2022 Match Reports

One of the Worst Performances at the Worst Time

FC Cincinnati drop points with only one match left

Photo Credit: Anders Saling

FC Cincinnati decided to have one of its worst matches all season in a match against Chicago Fire FC. Losing 3-2 against a side that was already out of the playoff race. This loss, alongside wins from Miami and Columbus, puts FCC at risk of missing out on the playoffs after having multiple chances of getting close to clinching position.

The first half opened with FCC controlling the ball and getting a couple of chances. Brenner and Brandon Vazquez both saw a glimpse at goal early, but neither were able to really test former FCC GK, Spencer Richey.

This continued for around the first 15 minutes, but after that point, Chicago also started to grow into the match. Following that point, the opposition even seemed to be playing better. They were getting in decent positions and were able to test the defense inside the box.

After about 30 minutes, however, FCC returned to the forefront and started to attack the Chicago goal. FCC had multiple chances that it probably should have gotten closer to the goal, or even scored. The team’s chance creation was alright, but its finishing skills and ability to turn those chances into shots were atrocious.

Now, the second half was where everything fell apart. After a little bit of attack from FCC, Chicago started to boss the home team and looked like the ones looking to clinch a playoff spot after swift attacking on counters.

Jhon Durán played the star for the match, as the youngster got the opening goal of the match. But, FCC didn’t appear to notice, as it played as nervous and scared as before, allowing Brian Gutierrez to double Chicago’s lead thanks to a great shot.

Following this barrage from Chicago, FCC looked to pick up the pace a tiny bit, but, of course, that didn’t bring any changes to the scoreline because the finishing was atrocious up to this point.

Durán wasn’t counted in this statement, as after a little bit of FCC attack, a Chicago counterattack that left the forward wide open led to him chipping Roman Celentano which easily fell into the net to go up 3 to 0.

Now, when the side was down 3 to 0, was when FCC really started to put on the pressure. Almost immediately following the team’s pressure, it tallied its first goal of the match thanks to a Lucho Acosta goal that maybe rightfully could have been called offsides.

After this goal, FCC continued its attack but was only able to get corner kicks, which the team is notoriously bad at in my opinion. But, Brandon Vazquez wasn’t done working. Obinna Nwobodo sent him the ball, where Vazquez then set it down and slotted the ball into the back of the net.

However, after this, the match basically went entirely how Chicago wanted. Chicago had the ball for the first half of stoppage time, and then halfway through, it appeared like Rafael Czichos initiated head contact on Alvaro Barreal. This started a fight, with Sergio Santos flying in and getting into it. But, Santos was the one to pick up a red card, while Czichos only got a yellow. This play basically ended the match, with Chicago laughing to three worthless points, while FCC now looking at other teams to help them in the standings.

Matchday 33 – FC Cincinnati vs Chicago Fire FC
Result: Chicago Fire FC 3, FC Cincinnati 2


BOX SCORE

FC Cincinnati Starting XI:

Roman Celentano (GK), Geoff Cameron (Dominique Badji 88′), Matt Miazga, Nick Hagglund (Ian Murphy 60′), Álvaro Barreal, Alvas Powell (Ronald Matarrita 72′), Luciano Acosta, Júnior Moreno (Yuya Kubo 60′), Obinna Nwobodo, Brenner (Sergio Santos 73′), Brandon Vázquez

Bench: Allan Cruz, Alec Kann, John Nelson, Raymon Gaddis

Chicago Fire FC Starting XI:

Zac MacMath (GK), Justen Glad, Marcelo Silva, Andrew Brody, Aaron Herrera, Pablo Ruiz (Scott Caldwell 78′), Jasper Löeffelsend (Braian Ojeda 45′), Diego Luna (Anderson Julio 65′), Maikel Chang (Justin Meram 65′), Jefferson Savarino, Sergio Córdova (Daniel Musovski 81′)

Spencer Richey (GK), Rafael Czichos, Carlos Terán, Jonathan Bornstein (Kendall Burks 90+8′), Boris Sekulic, Brian Gutierrez (Javier Casas 90′), Mauricio Pineda, Federico Navarro, Jhon Durán, Christopher Mueller, Stanislav Ivanov (Miguel Navarro 77′)

Bench: Sergio Oregel,Chris Brady, Alex Monis, Missael Rodriguez, Jhon Jairo Espinoza, Victor Bezerra

Scoring Summary:

CHI – Jhon Durán (Gutierrez) 56′
CHI – Chang (Mueller) 59′
CHI – Jhon Durán (Gutierrez) 75′
CIN –
Lucho Acosta (Ronald Matarrita) 78’

CIN – Brandon Vazquez (Nwobodo) 76’

Discipline:

CIN – Nick Hagglund 27’
CHI – Mauricio Pineda 68′
CIN – Yuya Kubo 81’
CIN – Sergio Santos 90+5’
CIN –Rafael Czichos  90+5’
CIN – Miguel Navarro 90+9’

Next up:

at D.C. United, 2:30 p.m. Sunday, October 9

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