US Open Cup Quarterfinal: New York City FC vs Columbus

Every single Match Thread for New York City FC matches, like this one about NYCFC vs Columbus Crew, features a comprehensive preview, then updates at the top of the post as things go. It's for subscribers only, so sign up now, preferably as a paid subscriber, to read it all.

FULL TIME: Columbus Crew 1-0 New York City FC

NYCFC beaten by Columbus in Open Cup quarterfinals

New York City FC lacked creativity while playing without Maxi Moralez and struggled to contain Columbus, falling 1-0 to bow out of the US Open Cup.

New York Soccer JournalMatthew Mangam

There was another midfield injury, this time to Keaton Parks, to throw off New York City FC's plans, and they lost their US Open Cup quarterfinal, Columbus Crew advancing to the semifinals thanks to a Max Arfsten goal in the 59th minute.

Parks was in the initial NYCFC Starting XI released by the club but ended up replaced by Jonny Shore when kickoff arrived, with Shore going the full 90 minutes in the defeat. Pascal Jansen made four substitutions at once in the 64th minute, choosing to replace his entire "front four" in attack, removing all of Nico Fernández Mercau, Andrés Perea, Hannes Wolf, and Agustín Ojeda. None of the young attacking subs summoned from the bench could make a difference, sending NYCFC to another pre-semifinal exit from the Open Cup.

A spot in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup semifinals hosting Orlando City SC is on the line as New York City FC travels to Ohio to face Columbus Crew.

These teams played 10 days ago, but Columbus has since fired their head coach, Henrik Rydström, and this match marks the debut of the Crew's new interim leader, former CF Montréal head coach Laurent Courtois.

Courtois is tasked with turning things around for a Columbus team off to a rough start, in 13th place in the Eastern Conference and winless in their last four matches played against MLS teams. Columbus did earn a win in their last US Open Cup match to set up this quarterfinal, though that was against USL League One side One Knoxville SC, ending up a 4-1 home win for the Crew.

Columbus is yet to face a fellow MLS side during their Open Cup run, as prior to their win over One Knox, they beat another USL League One team, Richmond Kickers.

New York City had one USL League One opponent of their own to contend with, Westchester SC in the Round of 32, but then had to get past their arch-rivals Red Bull New York to set up this clash with the Crew, which they did thanks to a trio of almost identical goals scored from corner kicks.

While Columbus will be adjusting on the fly to life under a new head coach, New York City will be adjusting to life playing without Maxi Moralez, who provided the assist on all three of those corner-kick goals scored in the last Open Cup round, enough to earn him the honor of Player of the Round.

Now, NYCFC will have to adapt after its metronomic midfield presence suffered a serious knee injury on Saturday against the Red Bulls in NYCFC's most recent match, ruling him out for this game and likely for many games to come after it.

New York City has never before reached the US Open Cup semifinals, and to do so, they'll need to earn what would be just their second win all-time while playing away to Columbus.

Four-point week, Maxi Moralez injury, Open Cup quarterfinal preview

A win and a draw on the road for New York City FC, but those results get overshadowed by the knee injury suffered by Maxi Moralez, and by the huge US Open Cup quarterfinal coming up next.

New York Soccer JournalMark Radigan

New York City FC vs Columbus Crew Head-to-Head