Three goals should have been enough to continue this foray into Leagues Cup play.
That was the overwhelming message from Crew coach Wilfried Nancy on Friday night. Ahead 3-2 at Lower.com Field in the first knockout stage, the Crew conceded a goal in the final seconds of the 90th minute and eventually fell 4-3 in penalty kicks to bow out of the tournament . It was a result that had Minnesota United FC coach Adrian Heath praising his players for their resilience, but it left Nancy lamenting his team's inability to close things out.
That was especially jarring after, in the 83rd minute, Christian Ramirez scored what should have been the game-winner. Instead, Hasanni Dotson buried a pass from Emmanuel Reynoso , who stole an errant Mo Farsi pass and was a pest all game for the Crew, to set the stage for penalties.
"We cannot concede a third goal," Nancy said. "To win games at home, yes we had the possibility to score more goals but three is enough. The game has to be finished."
Here are three takeaways from the Crew's loss to Minnesota United.
Cucho Hernandez, who got a lengthy talking-to from Nancy in between stoppage time and penalty kicks, successfully converted the first attempt for the Crew. Reynoso then walked to the spot for Minnesota, but his shot was saved by Crew goalkeeper Evan Bush as the fans at the Nordecke end of the stadium erupted.
Then the referee came out and signaled that Reynoso would go again. This time he didn't miss, and Minnesota was even instead of trailing after the first round of penalties.
"The referee wanted to call him back," Nancy said. "I have to say it, because if you call it, call it every time. I'm not saying that it was not the case or not, I don't know. My point is if you call this, call it every time. It changed the momentum."
Both teams converted their first three opportunities, with Christian Ramirez and Alex Matan following Hernandez. Then Kevin Molino 's attempt was saved, setting off a sequence of five straight misses. Minnesota's Mender Garcia missed high, sending the teams to the fifth round still tied. Steven Moreira followed suit and, with a chance to win it, Bongokuhle Hlongwane blasted his shot so high that the official MLS feed of the game described the attempt as a "bad penalty" while noting "Bongokuhle Hlongwane should be disappointed."
"The good news is, I think they just found Bongy's penalty," Heath said with a laugh after the game. "They found the ball."
That moved the teams into sudden death, where Malte Amundsen had his shot saved. Miguel Tapias then finished off the Crew with a shot into the left corner.
"Everybody has a different approach," Heath said. "I'm very much of the mind of, 'Who wants to take one?' Because it's a mindset. It's all right doing them in training where everybody's fresh and there's no people. It's when you've done 90 minutes and you're out on your feet and you've got cramps and maybe you've got to take the responsibility of keeping your team in it."
Nancy said he doesn't make decisions during regulation with an eye on penalty kicks.
"I wanted to stay in the present moment," he said. "For sure, we discuss quickly with our staff on the bench, but we also wanted to find a way to score this goal. When there is a PK like this, do we bring freshness knowing this guy was on the side or do we stay with the guy on the pitch knowing they've played and felt the game?
"There is no right answer, but it was harsh in terms of the first PK that we had."
The former Crew captain is now in his fourth season since leaving the club via trade in 2019, but this marked the first time he had suited up against his local team in his hometown . Friday night, Trapp wore the captain's armband during his 85 minutes on the field for Minnesota and subbed out to a nice ovation from the Crew fans.
"Look, it's an amazing facility," he said. "It's amazing support. The team is awesome. I was very humbled and excited to be back and play in front of this group of people. To be home and have family here and then come out with a win was pretty special."
When Trapp subbed out, the Crew led 3-2. He could only watch as the Loons tied the game in the 90th minute and prevailed in penalties.
"I think it's an exercise in two teams that are trying to win a game," he said. "They did some amazing things. It was an entertaining game for the fans and ultimately penalties can go any way. I'm proud of our group and how we bent and didn't break. We're happy to be moving on."
Now 30, Trapp is in his third year with Minnesota, where he has played in 77 regular-season MLS games including 73 starts during that time. After beating the Crew, Minnesota coach Adrian Heath offered Trapp some unique praise.
"There's nothing to dislike about Wil," he said. "Wil's one of those guys that if he comes home with your daughter, you're very, very pleased. He's a great young man, a great professional and as you saw tonight, leaves everything out there. I thought it was very nice of the Columbus supporters to give him the reception that they did. That says a lot about them as well."
Acquired via trade from Vancouver on July 21, United States national team midfielder Julian Gressel made his first start for the Crew. After coming on as a substitute in Monday's 4-1 win against Liga MX foe Club America, Gressel subbed out in the 78th minute for Farsi with the score tied 2-2.
"I think it was a good way for me to get thrown in there," he said. "I think I can be better, especially in the final third. I think we can all be better, especially in the final third and in the final pass and the final touch and the final decision-making, when to keep it and when to really go fast. Those things, I'm still learning a lot every day.
"The quality can be better and I know that and it's something I'll now have a little bit of time to really train and get to know the guys and the people around me and how Wilfried wants to play."
Gressel took seven of the Crew's eight corner kicks. The Crew did not score any set-piece goals.
"We have to give time to the new players to adapt to the way we play," Nancy said. "Yes, Julian had good moments, but he had moments where he struggled a bit. It's normal, like ( Yevhen Cheberko ) also. The idea is to give them a bit more time to understand what we want to do, and after that I know they have the quality to help us. Tonight, (he) was up and down at certain moments like the other players."
Cheberko was subbed off at halftime after a difficult first half.
"Sometimes you can have really good decision-making but the execution isn't good, or the opposite. I think we had a lot of chances. We could have scored more goals, yes. The final third, we attacked the box well, and after that it is the execution. This is the life of a forward. We have opportunities to score more goals, but three is enough. It should be enough." – Nancy
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 3 takeaways from Minnesota eliminating the Columbus Crew in penalties
