Pedro Santos recorded his fourth goal in the last six matches, but a first-half penalty conversion from FC Cincinnati's Yuya Kubo and a second-half set-piece header from FCC's Nick Hagglund lifted Cincy to its first home win of the season via a 2-1 scoreline on Wednesday evening at Nippert Stadium.
Santos tallied his fifth goal of the season after earning a penalty kick in the 44th minute.
The 32-year-old Portuguese leads the team with seven assists and now stands tied with Lucas Zelarayanfor second on the team in scoring, behind Gyasi Zardes's 10 goals.
Santos's tally marked the first shot on goal for the Crew, which stood as a brief reprieve from an otherwise lacking first half.
Notably, the opening 45 minutes featured a questionable penalty call in favor of Cincinnati, as Kubo eventually went on to convert for his third goal of the year.
Following Santos's answer to level things at 1-1, it was the local Cincinnati kid in Hagglund that ultimately marked the difference, as the defender and former Crew SC Academy player went up for a set-piece header in the 49th minute and placed it just inside the near post.
Up next, it's a quick turnaround as the Black & Gold return to MAPFRE Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 18 for a home bout against New York City FC at 6 p.m. ET. | TICKETS
GAME NOTES
By Crew SC Communications
- Midfielder Pedro Santos scored his fifth goal of the 2020 regular-season in tonight’s match on the road against FC Cincinnati. The Portuguese midfielder successfully converted on a penalty kick attempt in the 45th minute of the match, bringing the score level at 1-1 before half time. With the goal in tonight’s match, Santos has tallied three goals in five regular-season appearances (all starts) against in-state rival FC Cincinnati and ranks behind only forward Gyasi Zardes (seven goal) in goals scored in the series.
- Midfielder Emmanuel Boateng made his first Crew SC regular-season start in tonight’s match on the road against FC Cincinnati. The five-year MLS veteran has made seven appearances (first start tonight) in 2020 so far for the Black & Gold, and has made 118 regular-season appearances (67 starts) throughout his career. Boateng has notably scored 9 goals and provided 14 assists during regular-season action in MLS.
- During tonight’s match on the road against FC Cincinnati, defender Harrison Afful made eight tackles and nine interceptions, more than any other player on the pitch tonight. The defender also played the entire 90 minutes, registering three crosses, two shots (one on target), one clearance and creating one goal scoring chance.
- Up next for Crew SC, the team returns home to face New York City FC on Sunday, October 18 [6:00 p.m. ET / SportsTime Ohio, FOX Sports GO App / 97.1 The Fan & 971TheFan.com (English), ColumbusCrewSC.com (Spanish)].
