Joseph-Claude Gyau scored his first goal of the season to spark a second-half comeback attempt aided by a man advantage in the final minutes, but the Orange and Blue could not climb back from a two-goal deficit, ending their sophomore MLS campaign with a 2-1 loss at Inter Miami CF on Sunday in the middle of Tropical Storm Eta.

“Visibility was low,” Gyau said via conference call. “The wind was crazy. The rain — sometimes on the pitch I was surprised we were even playing the game.”

For the second straight season, the club has set an MLS record for futility. Its 12 goals in 23 matches, an average of 0.52 goals per game, is a new league low, breaking D.C. United’s mark of 0.65 in 2013. It of course also shattered the record for fewest total goals in a single season, but that will surely come with an asterisk with the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting the league schedule. The previous mark there was 21 by D.C. United in 2010.

FC Cincinnati (4-15-4) ends its season with 16 points, last again in all of MLS. With the result and some help in other matches, Miami (7-13-3) qualifies for the playoffs in its first season, finishing 10th with 24 points.

Stam and general manager Gerard Nijkamp will have a press conference Monday to look back at the 2020 season and ahead to 2021. Stam has indicated he has already made his end-of-year evaluations, and exit physicals will be on Tuesday.

“We need to do something, to make changes, and hopefully by succeeding in doing that we can go forward and fill in the positions that we think we need and get better and better results,” Stam said via conference call.

Said Gyau, “I’m definitely looking forward to getting a break mentally. Not only for us but for everybody it’s been a crazy year with all the stuff that’s happened in 2020. But at the same time there’s a lot of things that we can reflect on and try to do better next year. There’s also a lot of positives we can take away from this year and bring in to next season. It’s just trying to take the good with the bad.”

FC Cincinnati’s first twist in 2020 came less than a month after players reported when then-coach Ron Jans stepped away and ultimately resigned after the club learned he had used a racial slur.

For the second year in a row, a coaching search began, and then COVID-19 halted play in March after two matches. Upon restarting in the MLS is Back Tournament in Orlando, Florida, under Stam, things looked promising as the Orange and Blue reached the knockout stage.

But when in-market play kicked in, the momentum did not continue, and the club struggled to score, with three different runs of at least 300 minutes without a goal.

The third streak hit 360 minutes — six hours exactly — on Sunday, ending in the 66th minute when Gyau cut inside and launched one in the upper left corner of goal, leaving Miami keeper John McCarthy flat-footed.

“It was a long time coming,” Gyau said of his goal. “It’s all good, but it was still bitter the way it ended.

“I felt I was a bit unlucky (this season), as well as everybody. … We wanted to shoot more in the second half because we were going with the wind. It’s all about trying to get in good spots, trying to find spots where you can be dangerous.”

FC Cincinnati nearly equalized in the 86th minute on a Nick Hagglund header off a Haris Medunjanin free kick. But McCarthy was there for the save. He saved three of the Orange and Blue’s four shots on goal. The club had 12 total shots.

In the 88th minute, Miami’s Andres Reyes was sent off with a second yellow after fouling Franko Kovacevic, but FC Cincinnati could not cash in on the man advantage. Kovacevic, on loan from Bundesliga side TSG Hoffenheim, made his first MLS start on Sunday. He was active with three shots, one on goal.

“Franko’s lively,” Stam said. “He gets in certain areas. When he gets the ball he’s trying to do something with it.”

Eta made conditions difficult for Stam’s side to play the way he wanted. Playing with the wind in the second half helped.

“It’s hard to play,” Stam said. “It’s not easy. There’s a lot of wind and a lot of rain. Of course both teams need to deal with that. If you want to play in a certain way — if you want to build out from the back and through the midfield going forward — it’s not always easy, but that’s how you need to play a lot of times in the first half. If you want to play that long ball or chip it into somebody’s chest, with the wind it’s not easy to do that. It’s difficult, still I have the feeling that we could have done more under these circumstances. It’s a pity that we don’t at least have a point (from the match).”

It was Miami taking advantage of the wind in the first half, scoring on a pair of corner kicks four minutes apart.

Mikey Ambrose collected a loose ball and scored on a volley in the 19th minute. In the 23rd, Leandro Gonzalez Pirez lofted a header out of the reach of Spencer Richey for the 2-0 lead. Miami had 13 shots, five on target, forcing Richey into three saves.

Inter Miami CF vs FC Cincinnati
Inter Miami CF Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Result: Inter Miami CF 2, FC Cincinnati 1

BOX SCORE

Inter Miami CF Starting XI:
John McCarthy (GK), Andres Reyes, AJ Delagarza, Leandro Gonzalez Pirez (goal 23′), Mikey Ambrose (goal 19′), Blaise Matuidi, Juan Agudelo, Lewis Morgan, Rodolfo Pizarro, Wil Trapp, Gonzalo Higuain
Bench: Drake Callender (GK), Alvas Powell (Pizarro 84′), Christain Makoun (Higuain 90′), Dylan Nealis, Federico Higuain, Jay Chapman, Victor Ulloa (Morgan 84′), Julian Carranza (Agudelo 63′), Matias Pellegrini

