Columbus rallies to beat rival Cincinnati

Daniel Gazdag's first-half penalty kick and Patrick Schulte's four saves led the host Columbus Crew to a 2-1 comeback win over FC Cincinnati in the latest Hell Is Real derby on Saturday.

The Crew (5-8-4, 19 points) had one win in their previous six matches while Cincinnati (6-6-5, 23 points) had a three-match point streak end.

The rivalry got heated in the final minute and Cincinnati's Gerado Valenzuela was red-carded after a scuffle broke out and the melee continued post-match in the Cincinnati tunnel.

Kevin Denkey staked Cincinnati a ninth-minute lead before the Crew rallied on scores from Jamal Thiare in the 42nd and a penalty kick by Gazdag in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time.

Columbus overcame an early deficit to take the 2-1 halftime lead on Gazdag's second penalty kick in as many matches.

The Crew settled down after the Denkey score and Thiare found the equalizer off a corner kick by Dylan Chambost.

Thiare made a run to the middle of the box, got position on Miles Robinson and used a header for his first Crew goal after being acquired in a trade in February from Atlanta United, where he played the past three seasons.

At the 45-minute mark, Schulte made a critical stop with his right arm on a shot by Evander at the left post. The Crew followed with Max Arfsten drawing a foul at the end line from Matt Miazga that was upheld after a review.

Gazdag calmly scored from the spot for the 27th time in 28 tries in his MLS career with the Crew and the Philadelphia Union.

Cincinnati has allowed 42 goals after giving up 40 last season in 34 regular-season matches.

Denkey broke a tie with Evander for the club goal lead with his 11th but he couldn't have done it with Evander and some poor defending by Mo Farsi.

Pavel Bucha attacked the right flank before sending a cross to the 6-yard box. Farsi tried to high kick the pass but whiffed and the ball went to Evander for a slick centering pass to Denkey, who did not miss.

Evander has a seven-match goal contribution streak (eight goals, seven assists).

This was the first meeting since Cincinnati won a best-of-three series in the 2025 playoffs.

- Field Level Media