Columbus rallies to earn draw in 'Hell is Real' clash with Cincinnati

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Diego Rossi scored on a penalty kick in the second half as the Columbus Crew rallied for a 1-1 tie against FC Cincinnati in the 16th edition of the “Hell is Real” matchup between the Ohio rivals.

FC Cincinnati’s Kévin Denkey scored in his second straight match. Despite the tie, FC Cincinnati (9-3-2) remains atop the Eastern Conference with 29 points.

It is the third straight tie for the Crew (7-1-6), who are in second place with 27 points.

Denkey opened the scoring in the sixth minute when he put the ball into the short side of the net. Luca Orellano and Sergio Santos kept it alive in the box before Evander made a bicycle kick pass for the assist to Denkey after Columbus goalkeeper Patrick Schulte was caught out of position.

Denkey is tied for third in MLS with eight goals. He has 10 goals in all competitions and is the fastest FC Cincinnati player to reach double digits since the club joined MLS in 2019.

Rossi converted the penalty kick in the 54th minute after FC Cincinnati’s Nick Hagglund was called for a handball inside its own box. It was his team-leading seventh goal of the season and second on a penalty kick.

Cincinnati’s Roman Celentano made a diving save in the 73rd minute, extending his left hand to stop a header by Jacen Russell-Rowe.

The Crew had a 9-7 advantage in shots and 6-3 in shots on goal. Celentano made five saves while Schulte had two.

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AP MLS: https://apnews.com/hub/major-league-soccer