FC Cincinnati Starting XI:
Spencer Richey (GK), Andrew Gutman, Nick Hagglund, Maikel van der Werff, Zico Bailey, Haris Medunjanin (C), Kamohelo Mokotjo, Frankie Amaya, Jürgen Locadia, Joseph-Claude Gyau (goal 66′), Franko Kovacevic
Bench: Bobby Edwards (GK), Mathieu Deplagne, Kendall Waston, Saad Abdul-Salaam, Siem De Jong (Amaya 55′), Tommy McCabe (de Jong 78′), Jimmy McLaughlin, Brandon Vazquez (Bailey 62′), Rashawn Dally

Scoring Summary:
MIA — Mikey Ambrose 19′
MIA — Leandro Gonzalez Pirez (Lewis Morgan) 23′
CIN — Joseph-Claude Gyau (Brandon Vazquez) 66′

Discipline:
CIN — Joseph-Claude Gyau (caution) 4′
CIN — Nick Hagglund (caution) 21′
MIA — Andres Reyes (caution) 62′
MIA — Andres Reyes (ejection) 88′

The post FC Cincinnati ends 2020 season with loss at Inter Miami CF appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

Meeting for the third time in a pandemic-shortened campaign, an eighth-minute strike from Adam Jahn and a 26th-minute Marcelino Moreno penalty were enough to seal the season series for the hosts.

Atlanta was helped to that victory by a continuation of the Orange and Blue’s season-long scoring woes. Despite outshooting Atlanta 14-8, the loss marks FC Cincinnati’s third straight match without a goal and 14th overall this season. The team has scored just 11 goals in 22 matches in 2020.

“Yeah, it’s disappointing, we keep saying it,” explained FCC coach Jaap Stam in the post-match videoconference. “Today was, in terms of creating and finishing, we had our opportunities, but we were not decisive enough… But at the end of the day, it’s not enough.”

Of the opportunities FC Cincinnati did create, most came from the head of Brandon Vázquez. Fresh off a newly-signed contract extension, the forward was rewarded with a start against his former side. He nearly added his name to the scoresheet at the end of the first half, too, twice narrowly missing headed efforts and forcing a fine save from Atlanta’s Brad Guzan on a third.

When asked postmatch about his and his teammates’ troubles in front of goal, Vazquez seemed at a loss.

“Sometimes, I feel like it’s just bad luck. I mean, we’re always so close,” Vazquez said. “Sometimes I wish this season was a little longer for us and we had a couple more games to perform and get that confidence we need.”

Unfortunately, that’s not in the cards.

Just a single match remains in the 2020 season, and the loss in the penultimate match of the season means FC Cincinnati remains bottom of the pile in the Eastern Conference (4-14-4, 16 points). The loss also unofficially clinches the unofficial 2020 “Wooden Spoon”, typically awarded annually to the MLS team with the worst regular-season record.

With the win, Atlanta (6-12-4, 22 points) jumps up to 11th place. The victory also keeps its slim hopes for an Eastern Conference playoff birth alive heading into decision day next Sunday.

FC Cincinnati will conclude the 2020 MLS regular season on Sunday, when the club plays expansion side Inter Miami CF for the first time in club history.

Atlanta United vs FC Cincinnati
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Attendance: NA
Result: Atlanta United 2, FC Cincinnati 0

BOX SCORE

FC Cincinnati Starting XI:
Spencer Richey (GK), Andrew Gutman, Kendall Waston (C), Tom Pettersson, Nick Hagglund, Saad Abdul-Salaam, Haris Medunjanin (C), Kamohelo Mokotjo, Frankie Amaya, Jürgen Locadia, Brandon Vázquez, Joseph-Claude Gyau
Bench: Beckham Sunderland (GK), Mathieu Deplagne, Nick Hagglund (Abdul-Salaam 82′), Maikel van der Werff, Siem De Jong (Vázquez 64′), Jimmy McLaughlin, Tommy McCabe, Rashawn Dally (Mokotjo 82′)

Philadelphia Starting XI:
Brad Guzan (GK), Brooks Lennon, Fernando Meza, Franco Escobar, George Bello, Jon Gallagher, Jürgen Damm, Marcelino Moreno, Matheus Rossetto, Mohammed Adams, Adam Jahn
Bench: Alec Kann (GK), Edgar Castillo, Emerson Hyndman (Rossetto 46′), Eric Remedi (Moreno 89′), Ezequiel Barco (Damm 63′), Jake Mulraney, Jeff Larentowicz (Adams 33′), Laurence Wyke, Erick Torres (Jahn 64′)

Scoring Summary:
ATL — Jahn 8′
ATL — Moreno 26′ (PK)

Discipline:
ATL — Jahn (caution) 22′
CIN — Amaya (caution) 45′
CIN — Gutman (caution) 93′

Next up:
3:30 p.m. Sunday at Inter Miami CF, Inter Miami CF Stadium, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

The post FC Cincinnati blanked 2-0 at Atlanta United appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

The match marked the end of a mostly storied five-years at Nippert for FC Cincinnati, who will move to the new soccer-specific West End Stadium in 2021. And though the hosts dictated much of the play in the match, they were again left disappointed by an inability to finish their chances.

Instead, it was halftime substitute Roger Espinoza that would grab the lone goal of the match in the 57th-minute for Sporting KC. The finish, which capped off a centered ball from Alan Pulido on the left, caught a slight deflection off of Cincinnati defender Tom Pettersson on the way into Spencer Richey’s goal.

