A journey down Interstate 71 can only mean one thing: Hell Is Real.

It was exactly that, as the Columbus Crew made that 110-mile trek to the Queen City, for the second leg of the most heated rivalry in Major League Soccer. The first contest back on May 17th ended in a 1-1 draw at Lower.com Field, this match not only had weight for bragging rights, but MLS Supporters Shield ramifications.

After a 56-minute weather delay, FC Cincinnati fans got their money’s worth, just 39 seconds into the match when Pavel Bucha got the home side on the board first. Lukas Engel laid a free ball at the top of the box, which Bucha closed in on and hammered home with his right foot for his second goal of the season.

It didn’t stop there with Cincinnati pouring on the pressure, giving the Crew’s backline a massive problem. The Orange & Blue capitalized on the advantage of the vulnerability presented by the Crew, with Miles Robinson having a shot himself from distance. The attempt would be blocked by Yevhen Cheberko, only to fall to Evander, who unleashed a rocket from a distance past Patrick Schulte to double the lead for the home side.

The Crew began to apply pressure in their attacking half, with their best chance coming off of what would have been a Roman Celentano error. Needless to say, it wasn’t meant to be for the Black & Gold as no real goal-scoring threat came to fruition.

Columbus located its lifeline in the 43rd minute through Diego Rossi as he tallied his 11th goal of the season. Darlington Nagbe broke through the midfield to find Ibrahim Aliyu wide to his left to push the attack towards the Cincinnati 18-yard box. Aliyu found Rossi at the top of the box, who took a touch and found the back of the net to pull Columbus within one.

Max Arfsten, fresh off his time with the United States’ Men’s National Team, re-introduced himself as he pulled the Crew level deep in first-half stoppage time. Columbus built the attack from the back, which soon found the foot of Arfsten in the left wing. A quick give-and-go between Rossi and Dylan Chambost continued the press, with Arfsten soon retaining possession. His shot from just inside the penalty area ricocheted and found its way into the back of the net to make the score 2-2, giving Columbus a glimmer of hope at the halftime whistle.

A huge momentum swing shifted the mindset of the Black & Gold. From going down two goals inside five minutes, to pulling level just before the halftime whistle, a tale of two halves can be told. And that momentum swing continued into the second half for the Crew as the Black & Gold started strong.

Chance after chance, the Crew put Cincinnati on their heels with their attacking ability. That would pay off in the 59th minute. Aliyu found space out wide on the left wing to find Rossi running through the middle. His cross found the outstretched foot of defender Miles Robinson, which inadvertently put it past Celentano to give Columbus a 3-2 lead.

The Crew and Cincinnati alike had chance after chance to increase their score, but no breakthrough found its way to them.

Until Taha Habroune happened.

The Columbus Crew homegrown player found his first goal of the season with an easy low shot to the far post to seal the deal, giving Columbus the 4-2 win in enemy territory.

It’s not about how you start, but how you finish

After giving up two goals within the first five minutes of the match, the Crew scored their two goals in five minutes to end the first half. With that momentum, it was an easy path to victory, with two goals scored in the second half to claim all three points against their biggest rivals.

What’s next?

The Columbus Crew are back on the road as they head south to take on Nashville SC. Kickoff from Geodis Park is set for 8:30 p.m EDT. You can watch the match on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.