A first-half goal from New York City FC's Valentin Castellanos marked the difference in the Columbus Crew's 1-0 loss to the Blues at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, Aug. 21.
The Crew (7-15-6, 27 pts.) deployed six rotations from the Starting XI of last Saturday's match and battled throughout the full 90 minutes as the Club deals with another packed week featuring three games in nine days, which concludes on Sunday at FC Cincinnati.
Against New York City, goalkeeper Eloy Roomcame up big on early in the first half, with stops like this...
...and followed up his solid play later in the second half with more close-range denials:
In all, Room tallied four saves on the night. As a team, the Crew ramped things up in the second half with 10 total shots in the final 45 minutes after firing just four shots in the opening half. Despite maintaining just 30 percent of the possession in the first half, the shots on goal favored the Crew, who placed six total on-frame compared to NYCFC's five.
Defender Jonathan Mensahremained a stalwart in the backline with a game-high six clearances and three interceptions, while defender Connor Maloneyrecorded a co-match-high four tackles.
Notably, forward Jordan Hamilton made his Crew SC debut as a second-half sub as the Crew return to the pitch with fresher legs on Sunday, Aug 25 at FC Cincinnati.
New York City FC
MATCH NOTES
