Cucho Hernandez's dream goal and memorable celebration in Columbus Crew debut

CHICAGO — Eloy Room was the farthest away from Cucho Hernandez as the Colombian raced to goal, but the Crew goalkeeper was the most confident his new teammate was about to give Columbus the lead.

Room thought in the moment about how difficult it is for a goalkeeper to defend a player running straight at him. Then he saw Hernandez take a big touch, forcing Chicago Fire goalkeeper Gaga Slonina out of the net.

That was game over. 

"I knew we were going to score,” Room said. “He also baited the goalkeeper a little bit because the last touch was a little bit in front of him. If he didn't have that touch, then maybe the goalkeeper stayed in his place.”

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In his much-anticipated debut after the Crew spent a record transfer fee to sign him, Hernandez made an enormous impact in his first 30 minutes. He injected life into a lifeless Crew attack and chipped Slonina in the 83rd minute for the game-winning goal in a 3-2 win that completed a comeback from 2-0 down.

As he jumped into the air to avoid Slonina after the shot, Hernandez watched the ball hit just in front of the goal and bounce into the side netting before sprinting over to the corner flag where the Crew reserves were warming up.

As Hernandez turned back to the field from the flag, Lucas Zelarayan was the first player to him. The two jumped into each other’s arms as the rest of the team swarmed them and screamed together in celebration.

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"I was just thinking about celebrating with my teammates, and the fact that everybody ran over was really special for me,” Hernandez said through a club interpreter. “You can tell this is a united family and I'm very proud to be here.”

Zelarayan, who had the primary assist on the first goal and secondary assist on Derrick Etienne Jr.’s second goal, was subbed off two minutes before Hernandez’s game-winner. He wasn’t even back to the bench before he took off toward the corner to celebrate.

“I stayed standing up because Cucho was going to the goal,” Zelarayan said. “I was really happy for him because, as I said, he's a great guy and we get along with each other. I was really happy for him and obviously for the team and for the win. In that moment, I only run to him.”

The moment was exactly what the Crew were looking for in a striker. They wanted a guy who can get them out of difficult situations and be the player to win the game.

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Etienne and Luis Diaz were exceptional off the bench along with Hernandez. Those three combined for all three goals and two assists. It took just four minutes after Hernandez entered the game for Jacen Russell-Rowe that Etienne scored his first.

"When you have a top striker, it gives your team confidence,” coach Caleb Porter said. “I think you saw immediately, when he went into the game, the confidence grew with the players around him.”

It wasn’t just the world-class finish that impressed everybody in the Crew’s locker room. Hernandez showed his quality on a long cross to Etienne on the opposite side of the field to keep an attack going. He also slid into a challenge and simultaneously made a perfect pass to Diaz to create a scoring chance.

"He showed why we signed him,” Porter said. “I think what you saw in the 30-minute snapshot is what you're going to get. He's a dynamic player. The way that he gobbled up ground, his explosiveness on the goal. You saw him. He's probably quicker than you guys thought.”

Porter tried to temper expectations during the week by saying Hernandez was essentially in his first week of preseason, which wasn’t incorrect based on the calendar he just played in the English Premier League. But he clearly is in good enough form to be a difference-maker.

Hernandez was more interested in talking about the team than his individual accomplishment and a start to his Crew career that was dreamed into reality.

"It was incredible,” he said. “Just the team's strength to be able to come back during the game. I'm proud to be part of this team and we also have other games that we have to win coming up."

jmyers@dispatch.com

@_jcmyers

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Cucho Hernandez: Dream goal in Crew debut against Chicago Fire