After their commanding 3-0 win over the New York Red Bulls last weekend, the Columbus Crew traveled to the Queen City to take on Charlotte FC. The Crew would have to do without head coach Wilfried Nancy, who missed the match due to illness.

The match started in an unlikely fashion, with Charlotte having to retake the opening kickoff three times due to The Crown being offside. If that was any indicator of how the night would proceed, it certainly did not disappoint.

Columbus nearly got the scoring started in the second minute of action when Cucho Hernandez nearly picked out the top corner at the far post, but the shot went just wide of the net.

Charlotte had a good opportunity in the 15th minute when Kerwin Vargas was fouled just outside of the 18-yard box by Steven Moreira. The ensuing free kick from Brecht Dejaegere was blocked by the wall and cleared out for a corner kick.

The Crown thought they had the breakthrough in the 20th minute, but their goal was waved off by a foul in the build-up leading to the score.

The Crew saw two players exit early in the first half, with Rudy Camacho and Christian Ramirez replaced by Derrick Jones and Max Arfsten after suffering injuries. Just eight minutes after coming on, Jones was shown a red card for a foul in the 24th minute, forcing Columbus to play the rest of the match with 10 men.

The Black & Gold found the back of the net deep into first-half stoppage time when Max Arfsten found a trailing Hernandez running towards the top of the box. The pass from Arfsten found Cucho’s right foot and the Colombian forward ripped the ball into the back of the net. But upon further review, Arfsten was in an offside position when he received the ball from goalkeeper Evan Bush.

Things would go from bad to worse for Columbus, when Yaw Yeboah was whistled for a foul inside the penalty box, giving Charlotte a penalty kick in the 14th minute of first-half stoppage time. The ensuing free kick taken by Luri Tavares sailed high over the crossbar into the Uptown air of Charlotte, keeping the score level 0-0 at halftime.

Columbus started off on the front foot yet again in the second half. Mo Farsi received a long pass on the flank to switch the point of attack, before sending a cross to the back post to Arfsten whose one-time attempt would be mishit into the turf and bounce high over the net.

In the 67th minute, Diego Rossi had his shot hit the side netting, but his attempt gave Columbus a glimpse of hope after suffering much adversity throughout the evening.

The home side finally broke the deadlock in the 83rd minute, with Ashley Westwood hammering home a shot from distance past Bush to make the score 1-0. Just five minutes later, Charlotte doubled its lead through a tally from Patrick Agyemang.

A couple of free kicks at the end of the match for Columbus would see nothing come of them as the Crew suffered their first defeat of 2024.

Longest half of soccer in MLS history

Just before the intermission, the fourth official in the match showed there was a minimum of 10 minutes added on to the first half. The two clubs played for 17 minutes additional minutes(62nd minute), making the first half the longest in MLS history.

No Wilfried Nancy

The Columbus Crew were without head coach Wilfried Nancy, who was out due to illness. According to a Columbus spokesperson, Nancy did not travel with the team on Friday, and was still too ill to travel the morning of the match, ultimately ruling him out. Kwadme Ampadu served as the “head coach” but it was a collective effort from the Crew coaching staff as they navigated a difficult situation in the Queen City.

What’s next?

The Columbus Crew are back on the road next weekend to take on Nashville SC. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. EDT from Geodis Park.