HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KENTUCKY – They left it late, but for the first time in club history, FC Cincinnati 2 has now won three games in a row, defeating Crown Legacy FC 2-1 at Scudamore Stadium, improving to (4-3-1) on the season.
FIRST HALF:
The Orange and Blue controlled most of the first half, dominating possession and outshooting Crown Legacy FC 9-4 in the first 45′ With three shots on goal to Crown Legacy’s zero.
The best opportunity for FCC 2 came midway through the first half, as striker Stefan Chirila struck a shot to goalkeeper Chituru Odunze’s near post that was saved.
Crown Legacy FC had limited opportunities throughout the half, but despite having no shots on goal, Aron John blasted a shot from outside the 18 that struck Evan Louro’s crossbar.
Both sides could not break the deadlock, and the two teams went into the locker room tied 0-0.
SECOND HALF:
Early in the second, forward Ben Stitz had a great chance to get FCC 2 on the board first. In the 51st minute, a cross was sent in by Moises Tabalante, after which it found the feet of Stitz, but the shot was parried away by Odunze for a Cincinnati corner.
In the 62nd minute, John found the back of the net for Crown Legacy to open up the scoring, curving a shot inside the box off an assist from Cameron Duke.
Crown Legacy FC thought they added a second after Duke scored, but the goal was called back from a handball off the former Sporting Kansas City midfielder. The scoreline remained in favor of CLFC, 1-0.
In the 76th minute, Chirila was taken down in the box by Philip Mayaka, giving the Orange and Blue a golden opportunity to equalize from the penalty kick spot. Chirila then stepped up and converted from the spot, tying the game at 1-1 apiece.
The Orange and Blue kept knocking on the door, and they found the game-winner in stoppage time. A ball from substitute Jesus Castenallo found forward Peter Mangione who slotted the ball into the side-netting to give FCC 2 the lead late.
REVIEW OF GAME:
FCC 2 outshot Crown Legacy 18-13 on the afternoon, with seven shots on goal to the visitor’s two.
Despite the loss, CLFC had better passing accuracy than FCC 2, completing nearly 82 percent of their passes to the Orange and Blue’s 69 percent. 30 fouls were committed in the match, with both teams committing 15 fouls each.
Odunze was called upon to make five saves in the game, which kept CLFC in the match for the better portion of the match. While Cincinnati’s Evan Louro only had to make one save.
It’s safe to say that Orange and Blue’s team morale is high, head coach Tyrone Marshall commented postgame on the team’s maturity from last season, and ability to grind out results.
“We’re getting stuff accomplished in terms of slowly building a good foundation,” Marshall said. “Having a good foundation, it showed today with the result. The guys didn’t bend and break, right, we bent, and we continued to keep pushing and got the result. So, for us, it just continued to work week in and week out to get the mentality right and get the guys to believe that we have a really good group, but we have to go out and play as well. I think that’s what you’re seeing every week, you’re going to see a different challenge. And the more that we overcome those challenges, we’re heading in the right direction.”
FC Cincinnati 2 Lineup:
(3-5-2)
GK: Evan Louro
D: Isaiah Foster, Brian Schaefer, London Aghedo
M: Amir Daley (Gael Gilbert 69′), Nicholas Benalcazar, Peter Mangione (Nicolas Samways 90+4′), Stiven Jimenez (Alejandro Guido 87′), Moises Tablante
F: Stefan Chirila, Ben Stitz (Jesus Castenallo 69′)
Crown Legacy FC Lineup:
(4-3-3)
GK: Chituru Odunze
D: Jahlane Forbes (Julian Bravo 61′), Assane Ouedraogo, Willian Sangoquiza, Josue Rodrigues
M: Cameron Dule (Sebastian Bourget 81′), Philip Mayaka, Aron John
F: Nimfasha Berchimas (Dylan Sing 61′) , Jonathan Nyandjo (Chandler Young 86′), Filip Mirkovic (Peña Boardman 86′)
Recommended for you
