CINCINNATI, OH (August 13, 2024) – On Tuesday night, FC Cincinnati took the field in the Round of 16 in the Leagues Cup for the first time in club history against Philadelphia Union.
Fresh off a thrilling penalty shootout win against Santos Laguna, the Orange and Blue found themselves against a familiar tournament opponent in a matchup that never seems to disappoint. Philadelphia Union travel to TQL stadium to take on FCC for the third time in tournament fashion, (2022 and 2023 MLS playoffs).
FC Cincinnati looked to keep their home field form against the Union strong as they have won the last four meetings at TQL stadium.
THE MATCH
On a warm and cloudy Tuesday afternoon, the highly anticipated match between the Orange and Blue and the Union kicked off. The match kicked off with FC Cincinnati attacking the Bailey.
The first hopeful chance of the game comes in the second minute from FC Cincinnati when a long diagonal ball from Ian Murphy to Corey Baird found Baird at the edge of the box but his shot fell to Andre Blake.
In the fifth minute, Philadelphia seemed to get on the board quickly and early, as a deep through ball from Bedoya fell behind FCC’s back three and found Mikeal Uhre alone in the box and he comfortably put it past Celentano to give the Union a 1-0 lead. However, after a lengthy VAR check, it was determined that Uhre was offside and the game remained 0-0.
Another key chance for the Union happened shortly after in the ninth minute, as Jose Martinez found himself alone at the top of the 18 and rifled a shot on target. Thankfully for FCC, Roman Celentano was there to block the shot.
In the 12th minute, FCC got a few flurry of shots off. The first came on a great counterattack opportunity when Kubo placed a ball to DeAndre Yedlin who missed the shot to the left. Shortly after, Yedlin played a ball to Sergio Santos and he made an acrobatic attempt from close, but Blake was there to save it.
The Union found themselves with another opportunity to put one in the back of the net in the 17th minute, as a shot from Uhre traveled across the box and left Celentano out of place. The ball found the feet of Jack McGlynn but he put it high over the post.
FCC got the first corner of the game in the 21st minute with Kubo putting a good ball into the box. Unfortunately, none of his teammates were there to put one on target.
In the 25th minute, a nice combo of passes from Kubo, Luca Orellano and Santos looked like it was going to give the Orange and Blue a convincing shot on target but the attack fizzled out when a pass deflected off a Union defender away from the box.
Shortly after, the Union almost caught FCC on the counter when Kai Wagner received a pass on the edge of the box, but his pass into the box missed everyone and FCC escaped potential danger.
The Union, careless with the ball, lost it to Kubo and he almost made them pay when he took a shot from about 30 yards out but it missed wide right in the 29th minute.
In the 34th minute, a great tackle from Ian Murphy near midfield gave the ball to Kubo in the center of the field and he took the ball all the way down to the box, but that’s where the attack ended.
FCC nearly and should’ve gotten the lead in the 35th minute when Orellano played a ball into the box to Santos who then played a ball to Kubo all alone in the center of the box who hit the post with his shot.
The first sub of the game was due to injury for the Union when Nathan Harriel came in for Olivier Mbazio in the 37th minute.
The Santos to Kubo connection linked up again in the 40th minute in the box as a heroic run from Santos off a ball from Baird found Santos, who then played to Kubo in the middle of the box but his shot was deflected by a Union defender.
Shortly after, the Union should have went up 1-0 after a shot by Baribo but Yedlin made a stop into the box to keep FCC in the match.
In the 43rd minute, a corner from FCC found Miles Robinson unmarked in the box but his header soared wide right of the goal. Shortly after, Robinson picks up the first yellow card of the game on a foul on Uhre.
The halftime whistle sounded with the score remaining 0-0, although both teams had a case that they should have a goal or two.
Reinforcements came on for FCC, as Luciano Acosta subbed in out of halftime for Baird.
The first shot of the half came in favor of FCC in the 48th minute when Kubo played a ball off to Pavel Bucha on the top of the box but Bucha’s shot soared high off the bar.
In the 51st minute, Philadelphia Union got on the board first as a stunning pass from Daniel Gazdag found Uhre in the box and Uhre smashed the ball past Celentano to make it 1-0 Union.
In the 52nd minute, a scary moment happened for FCC near midfield when Bucha and Chidozie Awaziem collided heads asthey both tried to make an aerial play on a ball. Thankfully, they both seemed to be okay.
After a quiet next 10 minutes, the Union doubled their lead to 2-0 on a strike from Baribo in the 61st minute.
In the second half, FCC struggled to get anything going on offense until they got on the board in the 66th minute from a through ball from Kevin Kelsy, which then saw Lucho close to the keeper but his shot was deflected right. However, Bucha was there to put the ball in the back of the net and make it 2-1.
In the 70th minute, FCC almost brought it level when a shot by Orellano deflected off Blake and hit the post.
Blake showed why he is always in the conversation for best keepers in MLS in the 73rd minute when FCC should have tied it 2-2 off a Kubo shot but Blake made a stop on the line to keep the Union in front 2-1.
However, the foot stayed on the gas in the 75th minute as a ball from Orellano got to Kelsy in the box but Kelsy couldn’t get it together, falling harmlessly out of play.
In the 80th minute, Acosta showcased his MVP skillset as he beat multiple defenders in the box and found Yedlin in the box to tie it 2-2.
The tie didn’t last long, as immediately after in the 81st minute, the Union took the lead on a goal from Tai Baribo, a brace for him.
The onslaught for the Union continued, as in the 84th minute, substitute Quinn Sullivan took a shot at Celentano but he deflected back to Sullivan who then found the back of the net to make it 4-2 Union.
“Maybe we hadn’t gotten past equalizing at that stage and understanding how to manage the next couple minutes to keep some momentum.” Pat Noonan said about what happened during the breakdown after tying the game.
The full-time whistle sounded and FC Cincinnati’s 2024 Leagues Cup was over with a 4-2 defeat from Philadelphia Union.
“Our pressing was poor, and we played too fast.” Noonan said post-game about the defeat. “We rushed a lot of plays and allowed a really good team to expose us in transition.”
Box Score
Leagues Cup Round of 16 – FC Cincinnati vs Philadelphia Union
TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
Attendance: 15,107
Result: FC Cincinnati 2, Philadelphia Union 4
FC Cincinnati Starting XI
CIN: Roman Celentano, Corey Baird (Luciano Acosta 45’), Ian Murphy (Kipp Keller 62’), Chidozie Awaziem, Miles Robinson, DeAndre Yedlin (C) (Bret Halsey 86’), Pavel Bucha, Obinna Nwobodo (Gerardo Valenzuela 85’), Yuya Kubo, Luca Orellano, Sergio Santos (Kevin Kelsy 62’)
Philadelphia Union Starting XI
PHI: Andre Blake, Kai Wagner, Jack Elliot, Jakob Glesnes, Olivier Mbaizo (Nathan Harriel 38’), José Martínez, Jack McGlynn (Leon Flach 86’), Alejandro Bedoya (C) (Quinn Sullivan 75’), Dániel Gazdag, Tai Baribo, Mikael Uhre (Samuel Adeniran 76’)
Scoring Summary:
PHI – Uhre 52’
PHI – Baribo 61’
CIN – Bucha 66’
CIN – Yedlin 80’
PHI – Baribo 81’
PHI – Q. Sullivan 84’
Discipline:
YC – Miles Robinson (CIN, foul)
YC – Kai Wagner (PHI, foul)
Next Up:
Vs. Inter Miami, 7:30 PM, Saturday, August 24, Chase Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Recommended for you
