Welcome to the Anatomy of a Goal, where following each match we dissect one goal (or near goal) from a previous Columbus Crew contest. For match six of the 2024 MLS season, we look at Marino Hinestroza’s 79th-minute goal, his first for the Crew, that leveled the match with Nashville SC and set the team back to Columbus with a crucial road point.
Here’s a look at the goal from the Black & Gold’s young attacker.
The Crew hit the road for the second straight week traveling to Nashville after a strange, to say the least, match in Charlotte. Columbus would take the field without the injured Rudy Camacho and Cucho Hernandez, absent for undisclosed reasons, which put the team in a difficult spot before kickoff.
Hinestroza’s goal begins with Nashville on the ball in the Black & Gold’s defensive end. Alex Muyl stands over the ball and has four options: 1. a square pass to Sean Davis; 2. attempt to beat Yaw Yeboah off the dribble; 3. a diagonal pass toward Dru Yearwood; or, 4. a pass up the field toward Hany Mukhtar.
Muyl picks the safest option and plays a quick pass toward Davis.
Davis immediately hits a first-touch pass forward, seemingly into the path of Yearwood or Mukhtar, but mishits the ball and plays a soft pass right toward Darlington Nagbe.
Nagbe easily collects the ball and sets the Crew attack in motion.
Nashville doesn’t pick up Columbus’s captain so he continues to carry the ball across midfield and deep into the opponent’s defensive end.
Yearwood sprints ahead of Nagbe just as the midfielder plays a simple pass toward Yeboah on the wing.
Yeboah takes a touch, surveys the defense, and plays the ball right back to Nagbe.
Nagbe’s first touch turns the ball to his left and his second plays a sharp pass to Aidan Morris.
Morris turns the ball and has three options with his second touch: 1. a quick square pass to Steven Moreira; 2. carry the ball; or, 3. a long diagonal pass toward Mohamed Farsi.
With the defense regrouping Morris plays a short pass right to Moreira.
Moreira collects the ball and carries it forward. Note the positioning of Yeboah and Farsi here, on each wing. Both wing-backs maintain their width despite the shifting play of the ball. This width will force Nashville to either stretch their defense, opening space to attack, or over shift leaving one of the flanks open and isolated.
Moreira nears the 18-yard box and plays a short pass backward to Farsi. In the middle of the field Morris turns his head to find Nagbe and set up a potential next pass if he receives the ball.
Farsi uses his second touch to play the ball to Morris who has an open Nagbe just 10 yards away.
Morris takes a touch on the ball and squares a pass to Nagbe. Once again the Nashville defense is forced to laterally shift.
Nagbe takes a touch to collect the ball and has four options: 1. an attacking pass forward to Diego Rossi; 2. a similar pass forward to Jace Russell-Rowe; 3. a long diagonal ball toward Yeboah on the flank; or, 4. dribble forward.
The Black & Gold’s captain continues the ball movement by playing a pass wide to Yeboah.
Yeboah receives the ball and is one-on-one with Muyl.
The Crew wing-back carries forward before planting hard and faking a cut-back.
Muyl bites on the fake sticking out a leg and giving Yeboah just the window he needs to dart forward.
Yeboah capitalizes on Muyl’s defensive lapse and carries the ball toward the end-line.
As he approaches the end-line Yeboah must decide between four options: 1. a shot on goal from a difficult angle; 2. a looping cross into the box where Farsi, Russell-Rowe, and Hinestroza are waiting; 3. a quick pass on the ground toward Rossi; or, 4. cut the ball back toward the top of the goal-box.
Yeboah spots his teammates in the box and loops a cross into the penalty area.
The ball loops over Farsi heading right toward Hinestroza and Taylor Washington.
Hinestroza picks up the path of the ball while Washington just turns to see it sail over his head.
Taylor is caught chasing the ball giving Hinestroza a free chance at a headed shot.
Hinestroza connects and sends a looping shot toward the back-post of Elliot Panicco’s goal.
The ball sails over Panicco’s head just as the goalkeeper begins to dive.
Panicco’s dive is a few yards short. The ball flies past him . . .
. . . into the back of the net!
Findings:
- When Nagbe intercepts Davis’s pass in the defensive end he does something uncharacteristic. Rather than slow down the play he carries the ball forward until he meets defensive pressure, about 30 yards from the Nashville goal.
- Once Columbus has Nashville defending deep, the Black & Gold quickly move the ball from one side of the field to the other until they have unbalanced Nashville and have a chance to capitalize on the chaos.
- Yeboah uses some fancy footwork to beat Muyl and find a window for a cross into the box.
- Hinestroza hits a perfect, back-post, header into the goal for his first MLS goal and a point on the road.
MASSIVE REPORT 