COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The Columbus Crew are halfway to extending its historic run in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Cucho Hernandez and Jacen Russell-Rowe scored for the Crew, who held on to defeat CF Monterrey 2-1 in the first leg of a semifinal series against Monterrey.
Russell-Rowe’s goal came with 18 minutes remaining in regular time off a corner kick from Diego Rossi. Sean Zawadzki flicked the ball with a header from the near side to the far side of the box before Russell-Rowe’s header bounced over the outstretched arm of Monterrey goalie Esteban Andrada.
Russell-Rowe also helped give the Crew a 1-0 lead in the 26th minute by returning a give-and-go back to Cucho, who dipped to his right before sending a shot to the left corner of the net for the first half’s lone goal.
Los Rayados tied the match midway through the second half with a goal by Maximillano Meza, but the Crew tightened up defensively, allowing only two shot attempts the rest of the match.
The Crew outpaced Monterrey in several key statistics including shots, shots on-goal, corner kicks, passes, passing accuracy and possession. Monterrey led Columbus in offsides, fouls and yellow cards.
The second leg will be played in Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon Mexico on May 1 at 10:15 p.m. With a win or a tie in the second leg the Crew will advance to its first CONCACAF final in program history.
The winner of the series will face either Club America or Liga MX, which are locked in a 1-1 tie after Tuesday’s first-leg semifinal match.
Columbus will first host Montreal at Lower.com Field for an MLS match on Saturday. The Crew sit in fourth place of the Eastern Conference with 14 points, three ahead of Montreal, which is tied with three other teams at 11 points but brings up the rear of the group (10th place) with a -4-goal differential.
