Not much happened during the last five minutes of Columbus Crew SC’s 1-0 victory over the New England Revolution last Saturday, but for one Black & Gold player, those were very special moments. Winger Niko Hansen, who had been struggling with a handful of different injuries over the past six months, came off the bench and finally made his official debut in 2019, six matches into the season.
The 24-year-old Hansen came in for Pedro Santos at the 84th-minute mark and more important than the three passes he connected or the clearance he registered was the fact that he felt confident and painless after some long-lasting physical struggles.