Columbus Crew 2 kicked off a Hell Is Real weekend in a positive way on Saturday night. The Black & Gold’s reserve team dominated FC Cincinnati 2 at Historic Crew Stadium 5-1 prior to the senior teams meeting for the second time this season at Lower.com Field on Sunday.

The last time Columbus hosted Cincinnati 2, Crew 2 won that match 9-0. Cincinnati has not found any footing in Central Ohio, being outscored 14-1 in these two games

It did not take long for the Black & Gold to open the scoring when midfielder Isaiah Parente found fellow midfielder Taha Habroune making a run into the penalty box in the 10th minute. The pass was perfect and Habroune calmly lifted his head to find forward Noah Fuson open at the penalty spot. Fuson put a solid first-time shot on goal that the keeper could only dream of saving. 

Two minutes Cincinnati responded when forward Arquimindes Ordonez took Crew Academy defender Christopher Rodgers one on one. Ordonez was able to get his shot off and into the far post before Rodgers could recover and fired a shot home.

The scoring kept coming in the 17th minute when Parente made a streaking run down the left flank, where he struggled to get the ball past the defender. No help came from other Cincinnati defenders and Parente got back onto the ball and put it in front of captain Marco Micaletto. The midfielder took a well-aimed shot to put the Black & Gold in the lead again.

Columbus kept the pressure on and Micaletto found the back of the net again in the 38th minute when Fuson fluffed a shot from the penalty spot, but Micaletto was in an offside position when the shot was taken. In the 40th minute, Parente got a goal when he and Habroune carved a pass through the middle of the field before the midfielder was able to tuck the ball home.

The final goal of the first half was scored in the 45th minute when forward Coleman Gannon powered the ball past Cincinnati goalkeeper Paul Walters from a tough angle. Wing back Abdi Mohamed hustled to keep a failed cross in play and played the ball into Fuson who then found Gannon making a run into the near post. Gannon’s angle seemed to close down, but the forward put in a shot with power into the roof of the net. 

The action slowed down in the second half with only one goal from the newly signed Patrick Bohui, who came on in the 61st minute and was backflipping in celebration by the 65th minute. Forward Gibran Rayo found Bohui as he made a run at the backline, his first touch took him around the defender and then Bohui was clinical with his shot. 

Playoff picture

Crew 2 is in a very respectable third place in the Eastern Conference and fourth place overall in MLS NEXT Pro. Last season Columbus led the league all season in overall standings but Colorado Rapids 2 and Crown Legacy FC have a tight race at the top of the table that is all but out of reach for any other team.

With the win against Cincinnati, the Black & Gold nearly clinched a playoff spot. Crew 2 is 12 points above Philadelphia Union II, who sits just below the playoff line with only five regular season matches to go. In the final five matches of the season Columbus will only have to face one team, Orlando City B, who is above the playoff line. The Black & Gold are only three points behind New England Revolution II for second in the East and could challenge that position in the final matches.