Coming off of a convincing 3-1 win over CF Montreal in the midweek, the Columbus Crew traveled to the Windy City to take on a struggling Chicago Fire who haven’t won a match in six straight entering the match. The Crew had to be without striker Cucho Hernandez yet again as the Colombian striker was dealing with an injury.

The Crew started the game on a good note, maintaining a majority of the possession. However, it was the constant turnovers that essentially hurt the Black & Gold through the first 30 minutes. Though Chicago had several looks, the Crew were able to keep them off of the scoresheet.

Diego Rossi etched his name into the scoresheet in the 30th minute to give Columbus a 1-0 lead.

The Uruguayan forward received a through ball from Christian Ramirez and took the pass in stride towards goal. Rossi’s initial shot was saved by Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady, but a misplayed clearance by a duo of Fire defenders saw Rossi convert the volley into the side netting.

Things would get bad for Columbus when Marino Hinestroza would be replaced by Jacen Russell-Rowe in the 40th minute.

Columbus ended the half better, but much was needed to be addressed by head coach Wilfried Nancy and company at the half.

The Crew opened the second half looking like the better team, still maintaining possession but cleaning up the errors that they made in the first half in regards to turnovers.

Goalkeeper Patrick Schulte was called into action when he made a point-blank save on Fire forward Hugo Cuypers, who had a shot hit into the ground and on goal. The pace with which the shot was hit made Schulte lose control, but the St. Louis University alum was able to collect comfortably.

Columbus’ efforts were capitalized on in the 56th minute when Mohamed Farsi played a looping cross towards the back post and headed home by Ramirez to double the Black & Gold’s lead to 2-0.

Russell-Rowe nearly made it 3-0 for the Crew when he found space in front to dribble toward goal. His ensuing shot, however, was saved by an outstretched Brady.

Chicago and Columbus would trade chances back and forth, with neither getting any good clear-cut chances. Columbus’ best effort to make it 3-0 again came late in the second half off of the foot of Russell-Rowe, but Carlos Teran was able to make the sliding challenge and block the shot out for a corner kick.

Chicago finally found their breakthrough in the 86th minute when Carlos Teran was on the end of a loose ball inside of the penalty box after a corner from Xherdan Shaqiri.

The quote “third time is a charm” came true for Columbus when Russell-Rowe had his third attempt on target find the back of the net, extending the Crew lead to 3-1.

Columbus collected all three points, completing the double-game week by outscoring their opponents 6-2 over the two games.

Columbus back in win column

After their 2-1 loss to FC Cincinnati, the Crew found themselves back in the win column this double-game week, outscoring their opponents by a 6-2 margin.

Rossi nets second goal in as many games

Diego Rossi finally opened his 2024 goal-scoring account Wednesday in their 3-1 win over CF Montreal. He then scored his second in as many games to give the Crew a 1-0 lead in the first half.

What’s next?

The Columbus Crew continue their road stretch against Orlando City SC. Kickoff from Inter&Co Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m. EDT. You can watch the match on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.