The Columbus Crew needed a win. While they have had success outside of the MLS this season, with a long run in the Leagues Cup this summer and a semi-final win in the U.S. Open Cup last Wednesday, the Black & Gold had lost six of their last seven league outings going into their match Saturday at Montréal. The Crew played well and came away with a 2-0 victory. Here are our three takeaways from Saturday’s action:

1.    The teams battled to a 0-0 score at halftime. The Crew scored their goals at the 57th and 68th minutes and the defense stood tall against le CFM’s attack. Mohamed Farsi scored first for Columbus, taking a pass near midfield from Sean Zawadzki, who fought through a slide tackle, and advanced to the right corner at the top of the box for a kick that went in the left side of the goal. Brais Méndez posted the second goal on a free direct kick from a good distance outside of the box.

2.   Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte earned his fifth clean sheet of the season. He has 25 career regular season shutouts, tied for the second-most in Crew history, and 30 across all competitions.  It was Schulte 50th regular season win, the second-most among keepers in Crew history (William Hesmer, 59).

3.   Montréal is last in the MLS’s 15-team Eastern Conference with the Crew two spots ahead in 13th place. Was Saturday’s win noteworthy? Interim coach Laurent Courtois thought so. “I believe [Montréal] this year is really competitive, and the coach is doing a really good job. They are well organized and are tough to press. Against a team that is probably way better than what it looks like on the standings, I’m really pleased with the performance of my guys.”