Hell Is Real Derby

Hell Is Real Derby, also known as the Ohio Derby, is a rivalry between the two Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs based in Ohio: Columbus Crew SC and FC Cincinnati. Under current MLS regular season scheduling, the series occurs twice per season as both teams are members of the Eastern Conference.

Hell Is Real Derby
Columbus Crew SC
FC Cincinnati
Other namesOhio Derby
LocaleOhio
First meetingJune 14, 2017
Latest meetingJuly 11, 2020
Next meetingAugust 29, 2020
Statistics
Meetings total4
Top scorerGyasi Zardes (CLB)
(5 goals)
All-time seriesColumbus: 2
Drawn: 1
Cincinnati:1
Largest victoryCLB 4–0 CIN
Columbus Crew SC
FC Cincinnati
Location of the two teams in Ohio

Background

On June 15, 1994, MLS announced that Columbus would be home to one of the ten founding members of the new top-flight North American professional soccer league. Cincinnati joined the league in 2019 as an expansion team under the same name as their United Soccer League club, which had started play in 2016, thus creating the first top-flight derby in Ohio.[1] Two weeks after the Cincinnati expansion announcement, the clubs met for the first time with lower-league Cincinnati winning 1–0 in the U.S. Open Cup.[2]

In October 2017, Columbus Crew 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 an even more controversial relocation in the 1990s) purchased the club.[7]

History
Alex Crognale of Columbus and Baye Djiby Fall of Cincinnati battle for a header in the 2017 U.S. Open Cup.

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]

Moniker
The derby's name was inspired by a sign erected along the section of Interstate 71 that connects Columbus and Cincinnati.

The derby'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" and is located on Interstate 71, which connects Columbus and Cincinnati–a distance of 110 miles (180 km).[12] 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.[13]

Match results

  Columbus Crew win   FC Cincinnati win   Draw

No. Date Competition Venue Home team Score Away team Attendance
1. June 14, 2017[14] U.S. Open Cup Nippert Stadium FC Cincinnati 1–0 Columbus Crew SC 30,160
2. August 10, 2019[10] MLS Mapfre Stadium Columbus Crew SC 2–2 FC Cincinnati 20,865
3. August 25, 2019[11] Nippert Stadium FC Cincinnati 1–3 Columbus Crew SC 30,611
4. July 11, 2020[15] MLS is Back ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex FC Cincinnati 0–4 Columbus Crew SC 0 (Closed door)
5. August 29, 2020 MLS Nippert Stadium FC Cincinnati Columbus Crew SC
6. September 6, 2020 Mapfre Stadium Columbus Crew SC FC Cincinnati

Competitions
Matches CLB Wins CLB Goals Draws FCC Wins FCC Goals
Major League Soccer 329103
U.S. Open Cup 100011
Total 429114

Top goalscorers
Position Name Team Goals
1 Gyasi Zardes Columbus Crew 5
2 Luis Díaz Columbus Crew 1
Youness Mokhtar
Pedro Santos
Lucas Zelarayán
Djiby Fall FC Cincinnati
Emmanuel Ledesma
Kekuta Manneh
Darren Mattocks

Players who played for both clubs
Player Columbus career Cincinnati career
Span Apps Goals Span Apps Goals
Cristian Martínez[lower-alpha 1] 2016–2018 31 3 2017 1 0
Kekuta Manneh 2017 19 4 2019–2020 29 4
Derrick Etienne 2020–present 5 0 2019 5 0
Fanendo Adi 2020–present 4 0 2018–2019 25 5
Fatai Alashe[lower-alpha 2] 2020–present 0 0 2018–2020 21 2
  1. Martínez played for FC Cincinnati in the United Soccer League, before they joined MLS.
  2. Alashe played for FC Cincinnati in the United Soccer League, before they joined MLS.
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See also

References
  1. "FC Cincinnati to join MLS as expansion team next season". ESPN.com.
  2. "FC Cincinnati 1, Columbus Crew SC 0 2017 U.S. Open Cup Recap". mlssoccer.com.
  3. "Columbus Crew Angling Toward Relocation to Austin in 2019". SI.com.
  4. "FC Cincinnati on the verge of losing its biggest MLS rival, Columbus Crew SC". WCPO.com.
  5. "Hell is Real: Saving the Budding FC Cincinnati – Columbus Crew Rivalry is a Must". cincinnatisoccertalk.com.
  6. "FC Cincinnati fans heading to Columbus to Save the Crew". abc6onyourside.com.
  7. "Save The Crew stopped a bad sports owner from relocating their team, and so can you". SBNation.com.
  8. "FC Cincinnati douses Columbus Crew SC in 'Hell Is Real Derby'". soctakes.com.
  9. ""Hell Is Real": Welcome to the Ohio derby Columbus vs. Cincinnati". YouTube.com. Major League Soccer. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  10. "Columbus Crew SC 2, FC Cincinnati 2 – 2019 MLS Match Recap". mlssoccer.com. MLS. August 20, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  11. "FC Cincinnati 1, Columbus Crew 3". MLSSoccer.com.
  12. Bengel, Chris. "Ranking the best rivalry names in Major League Soccer ahead of Rivalry Week 2019". CBSSports.com. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  13. Myers, Jacob (August 9, 2019). "How the 'Hell Is Real' rivalry between Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati got its name". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  14. "FC Cincinnati 1, Columbus Crew 0". MLSSoccer.com.
  15. "MLS is Back Tournament draw results: Check out all the group stage matchups". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
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