MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY – For the first time ever, FC Cincinnati 2 (6-1-3) took down the New York Red Bulls II (4-3-3) by a final score of 4-1 in a physical match at Montclair Soccer Park.
FIRST HALF
FC Cincinnati 2 came out of the gates firing and got on the board early. Jesus Castenallo crossed the ball and found Ben Stitz who made a late run into the box and struck the ball with his left foot to give the Orange and Blue a 1-0 lead in just the second minute of the game.
Cincinnati also added a second later onto the first 45 minutes. Stefan Chirila earned a foul near the top of the box and bent in a perfectly placed free-kick into the back of the net to double FCC 2’s lead in the 28th minute.
Despite a 2-0 scoreline, the half was more even throughout the run of play, with NYRB II outshooting Cincinnati 7-6 in the first half. But, the Orange and Blue put four shots on target to the Red Bulls’ one. Possession was mostly even in the first, with 51-49 percent in favor of FCC 2.
A near-perfect first half came to a close, with FCC 2 up 2-0 over NYRB II.
SECOND HALF
The woes continued for the Red Bulls early in the second half. Right back Dylan Sullivan, who received a yellow card right before the end of the first, was late on a challenge just two minutes into the half and received a second yellow, resulting in a red card, putting NYRB II down to 10-men for the remainder of the game.
The Red Bulls did get back into the match despite being down a man, however. After substitute Tanner Rosborough was fouled by FCC 2’s Amir Daley to draw a penalty kick, Ibrahim Kasule stepped up and sent goalkeeper Paul Walters the wrong way to cut the lead in half and make it a 2-1 game in the 50th minute.
The Orange and Blue responded quickly to that penalty. Chirila got his brace off a tap-in by a cross sent in by Daley, to make it 3-0 Cincinnati in the 56th minute.
Moises Tablante joined in on the scoring too, adding a fourth for FCC 2 in the 76th minute to put the final nail in NYRB II’s coffin and extend the lead further to 4-1.
The scoreline remained the same to the end, as the Orange and Blue were able to hold on for their fifth straight victory.
REVIEW OF THE GAME
The stats were a lot closer than the scoreline on the afternoon. FCC 2 outshot the Red Bulls 13-12 and put two more shots on target, 7-5.
Possession slightly favored NYRB II 52-48 percent. In a match where the two sides playing styles clashed, passing accuracy was below 80 percent for both teams, with the Orange and Blue at 76 percent and the Red Bulls at 73 percent.
With the red card, the Red Bulls also committed 22 fouls throughout the match and also accumulated three yellow cards. Cincinnati fouled 12 times and received two yellows.
It’s safe to say Chirila is in the best form of his young professional career, with two goals and an assist this match and now four goals and two assists in his last four games. The 17-year-old forward has rewarded head coach Tyrone Marshall with his starts and will see if he receives a first-team call-up if he keeps this form up.
Walters, who was recalled from United Soccer League’s Hartford Athletic by FCC earlier in the week got the start for FCC 2, and he was certainly brilliant in-between the sticks throughout the match.
With 15 points in their last five matches, FCC 2 has now jumped up to third in the Eastern Conference, and is one point away from first place, with Philadelphia Union II and Chattanooga FC tied at the top with 2o points.
This team is on an absolute roll.
FC Cincinnati 2 Lineup:
(3-5-2)
GK: Paul Walters
D: Gaël Gilbert, Brian Schaefer, London Aghedo
M: Amir Daley, Nicholas Benalcazar, Jesus Castellano (Alejandro Guido 69′), Peter Mangione (Nicholas Samays 86′), Moises Tablante
F: Ben Stitz (Guliherme Santos 65′), Stefan Chirila
New York Red Bulls II Lineup:
(4-4-2)
GK: Aidan Stokes
D: Dylan Sullivan, Aidan O’Connor, Juan Gutierrez Ruiz (Jair Collahuazo 61′), Omar Valencia
M: Ibrahim Kasule (Rafael Diaz 61′), Bento Estrela (Davi Alexandre 74′), Aiden Jarvis (Steven Sserwadda 46′), Mohammed Sofo
F: Frank Ssebufu (Tanner Rosborough 46′), Julian Hall
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