The Columbus Crew began a three-match road trip Sunday afternoon, taking on New York City FC at Yankee Stadium. At the 12′ and 16′ marks, NYCFC got goals from Hannes Wolf to take command. Wolf would add another in the second half, while the Black & Gold never got any offensive traction and fell, 3-0. Here are our three takeaways from Sunday’s contest:

1.    What led to the early goals? Head coach Henrik Rydström offered a quick assessment, “It’s lack of intensity. We don’t compete from the beginning. I can stop there.” Defender Sean Zawadzki offered, “(O)n the day, they created chances and were dangerous and were able to capitalize on them.” He added, “Sometimes we can be too nice.” It will be interesting to see what the coaching staff does to create intense meanies going forward.

2.   Scoring continues to be an issue. Everyone knows that the Black & Gold were dealt a critical blow when Wessam Abou Ali suffered an injury in the Crew’s April 12 match against Orlando City and was ruled out for the season. The club has been shut out three times and has scored more than two goals just once in their 12 MLS starts. Who will step up to put the ball in the net? Another development in waiting.

3.   The Crew have lost two matches in the last two weeks in two completely different ways. Last weekend’s loss was a heartbreaker when Minnesota United came from behind and took a late lead to erase the excitement at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field. On Sunday, NYCFC took the wind out of the Black & Gold’s sails early and the rest of the match was an exercise in bland play. Perhaps this season the Crew need to find different ways to win.