HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KENTUCKY – Another hard-fought match at home, but FC Cincinnati 2 (9-4-1) was up to the task as they took down Huntsville City FC (2-9-3) for the first time ever, by a final score of 2-1.
Here’s how it all went down:
FIRST HALF
Midfielder Malik Pinto almost scored in the first two minutes of the match with the game’s first opportunity. He took a shot from the half-volley but was stopped by Huntsville goalkeeper Elliot Panicco in the 2nd minute.
Pinto then had to leave the match in the 26th minute due to an injury after making a defensive play on attacking midfielder Peter Mangione.
In the 27th minute, Guilherme Santos broke the deadlock to open the scoring off a fantastic pass from Kenji Mbomba Dem as he slipped it by Panicco on the one-time finish. This goal marked Santos’ first goal for FCC 2.
FCC 2 nearly doubled its lead in the 42nd minute. Left-wing back Isaiah Foster turned on the burners down the wing and sent in a cross to forward Kenji Mbomba Dem, who curled a shot right into the hands of Panicco.
The Orange and Blue outshot the Boys in Blue 8-4 in the first half, with three shots on target to only one for Huntsville.
Despite being outpossessed in the first half, FCC 2 went into the locker room up 1-0.
SECOND HALF
The beginning of the second half was back and forth between the two sides, with both Huntsville and Cincinnati attempting to create goal-scoring chances.
Later in the second half, Mbomba Dem earned a free kick in the 70th minute after FCC 2 launched a counter-attack. Mbomba Dem took and buried the set piece to double the lead for the Orange and Blue, making it 2-0.
Huntsville City FC then earned a penalty kick in the 81st minute after Brian Schaefer pulled down Ajago in the box. Ajago stepped up and converted the spot kick, to make it a 2-1 game with just under 1o minutes plus stoppage time to go.
The Boys in Blue nearly tied the game in the 84th minute, after a miscommunication at the back led to a chance for Adem Sipic who lofted the ball over the goal but couldn’t find the equalizer.
FCC 2 was able to prevent Huntsville City FC from finding a second goal, as the Orange and Blue were able to hold on to their 2-1 lead and earn their ninth win of the season.
REVIEW OF THE GAME
This win puts FCC 2 up to 28 points on the year, which marks the most single-season high in points in the club’s short history with just 14 matches played this season.
The Orange and Blue are now up to second place in the Eastern Conference, just one point behind first-place Philadelphia Union II.
FCC 2 outshot Huntsville 13-9 on the night with four shots on target to just two for The Boys in Blue.
Huntsville City FC had the majority of the possession at 56 percent, and both teams had a combined 35 fouls, with 21 for Huntsville and 14 for Cincinnati.
Head coach Tyrone Marshall was proud of his team’s fight and ability to close out the match in his postgame press conference.
“The guys came out for minute one, they battled, they fought, scored two goals, so good for the boys, Marshall said. “We keep going, a lot of growing, a lot of developing to get to. I thought tonight was a good game to see the characteristics of some of the guys and how mature they start to become.”
FC Cincinnati 2 Lineup:
(3-5-2)
GK: Paul Walters
D: London Aghedo, Brian Schaefer, Gaël Gilbert
M: Amir Daley (Moises Tablante 78′), Stiven Jimenez (Yair Ramos Perez 78′), Malik Pinto (Peter Mangione 26′), Nico Benalcazar, Isaiah Foster
F: Kenji Mbomba Dem (Jesus Castellano 71′), Guliherme Santos (Ben Stitz 78′)
Huntsville City FC Lineup:
(4-4-2)
GK: Elliot Panicco
D: William Perkins, Faiz Opande (Joel Sangwa 78′), Nick DePuy (Fernando Ciceron 46′), Joseph Skinner (Tomas Ritondale 61′)
M: Jonathan Bolanos, Ethan O’Brien, Isaiah Jones, Axel Picazo (Jordan Knight 61′)
F: Forster Ajago, Woobens Pacius (Adem Sipic 46′)
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