Insights from the Leagues Cup duel
Video: Ohio State’s Jake Diebler as Columbus Crew’s “Match Ignitor”
Ohio State coach Jake Diebler is the Columbus Crew’s “Match Ignitor” for a Leagues Cup match against NYCFC on October 17, 2024.
Wilfried Nancy made his strategy for a penalty shootout clear the last time the team was in this situation. There is no set formation or specific players taking shots. Nancy lets the players figure out who is taking the shots themselves, and at the same time she finds out who is taking the shots along with everyone else watching.
This method worked in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, when the Crew went to penalties against Tigres and beat them 4-3. And it worked in the quarterfinals of the Leagues Cup against New York City FC, when Columbus advanced on penalties 4-3.
“For me, this is a mental exercise,” said Nancy. “The players have to decide who wants to take the penalty. I’m on their side and I want to give them a lot of energy because this is a really difficult mental exercise.”
Repetition: Columbus Crew beat NYCFC 4-3 on penalties to advance to Leagues Cup semifinals
After regulation time ended in a 1-1 draw, Columbus and New York City went straight to penalties as Leagues Cup rules dictate that there is no extra time in the event of a tie. Both clubs started strongly, each converting their first two penalties, but both missed their third.
The winning opportunity came when NYCFC’s Santiago Rodriguez missed his high attempt, leaving DeJuan Jones, who officially joined Columbus 18 days ago, with the last attempt he volunteered to take. After a few shaky steps, Jones’ shot went straight forward, in the opposite direction goalkeeper Matt Freese was diving, and found the back of the net.
“I always do the stutter steps,” Jones said. “I usually go right or left. And I saw the goalie go the other way, so I changed it.”
Both teams scored their penalties in regular time and NYCFC made it to the penalty shootout in record-breaking fashion.
In the first 14 seconds of the game, New York City forward Alonso Martinez forced Crew defender Rudy Camacho to lose the ball just outside Columbus’ penalty box. Martinez quickly received the ball, dribbled a few times with the defense behind him and scored the fastest goal ever scored against the Crew.
“I don’t know if we broke the Guinness record with the 14-second goal,” Nancy said. “We know we have to go forward and try to complete the action within 20 seconds, but on our side.”
Striker Cucho Hernandez was able to reduce New York City’s lead in the 41st minute of the match with a header off a cross from Max Arfsten. Thanks to strong defensive efforts from both clubs and Freese making four of his five saves in the second half, the score held and the game went to penalties.
More: Who will Columbus Crew play next in the Leagues Cup? Semi-final opponents, date confirmed
“I like the pressure”: Cucho Hernandez provides key moments for Columbus Crew against New York City FC
With the Crew trailing 1-0 just a minute ago, Hernandez felt it was his job to score at least one goal to avoid elimination from the tournament. When Arfsten sent a cross to Hernandez, he knew he had to take the scoring opportunity.
“It was a good cross, but the header was good too,” Hernandez said. “It (the cross) was behind me, so it was difficult. I told him (Arfsten) before the game to just make the cross. I made the cross for Diego (Rossi) in the last game, so we had to try.”
Although Hernandez was stopped by New York City in the second half, the striker had another opportunity to contribute to the victory – in the penalty shootout.
The last time the Crew went to penalties against Tigres, Hernandez was the only player in the lineup to miss when he took his team’s fourth attempt. In the same position against NYCFC, only this time Rossi had already missed for Columbus and Hernandez needed to score to keep the tie, the 25-year-old told his teammates he used the “Panenka” technique.
“When I go to take the penalty, I wanted to shoot like I always do,” Hernandez said. “But when I turned to shoot, I said, ‘Yes, I’m going to do that Panenka.’ … I prefer to take penalty four or five to decide the game. I like that, I like the pressure.”
A Panenka, named after Czech soccer player Antonin Panenka, involves a player touching the ball slightly under the goal to lift it toward the center of the goal. And that move was enough to fool Freese, allowing Hernandez to make up for the Tigres miss with a goal against NYCFC.
Patrick Schulte celebrates rollercoaster return for Columbus Crew against New York City FC
For Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte, his return to Columbus would ideally have turned out differently.
Before the game, Nancy considered using Nicholas Hagen, who had been filling in as goalie since Schulte left to represent the U.S. team at the Paris Olympics, but the Crew coach said Schulte needed to return to the field for Columbus. In his first 14 seconds on the field, Schulte conceded a goal.
“There were just a lot of emotions involved at the beginning of the game,” Schulte said. “I think Rudy (Camacho) would definitely say he would like to have the game back, but things happen.”
After over 89 minutes of flawless play, Schulte was again in charge of a penalty shootout to advance in the tournament, as he had done against Tigres.
Schulte blocked Maxi Moralez’s shot on New York City’s third attempt and was gifted when Rodriguez’s shot went too high. So it all depended on Jones, a player Schulte knew well from the U.S. men’s national team training camp and trusted to carry the ball.
“We have a good relationship,” Schulte said. “So I just told him, ‘I saw you take penalties. Go up there, score that thing and then we’ll go home.'”
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