“I can only say that it’s unbelievable that we’ve played many games and it’s unfortunate that you don’t get the results that you deserve,” shared FCC manager Jaap Stam in the post-match video press conference. “Do we deserve them? Because we missed the opportunities ourselves. You give away a game. They come out once and they score a goal. We get several, several opportunities and we can’t finish them off — so that’s a pity.”

Of course, Cincinnati had their opportunities, too. The most obvious of those came just six minutes after Espinoza’s opener when Frankie Amaya earned a penalty following a mistimed challenge from Roberto Puncec in the Sporting box. However, Dutch midfielder Siem de Jong saw his kick from the spot careen off the upright and fail to pull his side level.

De Jong also placed a clearcut chance from just outside the 6-yard box over the bar in the opening minutes of the match.

“You get a penalty, you need to finish that,” Stam continued. “But for some reason, we can’t get it in the back of the net. That’s unfortunate because we can say a lot and we complain about things, of course, but we need to look at ourselves because in a lot of home games we gave it away ourselves.”

On a night that ended in disappointment for fans of the Orange and Blue, the 90th-minute likely gave most fans of the club something to smile about. Long time winger Jimmy McLaughlin, the last remaining player from FC Cincinnati’s inaugural season in 2016, checked into the match for the first time this year. It marked the first time “Pennsylvania Messi” has seen the pitch for a match since the end of the 2018 season after sitting out last year recovering from knee surgery.

The loss sees FC Cincinnati (4-13-4, 16 pts) slip to last place in the Eastern Conference. It marks the seventh time in nine home matches that the Orange and Blue have failed to score in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

Meanwhile, the victory for Kansas City (11-6-3, 36 pts) sees them rise to the top spot out West.

FC Cincinnati will begin it’s first of two road trips to end the year on Sunday when they travel to the side just ahead of them in the table, Atlanta United.

FC Cincinnati vs. Sporting KC
Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
Attendance: NA
Result: FC Cincinnati 0, Sporting KC 1

BOX SCORE

FC Cincinnati Starting XI:
Spencer Richey (GK), Andrew Gutman, Tom Pettersson, Nick Hagglund, Zico Bailey, Haris Medunjanin (C), Kamohelo Mokotjo,  Siem de Jong, Frankie Amaya, Jürgen Locadia, Joseph-Claude Gyau
Bench: Bobby Edwards, Kendall Waston, Mathieu Deplagne, Saad Abdul-Salaam (Bailey 78′), Jimmy McLaughlin (Pettersson 90′), Zico Bailey (Garza 30′), Kamohelo Mokotjo (Cruz 62′), Yuya Kubo (Locadia 77′), Rashawn Dally, Brandon Vázquez (Mokotjo 80′)

Philadelphia Starting XI:
Tim Melia (GK), Amadou Dia, Andreu Fontás, Jaylin Lindsey, Roberto Puncec, Felipe Hernandez, Gadi Kinda, Ilíe Sánchez, Alan Pulido, Johnny Russell, Khiry Shelton
Bench: John PUlskamp (GK), Graham Smith, Luís Martins, Matt Besler, Cameron Duke (Kinda 61′), Roger Espinoza (57′)(Hernandez 45′), Dániel Sallói, Erik Hurtado (Pulido 90′), Gerso (Shilton 45′)

Scoring Summary:
SKC — Epinoza 57′

Discipline:
PHI — Roberto Puncec (caution) 60′

Next up:
7:00 p.m. Sunday at Atlanta United FC, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta

The post FC Cincinnati fall to Sporting KC in Nippert finale appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

“I think you can call our season how it is this year,” said Haris Medunjanin in the postmatch videoconference. “It’s not on our side, and every call is against us.”

But Medunjanin also acknowledged that the team didn’t do enough to get the result.

“I think we started very well, with a couple 100% chances that should normally go in,” he said. “But you don’t score and you let them stay alive. It’s frustrating, but I think we can also blame ourselves. We didn’t score our chances in the first half. Like I said, if you don’t score, you’ll probably lose.”

And that’s what happened. FC Cincinnati came out strong and dominated possession in the first half. Both teams had chances, but FCC looked to be the best team with the best opportunities. As the half continued, though, Minnesota began to assert itself, and it continued to gain confidence in the second half.

Minnesota came out of the locker room aggressively pressing FC Cincinnati and preventing the home team from creating significant opportunities. Minnesota dominated the second half, and in the end, the stats for the entire match looked fairly even, but only one stat mattered, goals scored. FC Cincinnati’s inability to capitalize on its opportunities allowed the Loons to steal all three points.

It wasn’t a must-win game for FC Cincinnati, but the Orange and Blue have dug themselves a hole, and it is unlikely they can crawl out. FC Cincinnati sits at the bottom of the league again, which in a normal season would earn them the Wooden Spoon — an award given by the Independent Supporters Council to the lowest place team in MLS each season. For 2020, the ISC has decided not to award the Wooden Spoon because of the unnatural season, but FCC fans will be unlikely to feel good about that technicality.

Officially, Cincinnati is not out of the playoffs, but another loss will almost certainly seal that fate. A realistic goal for the remainder of the season is to simply not end in last place.

