Hell Is Real derby

Last updated

Hell Is Real
MLS crest logo RGB - Columbus Crew.svg
Columbus Crew
MLS crest logo RGB - FC Cincinnati.svg
FC Cincinnati
Location Ohio
First meetingJune 14, 2017
U.S. Open Cup
CIN 1–0 CLB
Latest meetingSeptember 14, 2024
MLS regular season
CIN 0–0 CLB
Stadiums Lower.com Field, Columbus
TQL Stadium, Cincinnati
Statistics
Meetings total16
Most wins Columbus Crew (7)
Top scorer Gyasi Zardes
(7 goals)
All-time seriesColumbus: 7
Drawn: 5
Cincinnati: 4
Largest victoryCIN 0–4 CLB
MLS is Back Tournament
(July 11, 2020)
USA Ohio location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Columbus Crew
Red pog.svg
FC Cincinnati
Location of the two teams in Ohio

Hell Is Real is a rivalry between the two Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs based in Ohio: the Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati. Under current MLS regular season scheduling, the series occurs twice per season as both teams are members of the Eastern Conference. The teams first met in 2017 in the U.S. Open Cup before Cincinnati joined MLS in 2019.

Contents

Hell Is Real takes its name from a Christian highway billboard located on Interstate 71 between Columbus and Cincinnati. The two team's MLS Next Pro affiliates, the Columbus Crew 2 and FC Cincinnati 2, parody Hell Is Real for their matches and use the name Heck is Plausible.

Background

FC Cincinnati was founded in 2015 as a United Soccer League club. After three seasons in the second-division league, Cincinnati moved to MLS in 2019 and joined the Columbus Crew, who had been a league member since their inaugural season in 1996. [1] The Ohio clubs met for the first time with lower-league Cincinnati winning 1–0 in the 2017 U.S. Open Cup fourth round. [2]

In October 2017, Columbus owner Anthony Precourt threatened to move the team to Austin, Texas, putting the prospect of an MLS rivalry between the two Ohio teams in jeopardy. [3] [4] [5] Precourt's proposed relocation sparked outrage in the American soccer community, creating the #SaveTheCrew movement. After a year of support by fans, rival teams, [6] local businesses, and politicians, the Crew committed to staying in Columbus in November 2018, when the Haslam family (owners of the NFL's Cleveland Browns, which had been the subject of a controversial relocation in the 1990s) purchased the club. [7]

History

The two teams met for the first time in the fourth round of the 2017 U.S. Open Cup, while FC Cincinnati was still a member of the United Soccer League. Cincinnati won the match 1–0 on a goal from Djiby, knocking Columbus out of the tournament and advancing to the quarterfinals. [8] [9]

On August 10, 2019, the two sides played against each other in MLS league play for the first time, ending in a 2–2 draw at Mapfre Stadium. [10] Columbus earned their first win of the series in that season's reverse fixture with a 3–1 victory. [11] The highest-scoring match came in 2021, when the Crew pulled off a late comeback at their new Lower.com Field; holding a 2–1 lead in the 75th minute, FC Cincinnati surrendered two late goals to lose 3–2. [12]

The first MLS Cup Playoffs match between the two teams took place in the Eastern Conference Final on December 2, 2023. The match was hosted by FC Cincinnati and resulted in a 3–2 victory for the Columbus Crew after FC Cincinnati led 2–0 in the first half but conceded two goals in the second half. The Crew went on to score the winning goal in the 25th minute of extra time, enabling them to win the MLS Cup the following week. [13]

Name

The rivalry's name was inspired by a sign erected along the section of Interstate 71 that connects Columbus and Cincinnati. Hell Is Real I-71.jpg
The rivalry's name was inspired by a sign erected along the section of Interstate 71 that connects Columbus and Cincinnati.

