Once the whistle blew, it was soccer. Even if it was taking place on what looked to be a practice field in suburban Orlando, it was soccer. And just like recent matchups between the Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati, the Crew offense found success. The Black and Gold rolled to a 4-0 opening game win in the MLS is Back Tournament.
The game started wide open. FC Cincinnati stretched the field and looked to play direct and at pace. The Crew struggled with the speed of play and openness of the game, giving up an early Kekuta Manneh chance in the 8th minute
Columbus finally found their footing a quarter hour into the game.