in the 83rd minute with a shot on goal, but Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis came up easy with the save.

The Colombian forward had another good look on goal not long after with an acrobatic bicycle kick on target. However, Willis came up big yet again for Nashville to keep the Music City side ahead.

Things went from bad to worse for Columbus near the end of the game, when Mukhtar went 1 v. 1 with Aidan Morris, beating the Crew midfielder and roofing his shot past Schulte to seal the win and all three points for Nashville.

The Black & Gold dropped below the MLS Cup playoff line, now sitting in 10th place in the East Eastern Conference following the loss.

Centerbacks, a problem again

Although the defense was pretty stout for the first half against Nashville, the second half collapse cost the Crew at least a point. Center back Gustavo Vallecilla went down with an injury and needed to be replaced. The problem is that Black & Gold are still without Josh Williams and Milos Degenek, so the options at center back are thin. Columbus can’t add players until the transfer window opens again this suer.

Promising start, poor finish

After losses to FC Cincinnati and the Riverhounds over the past week, the Crew hoped to bounce back and grab an important win. The promising start by Columbus, in which Yeboah scored just 1:23 seconds into the match (second fastest in club history), was exactly what the doctor ordered. Head coach Wilfried Nancy said that the team played too quick and needed to judge when they should’ve attacked or kept possession in the second half, allowing the home side back into the game.

With two games this week before returning to a more routine schedule, Columbus will need the maximum points they can get in order to get the season back on track.

What’s next?

The Crew is back at home, hosting the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday night. Kick off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET from Lower.com Field. You can catch the match on the MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.