In need of a team performance with key talent missing, the Orange & Blue stood firm with a lunchpail performance.
FC Cincinnati turned around its recent poor form to reset the clock and pull out a 1-0 victory in their first Leagues Cup group match against Queretaro FC, 1-0. It took a constant barrage of stray shots, but Yamil Asad’s third goal of the 2024 season broke the draw for Cincinnati to advance to the next round.
Cincinnati (1-0-0, 3 pts.) entered the match with an extended break, looking to recover after a three-match losing streak in MLS season play. However, the team had historically struggled when captain Luciano Acosta missed the match (0-6-4), which had been the case for part of the team’s downturn.
Club Queretaro (0-1-1, 1 pt.) came into the match with a penalty-kick loss to NYCFC under its belt. Los Gallos Blancos, a.k.a. “The White Roosters”, have yet to win a match in Liga MX play (0-0-4).
The forecast predicted and began with rain much like the last time the Orange & Blue faced Mexican opposition in the Leagues Cup. Last year, FCC played the last portion of their match against Chivas the next day after the storm delay lasted throughout the night.
FCC ran out a Starting XI with noticeable vacancies and arrivals. Acosta sat out the match, still recovering from a toe concern, while Aaron Boupendza was not ready after an illness this week. DeAndre Yedlin also missed the match due to a knock picked up in practice.
The void in the lineup allowed Pat Noonan to trot out a familiar shape in formation, but with Yuya Kubo accepting the captain’s armband. The Japanese midfielder became FCC’s 14th player to start in the captain’s role.
Newly-signed Chidozie Awaziem started his first match with the Orange & Blue, fresh from getting his visa. Obinna Nwobodo was also back after getting his green card finalized and started the match on the bench. Nico Benalcazar and Moises Tablante from FC Cincinnati 2 also made their first bench appearances for the first team.
Queretaro trotted out a lineup similar to their match vs. NYCFC. Former Nashville SC striker Ake Loba and on-loan RSL forward Rubio Rubin later joined the match as substitutes.
Even without their most dynamic player available, Cincinnati had more of the action with the ball in the first half. Dado Valenzuela garnered most of the Mexican side’s attention, taking much of the brunt in possession. It appeared the homegrown forward received a penalty kick in the ninth minute, only for VAR to call the play back.
Incidentally, FCC had more possession and overall shots in the first half, but both teams had one shot on frame. Yamil Asad took the final pass into the box in the 15th minute on a breakaway, only for his shot to be deflected wide by goalkeeper Guillermo Allison.
Queretaro’s best chance was in the 38th minute when defender Francisco Venegas got a look at net in the 18-yard box. His shot was directly at Roman Celentano, who easily packaged it up.
While Queretaro was comfortable to press the edges and force turnovers out of the midfield, the match’s only goal came from FCC’s pressure. Sergio Santos picked up a stray deflection off the defense in the 64th minute and sent a cross to Asad. The Argentine’s poke was just firm enough to skirt past Allison and break the seal on the match.
Much of the rest of the half involved opportunities on the Cincinnati final third, only for the attack to fizzle. The biggest opportunity to extend the lead came to Kevin Kelsy’s feet in the 85th minute. However, the striker missed wide of an open net.
Head coach Pat Noonan felt the form was solid, but that the final shot was lacking.
“I felt it was strong, outside of finishing,” he said. “I would say the two criticisms were just uncharacteristic, poor turnovers in moments where we had time and rushed plays, and our final third. Play tonight was subpar—I think that was pretty obvious. But we put ourselves into enough good situations to not have it as interesting as it was towards the end.”
Overall, Cincinnati had a 24-9 advantage in shots, but could only put one past Queretaro’s keeper. Luckily for the Orange & Blue, one was enough.
“We win, and we advance out of the group,” Noonan added about the upcoming match. “We know we obviously have a turn-around to face NYCFC. We need a strong performance out of there, but it’s good that we’ve added another game at a minimum.”
Surprisingly, Awaziem played all 90 minutes of the match, despite arriving earlier in the day after getting his visa approved in Canada.
“Honestly, I didn’t feel there was any need for me to go off (on substitution),” Awaziem mentioned about his debut. “I wanted to help the team more. I wanted us to be more stable in behind and to give my best. I was feeling good.”
The win puts FCC currently atop their three-team group. A win over NYCFC on Monday will clinch the top spot in the group. Queretaro heads home, where they will rest up to resume Liga MX Apertura play in three weeks.
Leagues Cup East Group 1, Match #2 – FC Cincinnati vs. Queretaro FC
TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
Attendance: 24,566
Result: FC Cincinnati 1, Queretaro FC 0
BOX SCORE
FC Cincinnati Starting XI (3-4-2-1):
Roman Celentano (GK); Alvas Powell, Chidozie Awaziem, Ian Murphy; Bret Halsey (Kipp Keller 82′), Yuya Kubo (c), Pavel Bucha, Yamil Asad (Malik Pinto 90+1′); Gerardo Valenzuela (Obinna Nwobodo 63′), Luca Orellano (Kevin Kelsy 81′); Corey Baird (Sergio Santos 62′).
Bench: Evan Louro, Paul Walters, London Aghedo, Moises Tablante, Nico Benalcazar, Stiven Jimenez.
Queretaro FC Starting XI (5-4-1):
Guillermo Allison (GK); Alan Medina, Brayton Vazquez, Kevin Escamilla (c) (Jaime Gomez 70′), Francisco Venegas (Ayrton Preciado 86′), Franco Russo; Pablo Barrera (Rubio Rubin 71′), Martin Rio, Federico Lertora, Lucas Rodriguez (Victor Lopez 56′); Samuel Sosa (Ake Loba 70′).
Bench: Carlos Higuera, Carlo Soldati, Jonathan Perlaza, Omar Mendoza, Pablo Ortiz, Sebastian Hernandez, Ronaldo Cisneros.
Scoring Summary:
CIN – Yamil Asad 64′ (Santos)
Discipline:
YC – Franco Russo 48’ (QRO, foul)
YC – Federico Lertora 71′ (QRO, foul)
YC – Martin Rio 82′ (QRO, dissent)
YC – Ian Murphy 82′ (CIN, dissent)
YC – Roman Celentano 90+2’ (CIN, time wasting)
Next up:
vs. NYCFC, 8:00 p.m., Monday, August 5th, TQL Stadium (Cincinnati, OH)