After having a 2-0 lead blown in the second half of their opening match of Leagues Cup against Toluca, the Columbus Crew looked to have a bounce-back performance against Club Puebla, who entered the friendly confines of Lower.com Field with a win under their belt against New York City FC. It would be Columbus who got the best of the Liga MX side, gaining all three points by a 3-1 scoreline.

“I cannot compare all the games, so I cannot answer this question. What I know is we stayed on the task and we did well. We wanted to get better and attempt certain things, like try to score more goals, also try to defend better, and try to play with more urgency when it was the good moment. I really like the energy that we had, and that’s why I think that it was interesting what we did tonight.” – Head Coach Wilfried Nancy

The Crew knew they had to pile on goals and win outright to even have a slim chance of advancing out of the group stage. Malte Amundsen started the flurry of goals for the homeside when Diego Rossi floated in a cross from a free kick to the back post, with Amundsen meeting the ball to head it past Jesus Ivan Rodriguez in the 14th minute. Just two minutes later, Columbus doubled their lead with Taha Habroune making a run of 60-plus yards towards goal, slipping a pass to Rossi, who chipped it over the Puebla goalkeeper.

Columbus got their third of the first half, starting with Habroune again, picking up steam from his own half and beelining towards goal. After a quick interchange with Rossi and Dylan Chambost, Habroune quickly collected and slipped a through ball to the back post to find Andres Herrera, who calmly placed the ball past an outstretched Rodriguez.

“I don’t think that this is the third goal to be honest with you. It’s more about [Puebla] run like crazy, and we run the same way. I think that the players felt it, and we were strong. We played with intensity. Also, we were calm and composed when it was the good moment. We could have scored more goals, obviously, but I think that during the play, I felt that the energy was there. The goal came naturally, I would say, but it’s more about the chemistry, the link between the players. It was really interesting to see that.” – Head Coach Wilfried Nancy

Club Puebla pulled a goal back in the first minute of first-half stoppage time, with Esteban Lozano sending his shot towards the back post after picking up the loose ball inside the 18-yard box. Columbus had hoped that the goal would be disallowed due to a lengthy video review, but the goal was confirmed, making the score 3-1.

The second half was more or less just trying to survive for the Black & Gold, with Columbus creating limited scoring opportunities. Club Puebla nearly got their second of the night, but the attempt just missed the frame midway through the second period.

Although the Crew didn’t score any goals, gaining all three points was a crucial win for the Black & Gold.

“Yeah, I think we came out obviously, really well. We came out well last game too. You know, we had a little hiccup at the end of the first half, but I think because of the way the last game ended, I think we took some lessons from that, and you know, not only the intensity physically, but the intensity of our focus, I think, was spot on through the second half. That wasn’t an easy game to play. That team [Club Puebla] never stopped running, never stopped pressing, and it proved to be quite difficult, but proud of the guys for getting through it. And unfortunately, we couldn’t have gotten more goals with the way this format is and trying to get a higher goal differential, but the three points is most important right now.” – Goalkeeper Evan Bush

Not like Nagbe

Captain Darlington Nagbe had a rough night. So rough that he was the most fouled player in the match ( five times). But it wasn’t just that. Nagbe always averages about 95% or higher in successful passing accuracy, but finished the match with 88%, and had a couple of bad turnovers that led to a Puebla attack. Overall, one bad night doesn’t mean anything.

What’s next?

The Black & Gold are back in action for Match 3 of Phase 1 against Club Leon. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. EDT at Lower.com Field. You can watch the match on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.