FC Cincinnati vs Minnesota United FC
Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati
Attendance: N/A
Result: Minnesota United FC 1, FC Cincinnati 0

BOX SCORE

FC Cincinnati Starting XI:
Spencer Richey, Zico Bailey, Nick Hagglund, Tom Pettersson, Andrew Gutman, Kamohelo Mokotjo, Haris Medunjanin ©, Frankie Amaya (Rashawn Dally 90’), Siem de Jong, Joseph-Claude Gyau, Alvaro Barreal (Jürgen Locadia 58’)

Minnesota United FC Starting XI:
Dayne St. Clair, Michael Boxall, Romain Metanire, Bakaye Dibassy, Chase Gasper, Osvaldo Alonso ©, Kevin Molino (Brent Kallman 90’+4’), Jan Gregus, Ethan Finlay (Emanuel Reynoso 76’), Robin Lod, Kei Kamara (Aaron Schoenfeld 76’)

Scoring Summary:
MIN – Aaron Schoenfeld (unassisted) 90’+2’

Discipline:
MIN – Osvaldo Alonso (caution) 66’
CIN – Zico Bailey (caution) 81’
MIN – Chase Gasper (caution) 82’

Injuries:
Allan Cruz
Mathieu Deplagne
Greg Garza
Yuya Kubo
Caleb Stanko
Przemysław Tytoń
Maikel van der Werff

Next up:
7:30 p.m. Wednesday vs. Sporting Kansas City at Nippert Stadium

The post FC Cincinnati continues slide toward another Wooden Spoon appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

FC Cincinnati vs. D.C. United
Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati
Attendance: NA
Result: D.C. United 2, FC Cincinnati 1

BOX SCORE

FC Cincinnati Starting XI:
Bobby Edwards (GK), Saad Abdul-Salaam, Nick Hagglund, Tom Pettersson, Andrew Gutman, Kamohelo Mokotjo, Haris Medunjanin ©, Frankie Amaya, Brandon Vazquez (goal 66′), Joseph-Claude Gyau, Alvaro Barreal
Bench: Rashawn Dally (Abdul-Salaam 54′), Siem de Jong (Mokotjo 60′), Caleb Stanko, Beckham Sunderland, Zico Bailey (Barreal 86′) Hassan Ndam, Jimmy McLaughlin, Tommy McCabe

D.C. United Starting XI:
Chris Seitz (GK), Chris Odoi-Atsem (goal 78′), Donovan Pines (goal 36′), Frederic Brillant, Joseph Mora, Edison Flores, Julian Gressel, Moses Nyeman, Yamil Asad, Erik Sorga, Gelmin Rivas
Bench: Earl Edwards Jr., Axel Sjoberg, Oniel Fisher (Nyeman 87′), Kevin Paredes (Flores 72′), Griffin Yow, Ola Kamara (Rivas 65′)

Scoring Summary:
DC – Donovan Pines 36’
CIN – Brandon Vazquez 66’
DC – Chris Odoi-Atsem 78’

Discipline:
DC – Yamil Asad (caution) 27’
DC – Moses Nyeman (caution) 32’
DC – Chris Odoi-Atsem 90+3’

Next up:
7:30 p.m. Saturday vs Minnesota United, Nippert Stadium

The post Opportunity missed: FC Cincinnati defeated 2-1 by D.C. United appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

Wednesday night’s matchup against the Columbus Crew was the best game FC Cincinnati has played all season by a country mile. Every part of the team came out to play in the match, and I don’t think I would give anyone a negative ranking.

“We got a very good result,” said Head Coach Jaap Stam in a postgame press conference. “A result that we deserved and were waiting for as well. I think we were the better team for the majority of the game, especially the first half. (We) created a couple of very good opportunities, scored one from a penalty, of course, and not giving anything away.”

The most notable performance of the night was the play of youngster Alvaro Barreal, one of the team’s newest signings. Barreal was instrumental in the first goal even becoming a penalty, as he needed to weave his way through a couple of Crew defenders to get a cross into the box, which then caused the penalty situation wherein Tarbell fouled Cruz. Barreal influenced the game throughout the whole runtime, as at the end of the match, instead of taking the ball towards the goal like an inexperienced player might, he took it to the corner because he knew he needed to just waste some clock. This move then caused a Crew defender to recklessly foul him, basically ending the match. Alvaro Barreal has only been with the team for a short while, and he is already one of the most important and influential members of it.

Barreal wasn’t the only standout from the match, however. Bobby Edwards, in his first MLS match, almost kept a clean sheet had it not been for the penalty kick from Pedro Santos. Edwards did spectacularly at the end of the match, when Columbus was sending everyone forward, to continually punch the ball out of the box, and not give the opposition any chance to even sniff a shot.

“That was probably, in my opinion, the first time we’ve had a start to finish collective match,” said Goalkeeper Bobby Edwards in the postgame press conference. “We know we’re capable of that. It’s just taken some time to get there but I’m proud and I’m overjoyed.”

A couple of other great performers were Nick Hagglund, Kamohelo Mokotjo, and Haris Medunjanin. Medunjanin’s time in Cincinnati has been headlined by his skill on set-piece opportunities, and while sometimes they have been off the mark, tonight, he was completely on point. While the assist on Hagglund’s goal will see the most plaudits, and for good reason, there were many other passes that could have equally set up a goal.

