FC Cincinnati has characterized themselves in a number of ways this season. In addition to their proclivity for winning one score matches, their strength on the road has been a big factor in their second place status in the Eastern Conference. Saturday evening in Orlando was no different, as strong defense and an Evander brace led to yet another one goal, away win.
FIRST HALF:
The first half was one that despite it’s slow start imbued the FCC fanbase with hope. Entering the match as heavy underdogs, The Orange and Blue held strong throughout the opening half hour. In a first half that saw the Lions of Orlando control possession by a margin of 55-45, things seemed to be heading to the intermission in a scoreless draw. Truly it seemed as if the bulk of the entertainment in the opening 45 was to come from the flaring tempers on both sides. However, four minutes into first half stoppage time, FCC won a free kick well outside of the 18 yard box. With the dying seconds passing, Evander fired a scintillating effort towards goal that caught Pedro Gallesse well off guard. By the time the Peruvian goalkeeper collected the effort it had long passed the goal line. With that, FCC entered the locker room confident in getting a result on the evening.
SECOND HALF:
Entering the second half the only changes to be noted was on Orlando’s side, as Luis Muriel came on for Ivan Angulo. Similar to the first half, the second half was one with a rather lethargic start. Neither side could finish an effort, nor could either side take a firm hold upon the match. Overall, Orlando controlled possession and outshot FCC in the second 45. Despite that, the Orange and Blue struck first. In the 73rd minute, a Orlando turnover near midfield sprung Kevin Denkey free, who streaked toward Gallesse. Near the top of the box he selflessly laid a pass off for Evander, who cut back in and hammered home his second of the night.
Now anyone who has been around football for awhile knows perhaps one of the most common clichés in the game… “there’s nothing more dangerous than a 2-0 lead.”. Now naturally one hopes that this maxim never applies to their club, but Orlando wasn’t going to let FCC escape without raising the Orange and Blue’s blood pressure a bit. Just 13 minutes later, knocking on the door of the end of regular time, Marco Pasalic fired a left-footed rocket home to halve the lead. The assist came from Martin Ojeda.
With the perhaps generous 10 minutes of stoppage time being announced just a few moments later, the Orange and Blue faithful were glued to the edge of their seats as time seemed to slow. Perhaps it’s the Cincinnati sports teams induced PTSD, but in situations such as this we find ourselves expecting disappointment. Alas, FC Cincinnati have excelled in odd goal situations this season, and they ground through stoppage time unscathed. Securing all three points on the evening, and keeping themselves in 2nd place in the East.
Speaking on Evander’s performance postgame, “”He’s a special player. You saw it on the free kick. He’s just doing things that others can’t do, and that gives us nice momentum going into the break.”, said Noonan.
Speaking on the teams overall performance, ” But, like I said at the beginning, a gutsy performance from our guys, and I’m happy that they get to walk off the field with three points against a very good team on the road.”
QUICK RECAP:
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati at Orlando City SC
Date: June 28, 2025
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: Inter&Co Stadium | Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 20,061
Kickoff: 7:40 p.m. ET
Weather: 82 degrees, cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
ORL: 0-1-1
CIN: 1-1-2
ORL – Marco Pašalić (Ojeda, Enrique) 87’
CIN – Evander 45’+4, Evander (Denkey, Bucha) 74’
LINEUPS:
ORL: Pedro Gallese, David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel (Rafael Santos 70’), Dagur Thorhallsson (Kyle Smith 80’), Iván Angulo (Luis Muriel 46’), César Araújo, Eduard Atuesta, Marco Pašalić, Ramiro Enrique, Martín Ojeda (Nicolás Rodríguez 90’)
Substitutes not used: Javier Otero, Colin Guske, Gustavo Caraballo, Thomas Williams, Zakaria Taifi
Head Coach: Óscar Pareja
CIN: Roman Celentano, Lukas Engel (Brad Smith 80’), Teenage Hadebe (Alvas Powell 83’), Matt Miazga (C), Gilberto Flores, DeAndre Yedlin, Pavel Bucha, Tah Brian Anunga, Evander (Corey Baird 83’), Kévin Denkey, Gerardo Valenzuela (Kei Kamara 60’)
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Stefan Chirila, Stiven Jimenez
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
STATS SUMMARY: ORL/CIN
Shots: 17 / 9
Shots on Goal: 3 / 4
Saves: 2 / 2
Corner Kicks: 4 / 2
Fouls: 13 / 14
Offside: 3 / 1
Possession: 59 / 41
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Gilberto Flores (Yellow Card) 43’
ORL – Marco Pašalić (Yellow Card) 45’
ORL – DeAndre Yedlin (Yellow Card) 45’
ORL – Ramiro Enrique (Yellow Card) 54’
CIN – Corey Baird (Yellow Card) 90’+4
ORL – David Brekalo (Yellow Card) 90’+5
NEXT MATCH:
MLS Regular Season: vs. Chicago, July 5th at 7:30 PM, TQL Stadium, MLS Season Pass
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