With less than 30 minutes left in regulation against Inter Miami in the Leagues Cup round of 16 on Tuesday, the Crew found themselves on the wrong side of the 2-0 score, putting them at risk of elimination. But according to Christian Ramirez, there was no need to panic.
"It felt like a story that we've seen before," Ramirez said.
In the 2023 MLS Cup Eastern Conference final against FC Cincinnati, the Crew faced a similar uphill battle when they fell behind 2-0 going into halftime and were able to claw their way back, forcing an overtime in which they completed a three-goal comeback to advance to the MLS Cup final.
In the comeback against Miami, there was no overtime. Columbus managed to score three goals in 13 minutes to win 3-2 and advance to the Leagues Cup quarterfinals against New York FC at Lower.com Field at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Replay:Diego Rossi scores back-to-back goals as Columbus Crew top Inter Miami 3-2
Ramirez, who scored the game-winner during the playoffs in Cincinnati, was the first to breathe life into the Crew after they fell behind by two goals. One of the three halftime substitutions alongside Mo Farsi and Alex Matan, Ramirez put Columbus on the board with a header goal off an assist from Max Arfsten.
"I think it started everything, to be honest," Arfsten said. "I knew from the start, we're one of those teams we just need one goal and then we thrive off the fans' energy, our own energy. And then from there we just keep going and creating and become more and more confident."
Nearly three minutes after Ramirez's goal in the 67th minute, Diego Rossi scored the tying goal, and 11 minutes later, Rossi scored again to keep Columbus alive in the tournament.
Rossi was the difference-marker in the box score, but the three substitutions Crew coach Wilfried Nancy sent in before the second half changed the dynamic of the match. Ramirez, Farsi and Matan shifted the energy.
"I adjusted certain things, but it (the substitutions) was planned," Nancy said. "Obviously the subs who came in brought something, but this is their job. When someone comes from the bench, he has to help the team to perform."
Columbus Crew lacked energy in the first half vs Inter Miami, leading to a lack of control
It was clear that something was lacking in the first half for the Crew.
Ahead of the match, Nancy admitted that he wasn't concerned about giving up the first goal to Miami. What did cause frustration for Nancy during the game was how the Crew went down 1-0.
"I was not happy with the energy," Nancy said. "Because we can miss passes, we can miss something tactically and so on, but we need positivity. ... There is not only physical effort, it's really important also to have mental effort, and we missed that."
The Crew got off to a rough start, failing to get past Miami's defense to create scoring opportunities. When defender Steven Moreira had a turnover outside the Crew's box, it set up the goal from Miami forward Matias Rojas.
The Crew struggled keeping the ball after giving up the first goal against a team that was missing injured superstar Lionel Messi, continuing to record turnovers that opened the door for Miami to nearly score once more before halftime.
"I had to watch the game (replays) to see clear what happened," Crew striker Cucho Hernandez said. "But I think we put energy, a little bit more, the second half than the first half. And we controlled the game, we controlled the second half, we controlled all the minutes."
'The game is about freshness': The importance of Columbus Crew halftime substitutions
Nancy started newcomers Dylan Chambost and DeJuan Jones on Tuesday after each had scored in the round of 32. From the bench, Ramirez, Farsi and Matan were able to observe tactical mistakes the offense was making.
"When you come off the bench, you want to make a difference," Farsi said. "I had 45 minutes to watch them play and see what can I bring and what can I do to help them. And analyzing the first half, which space I can try to exploit. And it's a bit hard to come in the game like this, but I just had to come in and help the guys with my energy."
The halftime substitutions picked up on the fact that Miami in its man-to-man defense was leaving space behind that the Crew could be using. With the starters remaining too "static" in the original game plan, it allowed Rossi and Hernandez to be shut down, but that changed in the second half when Columbus utilized that space to create its scoring plays.
More important than the tactical eye the substitutions brought was the new energy and mentality Nancy felt was missing. Once the whole lineup caught up to the energy level of the subs, the Crew started seeing success.
"The game is about freshness," Nancy said. "We knew that, with a lot of humility, we tried to have the ball. And when we have the ball, we try to use the ball in a certain way to force the opposition to be tired. If we do it well, any type of player when they come in, they can bring something. So Chrisitan did it, Mo did it, Matty (Matan) did it. So, this is exactly what we want."
bmackay@dispatch.com
