ATLANTA – Columbus Crew secured a thrilling 5-4 victory over Atlanta United FC on saturday night, a result head coach Wilfried Nancy deemed ”worked” despite a back-and-forth contest. The Crew overcame a late first-half goal conceded and an early second-half surge from Atlanta to maintain their position in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
The win pushes Columbus to five matches remaining in the regular season, currently fifth in the Eastern Conference standings.While a postseason berth appears increasingly likely, the Crew are focused on climbing into the top four to guarantee home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Nashville currently holds the fourth spot with 50 points, having played one additional game.
Nancy acknowledged a performance improvement from the teamS previous outing, stating, “he did a good game because the last game, it was average, I would say; it was good stuff, but not enough. First game as a starter, it is very normal. Tonight, he was good defensively and also offensively. Good for him.”
Atlanta scored in first-half stoppage time, then added two rapid goals in the opening five minutes of the second half, and a fourth in the 88th minute. However,Columbus prevented Atlanta from equalizing.
Midfielder Darlington Nagbe reflected on the contrasting halves, saying, “It almost felt like two different games, you know, two different halves, obviously. But, you know, first half was great. We didn’t want to give up that goal at the end of the half and then go into the half after giving up a goal and give them momentum but in second half, we gave up an early goal and you know, just the little moments where we can be better and more professional.”
Nagbe continued, “We certainly know there’s time. We’ve got to realize that we can play and that we belong, myself included. Obviously want to be involved for the team but most of the time we have to clear the ball to make the play, but it’s a win and we’ll take the three points.”
The Crew will quickly return to action with a midweek match against New York City FC on Wednesday night.