Match Day 2: FC Cincinnati vs. Indy Eleven
Lucas Oil Stadium: Attendance 17,535
Result: Indy Eleven 0 – FC Cincinnati 1
Though it’s tough to call the first official match between FC Cincinnati and Indy Eleven, a derby, there is no doubt that the close proximity between the two cities has created a competitive environment.
Indy turned out in record numbers for their home opener in their new home stadium. The Orange and Blue was supported by 1200+ loyal FCC supporters who made the 2 hour trip to the west. The stadium was charged and both teams were feeling the energy.
The game got tense quickly when McInerney forgot that they weren’t playing American Football and power tackled Kenny Walker to the ground in the 5th minute. Kenny’s head struck the turf hard and though he continued play after being examined by the trainer, this, unfortunately, resulted in Kenny leaving the game in the 14th minute looking dazed and likely feeling concussion symptoms.
Indy got their first good look at the net in the 17th minute, when a cross from Pasher found McInerney’s head, but Newton got some assistance from the upright and the ball was ultimately cleared.
In the 26th minute, Ledesma was given a wealth of time to look up and place a ball into the box for Welshman, who, between two defenders, nodded it down and into the left corner to give FCC the lead.
26' An inch-perfect cross from @LedeManu18 finds the head of @Esawelsh to give #FCCincy the 1-0 lead!#JoinTheMarch | #INDvCIN pic.twitter.com/rNiCfAvFN1
— FC Cincinnati (@fccincinnati) March 31, 2018
In the 39th minute, Newton was determined to have fouled McInerney while making a save and the referee pointed to the spot. What followed was an incredible double save from Newton to keep Cincinnati alive and to maintain his clean sheet.
40' A MASSIVE STOP FROM @NewtonEvan13 AT THE SPOT + THE FOLLOW UP!
As such, our lead stays in-tact.#INDvCIN 0-1 pic.twitter.com/Bu749RjdPl
— FC Cincinnati (@fccincinnati) March 31, 2018
Before the half ended, Indy’s Ferreira got tangled up with Welshman and took the worst of the fall, rolling his ankle, when they both went to ground. Not only did he draw a yellow card from the foul, but Ferreira was unable to continue, forcing Indy to make a first half substitution as well.
Second half of the match was much less exciting with no more significant injuries, goals or penalty kicks. FC Cincinnati didn’t bunker in and defend. They continued to possess and move the ball, but they did not push forward with numbers like the first half. The final stats showed fairly even possession with Indy getting a slight possession advantage of 52% vs 48% for FCC. The shot advantage was more significant with Indy taking 19 shots (6 on target) to Cincinnati’s 8 shots (2 on target).
Evan Newton was forced to make 2 big saves in the second half, both shots from Indy’s Saad coming in the 81st and 89th minutes. Newtown earned Man of the Match honors for his incredible performance making a total of 5 saves and preserving the victory for the Orange and Blue.
3 Thoughts
Road Wins / Shutouts – Last season, the Orange and Blue struggled on the road, tallying only a few wins the entire season, and by the end of the season, clean sheets were few and far between. This squad has set the tone very differently in their first 2 games with 2 road wins and 2 clean sheets. In their first game versus the Battery, the team bunkered down and defended heavily after scoring their lone goal. Tonight, Cincinnati played a much more balanced game throughout. Based on Coach Koch’s post game comments, this was much more inline with his expectations. Though, it would have been nice to see a more even distribution of shots between Indy and FCC, it shouldn’t be overlooked that Cincinnati was playing away, holding a goal advantage for 65 minutes.
See More Depth – After Kenny Walker left the pitch early in the game, Will Seymore stepped in and the team didn’t miss a beat. Last year, we saw a significant drop off when Walker was out injured. It’s extremely promising that, this year, the team has more depth in the midfield.
Mitch Who? – Evan Newton continued to impress, tallying an impressive number of saves to keep the clean sheet for FCC. Though Alan Koch reminds us that we have 3 strong keepers, Evan is on fire at this point and not likely to lose his starting spot if he continues to play this strong each game.
Box Score
Goals
26′ – Emery Welshman (Emmanuel Ledesma)
FC Cincinnati Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Evan Newton (GK); Blake Smith, Dekel Keinan, Forrest Lasso, Justin Hoyte; Richie Ryan, Kenney Walker (17’); Lance Laing (65’) Corben Bone, Emmanuel Ledesma, Emery Welshman (80’)
Subs: Spencer Richey (GK); Nazmi Albawdawi, Matt Bahner, Paddy Barrett; Daniel Haber (25′); Danni König (10′), Will Seymore (73′)
Indy Eleven Starting XI (4-4-2): Owain Fôn Williams (GK); Tyler Pasher, Reiner Ferreira (44’), Carlyle Mitchell, Karl Ouimette; Nico Marten, Matt Watson (86’) Ben Speas (57’), Zach Steinberger; Eugene Starikov, Jack McInerney
Subs: Ben Lungaard (GK); Brad Rusin (4′), Brad Ring (46′), Juan Guerra; Justin Braun, Soony Saad (33′), Nathan Lewis
Next Up:
FC Cincinnati vs. Louisville City FC – Sat. April 7th. 7:00 p.m. – Nippert Stadium.
@billwwolf for @CincySoccerTalk
