Needing a lift from Saturday’s debacle, FC Cincinnati played host to red hot Inter Miami in a midweek duel for table position. There would be no visitor comeback this time as the Orange and Blue secured the 3-0 shutout.
First Half
In the first half it appeared the match would be open. Just past the first minute, a first touch lob pass from DeAndre Yedlin found Kei Kamara in the midfield. Kamara headed the ball on and was off to the races. Centerback Tomás Avilés was able to recover well but Kamara uncorked a curling shot at the top right corner. Ócsar Ustari had to be in the right position to come up with the save.
The scoring breakthrough came in the 16th minute when Luca Orellano cut his run to the endline short to bring the ball back on his strong right foot. Orellano ushered the ball through to a running Dado Valenzuela. The angle was incredibly tight, but Valenzuela’s shot skirted past Ustari inside the far post.
Given the hot conditions on the pitch, the play slowed to a crawl for the remainder of the half.
Brazilian Brace
FCC was able to double the lead in the 50th minute following a ball played into the box by Pavel Bucha. Evander was on the receiving end and muscled off two Miami defenders to win the ball. Evander struck the ball with pace, and it splashed the net.
No doubt some angst had settled into the building, given a similar 2-0 advantage was foiled over the weekend. But a goal in the 70th minute dispelled those concerns. Orellano picked the ball up outside the 18-yard box and dribbled to his left around Maximiliano Falcon. His left footed shot was saved but the rebound fell to the right foot of Evander. Evander was able to drag the foot and direct the ball into the goal.
Evander’s two goals now brings his total in league play to 15. The MLS All-Star is having a remarkable run of form with a goal scored in each of his last 5 matches including 3 braces.
Lead Secured
FCC had built a commanding 3-0 lead and with great play from substitutes, they were able to see out the shutout. Pat Noonan shared his thoughts on the match in the press conference.
“We played the game in a better way with the lead.” Noonan continued, “And, you know, was it perfect? No, there were tough moments when we had to defend, and we had to defend good movement, good one-v-one ability on the ball, and I thought our guys were up for it. Made a lot of big plays in the right moments, and scored some good goals. It’s not easy to beat a team of that quality with the form that they’re in and to score three and get a shutout, I’m very pleased about that.”
Goals
CIN – Gerardo Valenzuela (Orellano) 16’, Evander 50’, Evander 70’
MIA – None
Lineups
CIN: Roman Celentano, Luca Orellano (Corey Baird 77’), Lukas Engel (Brad Smith 85’), Matt Miazga (C), Miles Robinson, DeAndre Yedlin (Alvas Powell 85’), Tah Brian Anunga, Pavel Bucha, Evander, Gerardo Valenzuela (Sergio Santos 77’), Kei Kamara (Teenage Hadebe 62’)
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Gilberto Flores, Nick Hagglund, Kenji Mboma Dem
MIA: Oscar Ustari (Rocco Ríos-Novo 26’), Jordi Alba, Tomás Avilés, Maximiliano Falcón (Gonzalo Luján 72’), Marcelo Weigandt (Yannick Bright 86’), Sergio Busquets, Benjamin Cremaschi, Telasco Segovia, Tadeo Allende (Fafa Picault 72’), Luis Suárez, Lionel Messi (C)
Substitutes not used: William Yarbrough, Ryan Sailor, Leo Afonso, David Ruíz, Santiago Morales
Discipline
CIN – Teenage Hadebe (Yellow Card) 81’
Next Match
MLS Regular Season – at Real Salt Lake; 9:30pm 7/19: AppleTV+
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