Just over three years ago I recapped FC Cincinnati’s “Hell Is Real” rivalry with Columbus Crew, but since then FCC has joined Columbus as one of the Eastern Conference’s preeminent forces. A first playoff appearance and victory in 2022 was followed by the Supporters’ Shield and an East final appearance in 2023. The three consecutive Wooden Spoons to launch Cincinnati’s Major League Soccer story might be firmly in the rear view, but the Orange and Blue have some silverware catching up to do against their yellow-and-black-clad neighbors to the north.
Saturday marked the 15th Cincinnati-Columbus tussle in MLS play and the 17th overall. For me, the two non-league matchups are the rivalry’s most memorable ties. FCC sunk the Crew during its 2017 run to the U.S. Open Cup semifinal as a United Soccer League franchise. Columbus has the sole triumph in postseason play, rallying from a 2-0 deficit in TQL Stadium to down the hosts in extra time in the 2023 East Final en route to the club’s third MLS Cup crown and eighth overall trophy.
Saturday’s 4-2 loss showed that FC Cincinnati is capable of brilliant stretches but does not yet possess equanimity to truly bury a Shield-level opponent, evidenced by the hosts yielding four straight scores after jumping ahead 2-0 in the first five minutes. The comeback wasn’t quite December 2023, but the cool, composed Crew were mighty impressive in sticking to their values after a shock start.
After the opening pair of goals, Cincinnati were a tad selfish and mildly unlucky in their scoring chances the rest of the match. The home side were so desperate to submit the finishing RKO that they lost track of the heads-up team play that had helped fuel a four-match win streak.
Columbus, hardened by winning in pressure-cooker environments in both domestic and international competitions over the years, manipulated FCC as the match wore on. The hosts lost their legs and their heads. Eventually, the run of play became stretched and cruise ship-sized lanes formed in the midfield, like the sequence that led to the Crew’s opening goal. With Obinna Nwobodo and Yuya Kubo injured and little trust in other options, Head Coach Pat Noonan had to ride his exhausted starters longer than he probably wanted.
Saturday’s depressing setback curtailed the Orange and Blue’s three-match unbeaten run in the rivalry. Barring a postseason rematch, 2025 will be the first winless Hell Is Real campaign for Cincinnati since 2022.
Let’s head back in the time machine and reexamine the Hell Is Real matchups from 2023 on.
2023: A breakthrough win, a blowout, and a back-breaker
May 10: FC Cincinnati 3, Columbus 2
August 20: Columbus 3, FC Cincinnati 0
December 2: Columbus 3, FC Cincinnati 2
The locals’ first victory over the Crew since October 2020 was the midpoint of a seven-day, three-win stretch during which Cincinnati announced itself as the league’s best team (at least for the regular season). Columbus roared back with a vengeance two months later, dispatching its rivals with ease in Ohio’s capital city. FCC had an eight-point lead in the Shield standings and may have been looking ahead to a U.S. Open Cup semi final date with Leo Messi and Inter Miami. Unfortunately, the blown 2-0 late lead vs. Miami foreshadowed that East playoff final loss to the Crew.
2024: The unbeaten run begins
May 11: FC Cincinnati 2, Columbus 1
September 14: FC Cincinnati 0, Columbus 0
The victory in May 2024 halted the Crew’s 27-match home unbeaten run. Reigning MVP Lucho Acosta assisted on the first goal and broke out an Allen Iverson-esque crossover for the second score. In September, a patchwork back line kept high-flying Columbus off the scoresheet.
2025: A winless season (so far)
May 17: FC Cincinnati 1, Columbus 1
July 12: Columbus 4, FC Cincinnati 2
I missed the first match on vacation, but May’s draw was indicative of the spring crisis that afflicted the Garys. FCC managed a draw in Columbus despite only 35% possession and being doubled up in shots on goal (6-3). Noonan admitted post-match that his side was “second best” and fumbled its decision-making from start-to-finish, but the Orange and Blue extended their unbeaten streak to three vs. their noisy neighbors.
Messi and Miami arrive
No time to pout for FC Cincinnati. Messi arrives tonight at TQL Stadium.
Similar to FCC’s downturn in form in May, vibes were not good in South Florida in the spring. Inter Miami shipped nine goals over a three-match losing streak and, during the same stretch of games from late April to mid-May, nabbed just three points from seven combined CONCACAF Champions Cup and MLS league matches.
Miami has kicked into gear since, showing well in the Club World Cup and winning with ease in its first three matches since returning to MLS play, dispatching New England (2-1), Montreal (4-1), and Nashville (2-1). Messi scored twice in all three games and now has a league-best 16 goals (in 19 matches). The Herons are just four points behind FCC with three games in hand.
Tonight will be a test of FC Cincinnati’s tactics, legs, and will.
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