The fan base has been waiting for Mokotjo to finally see his first action as a starter, and that wait was well worth it, as his introduction into the beginning of the match was an immediate impact on the flow of the team’s attack. There were multiple times I noticed a great sense of awareness and vision from the former Brentford midfielder, as well as a great knowledge of where he needed to be. He allowed Medunjanin to do his job much more easily, knowing Mokotjo was holding down the fort.

Lastly, Nick Hagglund had a great match. Not only because, of his absolutely stupendous celebration, calling back to vintage Cincinnati Bengals running back Ickey Woods with his rendition of the classic “Ickey Shuffle”, which got a smile out of FCC fans, but also because of his imposing presence in the box. He showed a great ability to control the aerial game of Columbus and made sure they didn’t get anything going in that area of the final third, which is so important for FCC-killer Gyasi Zardes.

FCC came into the match missing multiple headliners of the squad, including Przemyslaw Tyton, Kendall Waston, Jürgen Locadia, and Mathieu Deplagne. Columbus came into the match also missing absolute gems of their squad in Lucas Zelarayan, Darlington Nagbe and Eloy Room. However, judging by the play of FCC today, it looked like this was the FCC first team. It will be interesting to see what comes of this performance and if the squad possibly changes. However, that is a conversation for another day, as FCC celebrates one of the most dominant performances in their time in MLS.

FC Cincinnati vs. Columbus Crew SC
Cincinnati, OH
Attendance: NA
Result: FC Cincinnati 2, Columbus Crew SC 1

BOX SCORE

FC Cincinnati Starting XI:
Bobby Edwards (GK), Saad Abdul-Salaam, Nick Hagglund, Tom Pettersson, Andrew Gutman, Kamohelo Mokotjo, Haris Medunjanin ©, Allan Cruz, Brandon Vazquez, Yuya Kubo, Alvaro Barreal
Bench: Joseph-Claude Gyau (Kubo 59’), Rashawn Dally (Vazquez 68’), Siem de Jong (Gutman 75’), Caleb Stanko (Mokotjo 75′), Beckham Sunderland, Zico Bailey, Hassan Ndam, Frankie Amaya, Tommy McCabe

Columbus Crew Starting XI:
Andrew Tarbell (GK), Jonathan Mensah ©, Milton Valenzuela, Harrison Afful, Aboubacar Keita, Pedro Santos, Artur, Luis Diaz, Emmanuel Boateng, Fatai Alashe, Gyasi Zardes
Bench: Youness Mokhtar (Boateng HT’), Josh Williams (Keita 59’), Derrick Etienne Jr. (Diaz 59’), Aidan Morris (Alashe 59’), Fanendo Adi (Zardes 86’), Matt Lampson, Chris Cadden, Hector Jimenez, Sebastian Berhalter

Scoring Summary:
CIN – Yuya Kubo (penalty) 17’
CLB – Pedro Santos (penalty) 45’
CIN – Nick Hagglund (Haris Medunjanin) 49’

Discipline:
CIN – Andrew Gutman (caution) 7’
CLB – Fatai Alashe (caution) 31’
CLB – Jonathan Mensah (caution) 37’
CLB – Emmanuel Boateng (caution) 45’+2’
CLB – Aidan Morris (caution) 90’+3’

Next up:
7:30 p.m. Sunday vs D.C. United, Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati

The post FC Cincinnati topples the Columbus Crew in last matchup of 2020 appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

FCC began Sunday’s match sloppily but finished the half strong.

In the 10th minute, Medunjanin earned a free kick just outside the penalty area, but he slammed it into the Toronto wall.

In the 24th, Toronto’s Alejandro Pozuelo had a clear look at goal, but his shot went inches wide.

But the Reds cashed in moments later when Richie Laryea fed Patrick Mullins for his first goal of the season, putting them ahead 1-0.

“They got behind us, played the ball to the top of the box, and got a really good shot,” Hagglund said.

FCC had a spell of possession immediately after the goal with Hagglund’s shot from a tough angle forcing a decent save from Toronto keeper Quentin Westberg.

The Orange and Blue ended the half on the front foot.

Just before the halftime whistle, Maikel van der Werff’s header off a corner from Medunjanin went over the bar, and FCC trailed 1-0 at the break.

“We played well for most of the game, but you have to play well for 90 minutes to get results in this league,” Gutman said. “We have to put together a full 90 minutes. It’s just consistency. We need to get results and figure something out here really quick.”

Stam made a couple of changes at halftime, bringing on Kamohelo Mokotjo and Siem de Jong to replace Frankie Amaya and Brandon Vazquez. Mokotjo, a South African midfielder, showed himself well but is not yet fit enough for extended action.

“He contributed well in the second half,” Stam said. “He’s always looking forward. His first touch is mostly good. He organizes well, which is important for us in the midfield.”

Also, Álvaro Barreal, the 20-year-old Argentinian who made his MLS debut as a substitute in last week’s loss to Philadelphia Union, started Sunday’s match for FCC and played 64 minutes.

“You can see when he came on against Philly, he did very real,” said Stam. “When a young player comes over from Argentina it’s difficult. He’s reasonably fit. He can play more minutes. He’s getting used to playing on turf over here. He shows qualities that can make a difference for us.”

FCC began the second half in promising fashion, with Saad Abdul-Salaam hitting the side netting with a shot in the 55th minute.

