Columbus Crew secure three seed in 2023 MLS playoffs after win against CF Montreal
The Crew beat visiting CF Montreal 2-1 on Decision Day, and with the win, secured the club record for most home points earned in a single season. More importantly for this year's team, given a 2-1 New England Revolution win against the Philadelphia Union, the Crew secured the three seed in the Eastern Conference standings.
As the three-seed, the Crew will have home-field advantage in the first round of the MLS playoffs, facing Atlanta United FC in a best-of-three series that will run from Oct. 28-Nov. 12.
"It's a really good moment," Crew coach Wilfried Nancy said. "A really good moment because they achieved the challenge that we gave them. Yes, to finish third, but also to grow. This is what they did because when I see this kind of game tonight, we should have scored more goals... but we finished the game in a good way."
Darlington Nagbe struck the game-winner in the 50th minute.
The Crew midfielder took a pass from Malte Amundsen and connected on a right-footed shot that landed in the bottom right corner of the net, passing goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
Nagbe’s goal tied the Crew’s single-season record for goals scored with 67, matching the team’s total from the 1997 season.
"It was big," Nagbe said of the Crew's performance Saturday against Montreal. "Home has been a fortress for us. The more games that we can have here and put ourselves in a position tohave potentially more game sat home throughout the playoffs increase our chances to achieve what we want to achieve which is get a trophy at the end of the season."
Saturday's game demonstrated a certain resilience by the Crew, considering that Diego Rossi was unavailable due to a thigh injury. Rossi was limited at the Crew’s training sessions ahead of the Montreal game, working with a trainer one-on-one, while Christian Ramirez, who started at forward Saturday, received first-team reps.
Nancy confirmed after the Montreal win that Rossi would be available for the Crew's playoff run.
"We didn't want to take risks with him," Nancy said. "The idea was to take the time. He's going to be OK for the next game, so no problem with that."
The Crew also had to rally in order to win.
Montreal struck first when Zachary Brault-Guillard, draped by Malte Amundsen, found a wide-open Sisnusi Ibrahim on a cross. After Rudy Camacho lost Ibrahim on a fastbreak, the forward pushed the ball past Patrick Schulte for the first goal of the game.
Ten minutes later, Cucho Hernandez tied the game after Steven Moreira found the attacker in the middle for an open look.
Hernandez’s first-half goal was the 25th of his MLS career.
"We wanted to show everyone what we've been working on throughout the year," Hernandez, who led the team with 13 shots and three shots-on-target, said through an interpreter. "We wanted to start the season off with a bang, and we wanted to end the season off with a bang. And now it's to continue it throughout playoffs."
The Crew outshot Montreal 11-2 in the first half, but just one shot — Hernandez’s goal — was on target. The Crew finished with 21 shots, including five on goal, compared to Montreal's six.
The Crew had nine shots blocked Saturday
Ramirez and Julian Gressel were substituted out in the 71st minute for Mo Farsi and Jacen Russell-Rowe.
Alex Matan left the game in the 82nd minute for Yaw Yeboah, while Camacho was replaced in the 90th minute by Yevhen Cheberko.
Saturday’s win was the Crew’s second of the season against Montreal, having beaten them 4-2 on the road on Sept. 2. Montreal has not beaten the Crew since August 2022.
The Crew ended their regular season with their 14th straight sellout at Lower.com Field in MLS play, a single-season club record, something, defender Sean Zawadzki said, is set to give the team a continued advantage in the postseason.
"To be back in front of them, and to play as many games as possible in front of them, I think it gives us a real boost," Zawadzki said.
The official game date and time for the Crew’s first playoff game at Lower.com Field against Atlanta has not been announced.
The Crew have also clinched a spot in the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup by taking the fourth MLS spot with a fourth-place finish in the Supporters’ Shield standings.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew secure three seed in 2023 MLS playoffs, beat CF Montreal
