Whatever the first team can do, we can do better. That might have been the message from Columbus Crew SC’s reserves on Sunday morning.

Just hours after the Black & Gold defeated Orlando City SC 2-0 for the team’s third consecutive win, the reserves took down Michigan State by a 3-0 final scoreline at the EAS Training Center.

As is typically the case for these scrimmages, the players who played major minutes on Saturday did not feature, opening the door for 12 other guys to get some playing time.

#CrewSC scrimmage lineup:

Ketterer

Maloney-Williams-Abubakar-Francis

Manneh-Jimenez-Abu-Hansen

Martinez

Jahn — Patrick Murphy (@_Pat_Murphy) April 2, 2017

The big news was the first sighting of Kekuta Manneh, who joined the team on Thursday in a trade with the Vancouver Whitecaps, in his new Crew SC gear. The attacker started on the right wing and looked good, playing 45 minutes.

It didn’t take long for the Black & Gold to get on the scoreboard. Just seven minutes in, Manneh left a pass for overlapping right back Connor Maloney. The defender sent in a low cross that was redirected home by forward Adam Jahn.

The Spartans were content to let Columbus play out of the back and Crew SC dominated possession. The second goal came after left back Waylon Francis won the ball near midfield and found Jahn. The striker played a ball through to winger Niko Hansen and he rounded the MSU goalkeeper before slotting a shot home.

Six minutes later Francis picked up the ball near midfield again, but this time attacked on the dribble beating multiple players. His run took him centrally and he played a ball to Manneh at the top of the penalty box. The new signed fired a hard shot that slipped through the Michigan State keeper’s hands and into the net.

There was a rare scrimmage yellow card given to central midfielder Mohammed Abu just before halftime. A Spartan also picked up a caution in the second half, despite the game not being that contentious.

In the second half, Dilly Duka, who has spent the first few weeks of the season working back from injury, replaced Manneh. Duka lined up centrally while Hector Jimenez slid out wide right.

Both teams created chances in the second half, but neither could increase the score. Third-string Crew SC goalkeeper Logan Ketterer had to make a couple saves, including going back against his momentum to deny a deflected effort.

Thoughts from the scrimmage