But FCC’s propensity to send long balls into the box didn’t bear fruit as Westberg was rarely bothered.

“It was a game against a good team, a top team in the league,” said Stam. “They showed that in bits of the game. We started the game sloppy. We were giving the ball away too easy in the first half. We gave them space to play.”

With six matches remaining, one has to wonder where the goals are going to come from, and from whom? On Sunday night, it looked for a moment like Cruz was going to end the skid. But video review thought otherwise.

“The ref made the decision he thought was right,” said Gutman. “It wasn’t the only chance we had.”

FC Cincinnati vs. Toronto FC
Nippert Stadium
Attendance: NA
Result: Toronto FC 1, FC Cincinnati 0

BOX SCORE

FC Cincinnati Starting XI:
Przemysław Tytoń (GK), Mathieu Deplagne, Maikel van der Werff, Nick Hagglund, Saad Abdul-Salaam, Haris Medunjanin (C), Frankie Amaya, Joseph-Claude Gyau, Alvaro Barreal, Yuya Kubo, Brandon Vazquez
Bench: Bobby Edwards, Spencer Richey (Tyton 81′), Caleb Stanko, Kamohelo Mokotjo (Amaya 46′), Zico Bailey, Allan Cruz (Barreal 64′), Siem de Jong (Vazquez 46′), Andrew Gutman (Deplagne 41′)

Toronto FC Starting XI:
Quentin Westberg (GK), Auro, Eriq Zavaleta, Omar Gonzalez, Richie Laryea, Alejandro Pozuelo, Jayden Nelson, Jonathan Osorio, Liam Fraser, Marco Delgado, Patrick Mullins (goal 29′)
Bench: Kevin Silva, Laurent Ciman (Pozuelo 89′), Tony Gallacher (Laryea 70′), Nick DeLeon (Nelson 60′), Pablo Piatti (Delgado 46′), Tsubasa Endoh, Ayo Akinola (Mullins 59′), Erickson Gallardo, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty

Scoring Summary:
TOR – Patrick Mullins (Richie Laryea, Alejandro Pozuelo) 29’

Discipline:
TOR – Omar Gonzalez (caution) 9’
TOR – Jonathan Osorio (caution) 21’
CIN – Andrew Gutman (caution) 66’
CIN – Nick Hagglund (caution) 67’
TOR – Laurent Ciman (caution) 72’

Next up:
7:30 p.m. Wednesday vs Columbus Crew SC, Nippert Stadium

The post Upon review: FC Cincinnati’s scoreless skid now 455 minutes appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

It was Philadelphia substitute Ilsinho who dashed the hopes of Cincinnati adding to their league-high seven clean sheets when his volley from a failed clearance deflected off of defender Maikel van der Werff in the 59th minute. Veteran Union captain Alejandro Bedoya would add a second in the 73rd, while another substitute, defender Jack Elliott, would put the game on ice with a headed goal ten minutes from time.

“If you want to get the results, if you want to get a point or if you want to get three points, then you need to take your opportunities and you don’t need to give away opportunities,” shared a frustrated FC Cincinnati head coach Jaap Stam via the post-match conference call.

That frustration, of course, was understandable.

Stam had just witnessed his side fail to get on the scoresheet in a fourth consecutive match, and the tenth time since he took charge of the team. While the Union (9-3-4, 31 pts) had outshot his Orange and Blue 18 to 11, it’s not unreasonable to think that his side should have been able to capitalize at least once on their 57.1 to 42.9 possession advantage.

And the chances were there again for FCC. Joseph-Claude Gyau remained their most persistent threat and forced two respectable saves out of Philadelphia’s Andre Blake, one in each half. Jürgen Locadia still has just one goal in twelve appearances, but he put Blake to work, too. And then there was a wide-open chance for Yuya Kubo in the 70th-minute, but he put his effort over the bar.

And as a result, Cincinnati (3-9-4, 13 pts) have now gone 365 minutes without scoring a goal. Which is, mind you, still not the longest they’ve been shut out this season.

“We need to reward ourselves more,” Stam continued. “And seeing these score lines — in Minnesota and today again — where you’re the better in possession, and the better team in play going forward, but you’re still losing? It makes it very disappointing.”

Making matters worse for Cincinnati, the loss went well beyond the scoresheet.

Already injury stung, Stam will likely also be without the services of Greg Garza and Locadia in the near future. Both appeared to pick up a recurrence of previous hamstring injuries, with Garza limping off half an hour in and Locadia needing assistance to leave the pitch in the second half. It remains unclear whether either will be able to take part in the team’s next match on Sunday.

However, if there was a silver lining in the evening, it came in a pair of Major League Soccer debuts. Zico Bailey came on to log a decent 60 minutes as he was pressed into action by Garza’s injury. And in the second half, the club’s latest signing, 20-year-old Argentine starlet Álvaro Barreal also made his first appearance since arriving last month.