The rivalry's name was created by fans of both teams in 2017, prior to the first competitive meeting in the U.S. Open Cup. It is derived from a religious sign that reads "HELL IS REAL" located on Interstate 71, the highway that connects Columbus and Cincinnati–a distance of 110 miles (180 km). [14] The sign was installed in 2004 on a local farm in Chenoweth by a Kentucky developer who had installed similar religious signs in other states. [15]

The rivalry has an alternate name, Heck is Plausible, between both club's MLS Next Pro teams, Columbus Crew 2 and FC Cincinnati 2. [16] [17]

Statistics

Match

As of September 14, 2024
CompetitionsMatchesCLB winsCLB goalsDrawsCIN winsCIN goals
Major League Soccer 146285316
U.S. Open Cup 100011
MLS Cup Playoffs 113002
Total167315419

Honors

As of August 27, 2024
HonorColumbus CrewFC CincinnatiTotal
MLS Cup 303
Supporters' Shield 314
U.S. Open Cup 101
Campeones Cup 101
Leagues Cup 101
Overall9110

Match results

  Columbus Crew win  FC Cincinnati win  Draw

SeasonDateCompetitionStadiumHome teamResultAway teamAttendanceSeries (W–L–T)Ref
2017 June 14 U.S. Open Cup Nippert Stadium FC Cincinnati 1–0 Columbus Crew SC 30,160CIN 1–0–0
2019 August 10 MLS Mapfre Stadium Columbus Crew SC2–2FC Cincinnati20,865CIN 1–0–1
August 25Nippert StadiumFC Cincinnati1–3Columbus Crew SC30,611Tied 1–1–1
2020 July 11 MLS is Back‡ ESPN Sports Complex FC Cincinnati0–4Columbus Crew SC0†CLB 2–1–1
August 29 MLS Nippert StadiumFC Cincinnati0–0Columbus Crew SC0†CLB 2–1–2
September 6Mapfre StadiumColumbus Crew SC3–0FC Cincinnati1,500†CLB 3–1–2
October 14Nippert StadiumFC Cincinnati2–1Columbus Crew SC0†CLB 3–2–2
2021 July 9 MLS TQL Stadium FC Cincinnati2–2 Columbus Crew 25,701CLB 3–2–3
August 27 Lower.com Field Columbus Crew3–2FC Cincinnati19,949CLB 4–2–3
2022 July 17 MLS Lower.com FieldColumbus Crew2–0FC Cincinnati20,741CLB 5–2–3
August 27TQL StadiumFC Cincinnati2–2Columbus Crew25,037CLB 5–2–4
2023 May 20 MLS TQL StadiumFC Cincinnati3–2Columbus Crew25,513CLB 5–3–4
August 20Lower.com FieldColumbus Crew3–0FC Cincinnati20,730CLB 6–3–4
December 2 MLS Cup Playoffs TQL StadiumFC Cincinnati2–3 ( a.e.t. )Columbus Crew25,513CLB 7–3–4
2024 May 11 MLS Lower.com FieldColumbus Crew1–2FC Cincinnati20,900CLB 7–4–4
September 14TQL StadiumFC Cincinnati0–0Columbus Crew25,513CLB 7–4–5

† Matches played behind closed doors or reduced capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

‡ Although the match was part of the MLS is Back Tournament, group stage matches count toward regular season MLS statistics.

Eastern Conference standings finishes

  Columbus Crew  FC Cincinnati

P. 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
11
2
333
4
55
6
7
88
99
1010
11
1212
13
141414
15

• Total: Columbus with 3 higher finishes, FC Cincinnati with 2.

Top goalscorers

Alex Crognale of Columbus and Baye Djiby Fall of Cincinnati battle for a header in the 2017 U.S. Open Cup. Cincy vs. Crew (35692224781) (cropped).jpg
Alex Crognale of Columbus and Baye Djiby Fall of Cincinnati battle for a header in the 2017 U.S. Open Cup.
As of September 14, 2024
Pos.NameTeamGoals
1 Flag of the United States.svg Gyasi Zardes Columbus Crew7
2 Flag of Argentina.svg Luciano Acosta FC Cincinnati5
Flag of Armenia.svg Lucas Zelarayán Columbus Crew
4 Flag of Spain.svg Miguel Berry Columbus Crew3
Flag of Portugal.svg Pedro Santos
6 Flag of Colombia.svg Cucho Hernández Columbus Crew2
Flag of the United States.svg Brandon Vazquez FC Cincinnati
8 Flag of Denmark.svg Malte Amundsen Columbus Crew1
Flag of the United States.svg Maximilian Arfsten
Flag of Costa Rica.svg Luis Díaz
Flag of Haiti.svg Derrick Etienne
Flag of Morocco.svg Youness Mokhtar
Flag of Cape Verde.svg Steven Moreira
Flag of the United States.svg Aidan Morris
Flag of the United States.svg Christian Ramirez
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Jacen Russell-Rowe
Flag of Uruguay.svg Diego Rossi
Flag of Ghana.svg Isaac Atanga FC Cincinnati
Flag of the United States.svg Edgar Castillo
Flag of Senegal.svg Djiby Fall
Flag of the United States.svg Nick Hagglund
Flag of Venezuela.svg Kevin Kelsy
Flag of Japan.svg Yuya Kubo
Flag of Argentina.svg Emmanuel Ledesma
Flag of The Gambia.svg Kekuta Manneh
Flag of Costa Rica.svg Rónald Matarrita
Flag of Jamaica.svg Darren Mattocks
Flag of the United States.svg Matt Miazga
Flag of Venezuela.svg Júnior Moreno

