With Pat Noonan out due to suspension, FCC picked up its fourth-straight loss, a first of the Noonan era, losing 2-0 to Inter Miami CF thanks to a Luis Suarez brace.
The match had an exceptionally inauspicious start for the visiting side. Miami came out flying immediately when the kickoff whistle blew, and that allowed them to win the ball back after FCC started the game. The ball went to the right wing to Marcelo Weigandt, who then sent in a cross to the middle of the box, where Suarez got on the end of it for a goal inside the first 35 seconds of the match.
Miami wasn’t done after that immediate start either, and that was thanks to a horrible giveaway by Obinna Nwobodo in the sixth minute. Nwobodo received the ball and tried to play it back to Miles Robinson, but it was badly underhit. A Miami player was able to pick up the ball, and play it to Suarez, who slotted it in.
After that rough start, the match started to settle down a tad. FCC began to see some more of the ball in Miami’s defensive third, which allowed FCC’s defensive shape to flow better.
A little bit of foreshadowing happened in this part of the match, as Miami center back Tomas Aviles picked up a yellow card, which will come into play later in the half.
As FCC grew into the game, its attackers gained confidence and came up with some more ideas. The team’s best chance of the first half came in the 31st minute when Kevin Kelsy made an outstanding run, but Drake Callendar was equal to the task, stopping the chance.
The match was turned on its head in the 40th minute when Aviles went studs up on a challenge, and on a yellow card already, there was only one place left for him to go. With FCC now up a player, they were free to attack with some more freedom, and looked like scoring, but were unable to do so, as the first half ended in favor of Miami by two goals.
As the second half started, FCC superstar Lucho Acosta entered the match hoping to bring the team back from its deficit. FCC held much of the possession in the first part of the second half, but was unable to do anything with that possession.
And despite some really good chances in that second half, including some where both Yuya Kubo and Acosta seemed to have the ball in great spots, nobody from FCC could get it past Callendar.
BOX SCORE
FC Cincinnati Starting XI (5-2-2-1):
Inter Miami CF Starting XI (3-4-3):
Scoring Summary:
MIA – Luis Suárez (Weigandt) 1’
MIA – Luis Suárez (Rojas) 6’
Discipline:
MIA – Tomás Avilés 11’
MIA – Tomás Avilés (Second Yellow, Red Card) 42’
CIN – DeAndre Yedlin 42’
CIN – Chidozie Awaziem 45’+4
MIA – Luis Suárez 45’+8
CIN – Luciano Acosta 65’
CIN – Miles Robinson 78’
MIA – Jordi Alba 90’+4
Next up:
vs. CF Montreal, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, August 31, TQL Stadium (Cincinnati, OH)
Recommended for you
