The Columbus Crew’s match against Liga MX’s León was the final group match for both clubs in this year’s Leagues Cup competition. The Crew had a number of great opportunities to score but only one made it past León’s goalkeeper Oscar Jiménez, a Max Arfsten goal in the 53rd minute. The Black & Gold held on for a 1-0 victory.

With the win, the Crew picked up three points and now have seven after the three group play matches. They also have a goal differential of three, which could be a determiner in case of ties. The top four clubs from MLS and Liga MX move on to the knockout matches. A number of group matches remain before a final determination is made on who advances.

When asked about the need to score more goals, Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy said, “This is football. We won. This is the most important because we could have tied. Yes, we had the possibility to score [more] goals, but we didn’t do it, but I have nothing to say to my players. They were really, really good.”

In Tuesday’s match, Arfsten appeared to score in the fourth minute, but after review, the goal was taken off the board because of an offsides call prior to the score. In the 35th minute, Diego Rossi had a close chance but Jiménez was able to block the shot and keep the Crew off the board at that point.

The Black & Gold’s defensive effort was solid throughout the match. Goalkeeper Patrick Schulte made two saves and was pleased to come away with a shutout. “Yeah, feels good. Obviously, it’s just [good] to get the win and a clean sheet and give us the best chance to go forward. Yeah, gonna be a big Liga MX fan from here on out.”

The Leagues Cup knockout round quarterfinals will be played on August 19 and 20. In the meantime, the Crew return to MLS action Saturday when they travel to the Big Apple to face New York City FC. The match at Yankee Stadium gets underway at 7:30 p.m.