Own goals

Players who played for both clubs

As of December 10, 2023
PlayerColumbus careerCincinnati career
SpanAppsGoalsSpanAppsGoals
Flag of Panama.svg Cristian Martínez [lower-alpha 1] 2016–2018313201710
Flag of The Gambia.svg Kekuta Manneh 20171942019–2020294
Flag of Haiti.svg Derrick Etienne 2020–20228311201950
Flag of Nigeria.svg Fanendo Adi [lower-alpha 1] 20201202018–2019255
Flag of the United States.svg Fatai Alashe [lower-alpha 1] 2020912018–2020212
Flag of the United States.svg Saad Abdul-Salaam 2021190202080
Flag of Ecuador.svg Gustavo Vallecilla 2023–present1602021–2022252
  1. 1 2 3 Played for FC Cincinnati in the United Soccer League, before they joined MLS.

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References

  1. ↑ "FC Cincinnati to join MLS as an expansion team next season". ESPN.com. May 29, 2018. Archived from the original on July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  2. ↑ "FC Cincinnati 1, Columbus Crew SC 0 2017 U.S. Open Cup Recap". mlssoccer.com. Archived from the original on May 12, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Columbus Crew Angling Toward Relocation to Austin in 2019". SI.com. October 16, 2017. Archived from the original on April 7, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  4. ↑ "FC Cincinnati on the verge of losing its biggest MLS rival, Columbus Crew SC". WCPO.com. August 15, 2018. Archived from the original on July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Hell is Real: Saving the Budding FC Cincinnati – Columbus Crew Rivalry is a Must". cincinnatisoccertalk.com. July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 17, 2019. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  6. ↑ "FC Cincinnati fans heading to Columbus to Save the Crew". abc6onyourside.com. June 9, 2018. Archived from the original on July 17, 2019. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Save The Crew stopped a bad sports owner from relocating their team, and so can you". SBNation.com. November 13, 2018. Archived from the original on July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  8. ↑ "FC Cincinnati douses Columbus Crew SC in 'Hell Is Real Derby'". soctakes.com. June 15, 2017. Archived from the original on July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  9. ↑ ""Hell Is Real": Welcome to the Ohio derby Columbus vs. Cincinnati". YouTube.com. Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on August 15, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Columbus Crew SC 2, FC Cincinnati 2 – 2019 MLS Match Recap". mlssoccer.com. MLS. August 20, 2019. Archived from the original on August 12, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  11. ↑ "FC Cincinnati 1, Columbus Crew 3". MLSSoccer.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 25, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ↑ "CINvsCLB 12-02-2023". MLSSoccer.com. Major League Soccer. December 2, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  14. ↑ Bengel, Chris (August 23, 2019). "Ranking the best rivalry names in Major League Soccer ahead of Rivalry Week 2019". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  15. ↑ Myers, Jacob (August 9, 2019). "How the 'Hell Is Real' rivalry between Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati got its name". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on August 10, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  16. ↑ Buchanan, Tyler; Widman Neese, Alissa (August 18, 2023). "It's "Hell Is Real" soccer rivalry weekend". Axios Columbus. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Crew host inaugural Hell is Real Pig Roast prior to Crew 2's Heck is Plausible match against FC Cincinnati 2" (Press release). Columbus Crew. August 14, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
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