Philadelphia Union vs. FC Cincinnati
Subaru Park, Chester, PA
Attendance: NA
Result: Philadelphia Union 3, FC Cincinnati 0

BOX SCORE

FC Cincinnati Starting XI:
Przemysław Tytoń (GK), Greg Garza, Kendall Waston (C), Maikel van der Werff, Mathieu Deplagne, Haris Medunjanin, Allan Cruz, Frankie Amaya, Jürgen Locadia, Joseph-Claude Gyau
Bench: Bobby Edwards, Spencer Richey, Saad Abdul-Salaam, Álvaro Barreal (Amaya 62′), Zico Bailey (Garza 30′), Kamohelo Mokotjo (Cruz 62′), Caleb Stanko, Brandon Vázquez (Locadia 76′)

Philadelphia Starting XI:
Andre Blake (GK), Jakob Glesnes, Kai Wagner, Mark McKenzie, Olivier Mbaizo, Alejandro Bedoya (C)(73′), Anthony Fontana, Brenden Aaronson, Jamiro Montiero, Sergio Santos, Kacper Pryzybylko
Bench: Joe Bendik (GK), Aurélien Collin, Jack Elliott (80′, Glesnes 46′), Matt Real (Wagner 85′), Ilsinho (59′, Fontana 53′), Matej Oravec, Warren Creaville (Santos 73′), Andrew Wooten (Bedoya 85′), Michee Ngalina

Scoring Summary:
PHI — Ilsinho 54′
PHI — Alejandro Bedoya 73′
PHI — Jack Elliott 80′

Discipline:
PHI — Alejandro Bedoya (caution) 40
PHI — Mark McKenzie (caution) 66′
PHI — Olivier Mbaizo (caution) 93′

Next up:
7:30 p.m. Sunday vs Toronto FC, Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati

The post Injuries mount as FC Cincinnati fall 0-3 at Philadelphia Union appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

Coach Jaap Stam said in his postmatch videoconference he felt very disappointed, because he thought FCC dominated and controlled the match.

“We should have got more out of this game,” Stam said. “But, the thing is that we played well. I’m very happy with the performance of the team and how we played. We were very, at times, composed. Sometimes, yeah, you make decisions that yeah, you need to do better, but that’s football, everybody knows that.”

The match started serviceably for FCC with the team trying to feel its way through the change in formation, going with a 4-3-3, Stam’s preferred shape. It looked like FCC was doing alright, not great, at transitioning to the final third but was still having trouble figuring out what to do when the team got there. However, Mathieu Deplagne had other ideas. As a ball came in and Deplagne tried to stop it, he stepped on Chase Gasper. This was not originally a penalty, but VAR got involved and made the correct call — a penalty kick in favor of Minnesota United. FCC legend Kei Kamara stepped up to the plate and slotted it in to give the Loons a 1-0 lead.

The rest of the half was relatively open for both teams, with Minnesota having the better of the chances. FCC continues to be unable to make great chances happen inside the box, but the new 4-3-3 shape might be able to help with that, allowing more attacking options on breakaways or other similar attacking situations. The half almost ended with Minnesota doubling its lead to two goals thanks to a poor giveaway from Deplagne, but a great stop from Przemyslaw Tyton allowed the lead to stay at one goal going into the end of the half.

“I think we did some good soccer in this game,” Haris Medunjanin said via videoconference. “I think we controlled the ball but in the end, what’s it all about is to score goals to win games and that’s what we need to do. I think we showed, today, the new system that we can play, that we can hold the ball more than we did before and that we play really composed and that we create a lot of chances.”

The second half started rather well for FCC, as the team was good in transition. In particular, Kendall Waston had a beautiful switch to Deplagne that gave FCC a free kick in a good position. One aspect of the game that stood out was the team trying to play very quickly after a restart or a throw-in. It was ready to play as soon as it could. While allowing the team to catch Minnesota off guard, helped at times, it also might have been better to survey its options at times.

FCC got its best chances of the match from the start of the half to the 65th minute. The team looked good, and this was the time it needed to capitalize on its chances, but that didn’t happen. FC Cincinnati was unable to do anything with the small amount of great chances it did have, only having two or three outstanding looks at goal.

The deathblow to FCC’s chances came in the 70th minute from substitute Kevin Molino on the left wing, being left wide open and then getting a shot past Tyton’s near post to double the lead for the Loons.

FCC had a couple remaining opportunities, but the biggest news of the match following Minnesota’s second goal was that new signing Kamehelo Mokotjo made his debut for FC Cincinnati in the 88th minute, coming in for Deplagne, who had a disastrous match. The match ended shortly after Mokotjo entered and made a pass that allowed FCC a sliver of a chance, which could be a sign of things to come.

This match, while having chances for FCC, also contained it playing sloppy, but the team showed it didn’t put its heads down, which is more than some of the previous matches.

Minnesota United FC vs. FC Cincinnati
Allianz Field, St.Paul, Minnesota
Attendance: NA
Result: Minnesota United 2, FC Cincinnati 0

BOX SCORE

FC Cincinnati Starting XI:
Przemysław Tytoń (GK), Mathieu Deplagne, Kendall Waston (C), Maikel van der Werff, Greg Garza, Haris Medunjanin, Frankie Amaya, Allan Cruz, Joseph-Claude Gyau, Jürgen Locadia, Yuya Kubo
Bench: Bobby Edwards, Spencer Richey, Saad Abdul-Salaam, Zico Bailey, Brandon Vazquez (Kubo 70′), Caleb Stanko (Kubo 79′), Kamohelo Mokotjo (Cruz 89′)

