The Orange & Blue had a steep incline to climb to make the next round of the Leagues Cup. Needless to say, the journey may be more beneficial than the final results.
FC Cincinnati again found themselves in a two-goal hole of their own doing, but could not make up the difference in a must-win match. A late goal from short-term call-up Andres Davila was not enough, as FCC fall to C.D. Guadalajara in the last match of Leagues Cup Phase 1, 2-1.
“I think collectively we lacked a little bit of creativity and movement off the ball,” head coach Pat Noonan later admitted. “I think it was too predictable when they were pressing us and some of the options for our back line as the game progressed, I think it improved. Maybe that was personnel, maybe that was just how the game unfolded with them playing with a lead. But yeah, lacked a little bit of creativity, and some of the movements I think were too slow to create more challenging situations for them.”
Cincinnati (1-1-1, 4 pts.) showed promise in the tournament after a hot start against Monterrey, but the shootout loss over FC Juarez and the small field of advancement made the hole too deep to get out of. Chivas (1-1-1, 5 pts.) also could not recover after an opening loss to New York Red Bulls and head home after an early elimination.
The last time Cincinnati and Chivas clashed in the 2023 Leagues Cup, it took two days to finish the match. A prolonged weather delay postponed the match to the following day, giving Brandon Vazquez extra time to complete his hat trick. The 3-1 victory helped FC Cincinnati qualify for the knockout round.
While Cincinnati needed a win to again continue their Leagues Cup, they would need extra goals to make it happen to pass Portland in the table. They would also have to hope that the Galaxy and Red Bulls did not perform well enough to pass them.
It was a safe bet that Pat Noonan was trying to rotate his squad for future matches. Only Gilberto Flores, Teenage Hadebe, and Brian Anunga were held over from the last Starting XI against FC Juarez. Stiven Jimenez, Stefan Chirila, Kenji Mboma Dem, and Ender Echenique started for the first time this season.
Additionally, Nick Hagglund captained the match, his first time with the armband since Decision Day at D.C. United in 2019. Hagglund also appeared in his 150th match for FC Cincinnati, his first appearance with the first team since a rib injury against Atlanta United.
C.D. Guadalajara had already been eliminated from the knockout round, but still opted to play for pride. Only four in the Starting XI were replacements from Sunday’s shootout win over Charlotte FC.
First half
The last time Cincinnati and Chivas clashed, it took two days for the match to finish. The match started with a 90-minute rain delay that reminded most of that last time.
The lineup rotation provided some experience to those lesser-played on the squad, but it gave Chivas confidence to build in the attack. Had it not been for Evan Louro’s point-blank save to Luis Romo’s shot in the 16th minute, the score may have been worse at halftime.
While the defense played well to snuff out the Guadalajara attack, it finally caved in the 24th minute. While a Teenage Hadebe handball in the box was not deemed PK-worthy, a foul by Anunga on Alan Mozo was. Former LA Galaxy forward Efrain Alvarez calmly deposited the kick past Louro to make it 1-0.
The lead would stay that way until halftime, forcing Cincinnati to get at least five goals in the second half to survive.
Second half
While the addition of Pavel Bucha and Dado Valenzuela provided some promise in the second half, the floor finally fell soon afterward.
In the 58th minute, the Chivas press forced Hadebe into a bad turnover in the defensive corner of the pitch. Alvarez found an open Armando Gonzalez, who beat Louro cleanly with a right-footed shot. Gonzalez’s only goal of the tournament put Chivas up 2-0.
With the lead piled on top of an already-difficult hill to climb, the youth did get an opportunity to shine for FCC. Minutes after his debut, Davila caught a pass from Powell in the box and deflected it past Jose Rangel in the 67th minute for his first goal with the first team.
The 2-1 scoreline would stand until the end, despite the addition of Luca Orellano and Evander down the stretch.
“On an individual level, I’ve already mentioned that we got some good performances and good answers from some of the younger guys that haven’t been getting the minutes,” Noonan observed after the match. “I think that as a collective, there was enough from the three games to see progress in areas that we were looking at, and also areas to continue to focus on as a whole, specifically defensively, with our line, with how we stepped to the ball, with the communication to change roles, those things stood out to improve on.”
“It was really good for us to get minutes because we might be called upon in these big games to come and our push for MLS,” Brad Smith told the press afterwards. “I think a lot of us were very heavy-legged out towards the end there. We gave it our best go, and it just wasn’t enough.”
In the end, Seattle, Miami, L.A. Galaxy, and Orlando qualify for the next stage of the Leagues Cup. Toluca, Pachuca, Tigres, and Puebla will make up the Liga MX representatives.
The Thursday night matchup doesn’t give much time to reflect. FC Cincinnati resumes the quest for MLS gold on Sunday against Charlotte FC, while Chivas return to the Liga MX Apertura schedule against Santos Laguna.
Leagues Cup, Match #3
FC Cincinnati vs. CD Guadalajara
TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
Attendance: 21,102
Result: CD Guadalajara 2, FC Cincinnati 1.
BOX SCORE
FC Cincinnati Starting XI (5-2-1-2):
Evan Louro (GK); Alvas Powell, Gilberto Flores, Nick Hagglund (c) (Luca Orellano 78′), Teenage Hadebe, Brad Smith (Evander 83′); Stiven Jimenez, Brian Anunga (Pavel Bucha 46′); Kenji Mboma Dem; Stefan Chirila (Andres Davila 65′), Ender Echenique (Gerardo Valenzuela 46′).
Bench: Alec Kann, Roman Celentano, Miles Robinson, Matt Miazga, Lukas Engel, Kei Kamara, DeAndre Yedlin.
CD Guadalajara Starting XI (3-4-2-1):
Jose Rangel (GK); Diego Campillo, Gilberto Sepulveda, Jose Castillo; Alan Mozo, Luis Romo (c), Fernando Gonzalez, Bryan Gonzalez (Cade Cowell 63′); Jonathan Padilla (Hugo Camberos 56′), Efrain Alvarez (Miguel Gomez 63′); Amando Gonzalez (Teun Wilke 82′).
Bench: Oscar Whalley, Eduardo Garcia, Alan Pulido, Isaac Brizuela, Luis Olivas, Roberto Alvarado, Raul Martinez, Richard Ledezma.
Scoring summary:
GDL – Efrain Alvarez 24′ (penalty kick)
GDL – Armando Gonzalez 58′ (Alvarez)
CIN – Andres Davila 67′ (Powell)
Discipline:
YC – Teenage Hadebe 3′ (CIN, foul)
YC – Miguel Gomez 78′ (GDL, foul)
YC – Teun Wilke (GDL, foul)
Next up:
MLS Regular Season: vs. Charlotte FC, 6 pm, Sunday August 10th; Apple TV+
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