HIGH POINT, NORTH CAROLINA – FC Cincinnati 2 (8-1-4) returned from a one-goal deficit to take down Carolina Core (1-3-7) by a final score of 3-1.
FIRST HALF
The Core took the lead early in the match in the 19th minute via a goal from Honduran forward Joshua Rodriguez, who headed home a well-worked corner kick to give Carolina a 1-0 lead.
FCC 2 responded quickly, tying the game up in the 22nd minute off a header from center-back Brian Schaefer, who finished off a deflected Stiven Jimenez shot to make it 1-1.
Both teams could not find the second goal in the first 45 minutes, as both teams exchanged chances on both ends. Cincinnati goalkeeper Paul Walters and Carolina keeper Alex Sutton each made a couple of saves towards the end of the first to keep it 1-1.
SECOND HALF
The Orange and Blue started the second half on the front foot, enjoying most of the ball. In the 54th minute, FCC 2 took the lead off a beautiful pass from forward Kenji Mboma Dem, who found Jesus Castellano inside the box and curled a shot into the side netting.
Just three minutes later, Cincinnati added a third goal to double their lead. Jimenez found Castellano out on the left side, who made a great move in the box and slotted the ball across the face of the goal to right wing back Amir Daley who tapped the ball in to make it 3-1 FCC 2 in the 57th minute.
Carolina couldn’t create enough quality goal-scoring chances as the game moved to its latter stages, as FCC2 enjoyed its two-goal cushion for the remainder of the match, hanging onto a 3-1 victory, the team’s fifth road victory of the season.
REVIEW OF THE GAME
The final stats from the match had The Core outshooting Cincinnati 12-10 on the night, with both teams shooting five shots on target.
Carolina also enjoyed most of the ball in the game, with 55 percent possession to FCC 2’s 45 percent. It’s also worth noting the match saw a combined 35 fouls total, with 18 for The Orange and Blue and 17 for The Core. Four yellow cards were handed out by match referee John Matto, three for Carolina and just one to FCC 2’s Nico Benalcazar.
Another big road win for Cincinnati, in a physical game against a struggling Carolina side who have just one win now in their first 11 games of existence. The Orange and Blue now sit at 25 points and in third place in the Eastern Conference, just three points behind Chattanooga FC in second and four behind first-place Philadelphia Union II.
Up next is a three-game home stand for FC Cincinnati 2, starting next Sunday, June 23rd against Huntsville City FC at Scudamore Stadium.
FC Cincinnati 2 Lineup:
(3-5-2)
GK: Paul Walters
D: Gaël Gilbert, Brian Schaefer, Isiah Foster
M: Amir Daley, Nico Benalcazar, Peter Mangione (Moises Tablante 59′), Stiven Jiemenz (Yair Ramos Perez 87′), Jesus Castellano (Alejandro Guido 80′)
F: Guilherme Santos, Kenji Mboma Dem (Ben Stitz 59′)
Carolina Core Lineup:
(3-5-2)
GK: Alex Sutton
D: Christian Diaz, Ibrahim Covi, Kai Thomas
M: Derek Cuevas, Santiago Cambindo, Jacob Evans (Federico Stachuk 80′), Facundo Canete, Jathan Juarez (Carlos Diaz 58′)
F: Joshua Rodriguez (Tyler Freeman 69′), Papa Ndoye (Msunguchi Charles 58′)
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