Minnesota Starting XI:
Dayne St. Clair, Michael Boxall ©, Bakaye Dibassy, Chase Gasper, Romain Métanire, Jan Gregus, Jacori Hayes, Hassani Dotson, Robin Lod, Emanuel Reynoso, Kei Kamara
Bench: Fred Emmings, Adrian Zendejas, Brent Kallman, James Musa, Raheem Edwards, Marlon Hairston, Jose Aja, Kevin Molino (Hayes 61′), Aaron Schoenfeld (Kamara 72′)

Scoring Summary:
MIN — Kei Kamara (penalty) 16’
MIN — Kevin Molino 69’

Discipline:

CIN – Mathieu Deplagne (caution) 15’
CIN – Allan Cruz (caution) 47’
MIN – Chase Gasper (caution) 50’
MIN – Robin Lod (caution) 76’

Next up:
7:30 p.m. Wednesday vs Philadelphia Union, Subaru Park, Chester, Pennsylvania

The post FC Cincinnati fails to perform in 2-0 loss to Minnesota United appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

It didn’t take long for FC Cincinnati to find out it wasn’t their night either, with Alexandru Mitriță darting through their defense and finishing past Spencer Richey to give New York City the lead inside of 31 seconds. That early opener would be a signal of things to come in a lopsided first half for hosts, who would go on to score two more before the halftime whistle. Anton Tinnerholm added the second on an overlapping run in the 25th minute, while Mitriță would complete his brace just two minutes before halftime.

FCC head coach Jaap Stam stemmed the bleeding for most of the second half with tactical and personal changes, but not entirely, as a deflected Jesús Medina freekick rounded out the scoring for the Pigeons.

“When you start from kickoff and you want to win that ball, and you want to press high, and then you concede straight away after 30 seconds … that’s hard,” Stam told the media in the postmatch video conference. “In this particular game, we were not good enough in what we wanted to do.”

The match stats backed up Stam’s assessment. New York City dominated nearly every offensive statistical category, taking 61% of possession, out-passing, earning over three times the number of corners with seven and outshooting FC Cincinnati 22 to 8.

Richey was on the receiving end of much of NYCFC’s dominance, and he echoed his coach’s comments.

“It always kills you on the road to concede early,” Richey said via postmatch videoconference. “And once we conceded the second, you know it’s going to be difficult to get back into those games.”

FC Cincinnati had reason to be confident heading into the match. Having earned a point at home against a dangerous Philadelphia side in the midweek and picking up a hard-earned 1-0 win last weekend in the same building against the Red Bulls, it appeared as if Stam’s men were riding a small wave of momentum.

But after yet another heavy-handed loss in Harrison, New Jersey, it’s starting to look increasingly like that wave was more of an anomaly than a momentum builder.

The result means FC Cincinnati (3-7-4, 13 pts) have picked up just nine of the 27 points available to it since the return from the Orlando bubble. The team’s scoring troubles have only extended further, too, with just two goals scored during that same time frame.

“There’s still moments within our side, if you look at them, when we can see that their heads are going down.” Stam said, talking about his team’s continued struggles. “It’s already improved a lot, you know, but it’s still there. And when you’re at the end of a period now in terms of playing a lot of games, that makes it even harder to get back into it. But that’s also a process that we, I think we as players, you need to learn.”

Luckily, Stam and his men will have a full week until they take the pitch again in which they can learn those lessons.

New York City FC vs. FC Cincinnati
Red Bull Arena, Harrison, NJ
Attendance: NA
Result: New York City 4, FC Cincinnati 0

BOX SCORE

FC Cincinnati Starting XI:
Spencer Richey (GK), Andrew Gutman, Tom Pettersson, Kendall Waston (C), Maikel van der Werff, Haris Medunjanin, Frankie Amaya, Allan Cruz, Jurgen Locadia, Brandon Vázquez, Joseph-Claude Gyau
Bench: Bobby Edwards, Mathieu Deplagne (Pettersson 46′), Greg Garza, Zico Bailey, Yuya Kubo, Caleb Stanko (Amaya 57′)

Philadelphia Starting XI:
Sean Johnson (GK), Alexander Callens, Anton Tinnerholm (43′), Maxime Chanot, Ronald Matarrita, Alexander Ring, Alexandru Mitriță (1′, 43′), Ismael Tajouri-Shradi, James Sands, Keaton Parks, Valentín Castellanos
Bench: Brad Stuver (GK), Joe Scally, Sebastien Ibeagha, Gary Mackay-Stevens (Tajouri-Sharadi 77′), Gudmundur Thórarinsson (Matarrita 77′), Jesús Medina (Ring 39′), Juan Torres, Nicolás Acevedo (Parks 86′), Tony Rocha (Mitriță 86′)

Scoring Summary:
NYC — Alexandru Mitriță 1′
NYC — Anton Tinnerholm 25′
NYC — Alexandru Mitrita 43′
NYC — Jesús Medina 88′

Discipline:
NYC — Alexander Callens (caution) 34
NYC — Ronald Matarrita (caution) 61′
CIN — Kendall Waston (caution) 64′
CIN — Haris Medunjanin (caution) 71′
NYC — Valentín Castellanos (caution) 78′
CIN — Frankie Amaya (caution) 93′

Next up:
8 p.m. Saturday vs Minnesota United, Allianz Field, St. Paul, Minnesota

The post NYCFC smashes four past FC Cincinnati in rout appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.