A frigid evening in Minnesota ended with FC Cincinnati stunned in the second match of the season. After a back-and-forth match, they conceded a 66’ goal and were held off until the final whistle.
FIRST HALF
The lineup for FC Cincinnati featured two changes from what would be considered a “normal” starting eleven. Dado Valenzuela was at the lone CAM spot in his second straight start, replacing Evander who was once again out of the squad to rest from a tweaked hamstring. Matt Miazga was not in his usual spot commanding the backline as he neared recovery from last season’s injuries. Other than that, the lineup was as expected.
Minnesota United’s lineup had a single scratch from their previous, with Jefferson Diaz at CB. Aside from that, it was a 3-4-2-1 with the likes of Michael Boxall, Bongokuhle Hlongwane, Joaquin Pereyra, and Kelvin Yeboah. On the bench was Colombian star James Rodriguez awaiting his MLS debut.
The early minutes were spent with FC Cincinnati attempting to establish a stronghold. But save for a few set pieces, chances at either end were few and far between.
14’ SHOT: A cross looped into the box by Ender Echenique pinballed around the box; a lunging effort by Kévin Denkey was deflected by a defender into Drake Callender’s gloves.
FIFTEEN-MINUTE MARK: The momentum was on the side of the visitors. Their possession mark was around 57% compared to 43% held by Minnesota.
19’ SHOT: A giveaway in Minnesota’s final third found the boot of Valenzuela, but his shot was easily handled by Callender.
20’ SHOT: After intricate buildup play, Minnesota found its first chance of the match as Roman Celentano scooped the ball up just before it could reach Kelvin Yeboah’s boot. Less than a minute later, another quick play into the box was booted towards goal but blocked by Nick Hagglund.
25’ SHOT: Cincinnati’s second shot on goal was as meager as their other two. A deflection off of a corner kick was volleyed towards goal by Echenique. It took an awkward deflection but was safely grabbed by Callender.
THIRTY-MINUTE MARK: Cincinnati had lost their possessional dominance. Still, the home side was not able to put their few shots on target.
39’ SHOT: To end a twenty-minute shot drought, Echenique’s powerful effort swerved just past the top right corner into the side netting.
42’ SHOT: Joaquin Pereyra attempted a long knuckle shot from the left side of the box, but it bounced right into Celentano’s grasp.
After two minutes of stoppage time, the ref blew for the halftime break. Minnesota had less possession and only put one measly shot on target, but their overall play in the final third appeared to be more direct. Cincinnati had 57% of the ball and were more calculated; they made use out of their set pieces, and had promising wide play, but their shots never troubled the keeper either.
Both sides did not put enough power or placement on goal to put a foothold on the match in the first half. The looming question for the home side was whether or not they would bring James on early in the second half to boost their momentum.
SECOND HALF
SHOT – 49’: Cincinnati quickly played through the lines and Dado Valenzuela received the ball into acres of space. Bryan Ramirez received his pass out wide, cut back, and shot high towards the top of the netting but it was retrieved by Callender.
SHOT – 53’: Joaquin Pereyra danced into the box and put a shot low towards Celentano that was bobbled away and cleared. It was Minnesota’s best effort of the night.
SHOT – 56’: Minnesota were once again attacking quickly with numbers into the box. A knuckling cross by Nectarios Triantis was one-touched towards the middle of the box, nodded awkwardly by Tomas Chancalay, and barely tipped over the bar by Celentano.
SIXTY-MINUTE MARK: Minnesota kept up their direct play and were only prevented by Celentano’s shot-stopping. FCC held only 52% of possession now.
GOAL – 66’: Dado Valenzuela committed a blatant foul on the very edge of the box. The ensuing free-kick from Chancalay deflected into the post and was headed in by Kelvin Yeboah to give the home side the lead in front of rapturous applause.
At the kickoff, Noonan made a tactical change to move Bucha to CAM, subbed off Valenzuela for Obi Nwobodo, and swapped Ayoub Jabbari for Tom Barlow.
SHOT – 70’: A low pass into the box bounced off Denkey’s boot; the ball was heaved towards the goal by a late-arriving Nwobodo and only just parried away by Callender.
SHOT – 75’: The possession numbers remained the same. But after the goal, Cincinnati had not done much to answer. The impetus was very much still with the home side.
SHOT – 83’: A giveaway in the midfield was immediately sent forward with a looping ball from Wil Trapp to Chancalay, whose well-placed shot was met with a diving save from Celentano.
Shortly after that chance, Kenji Mboma-Dem replaced Echenique to add more end product, while Alvas Powell went in for fresh legs at RCB.
SHOT – 90’: A long ball into the box was nodded on by Denkey and headed towards goal by Barlow, but Callender made another great save for his fourth of the evening. The linesman ruled it offside afterward.
The fourth official signaled for 11 minutes of stoppage time, mainly for injury pauses and a lengthy VAR check.
ATTEMPT – 90+8’: A nice dribble by Mboma-Dem led to a pass to Denkey; instead of playing it back to Kenji who made the diagonal run, he made space and attempted a shot that went right off the nearby defender and was cleared away.
The final whistle blew. The Orange and Blue would be leaving the land of a thousand lakes pointless, while their opponents were able to earn all three in front of their home opener crowd.
The club will head home with a bitter taste in their mouths. The offense did not overcome its Evander-sized hole, and the defense could not dispel every chance that Minnesota created. With matches still to be contested in the Eastern Conference, they will fall below the highest spots in the table. They will hope to regroup back in front of the Bailey next Sunday against Toronto FC.
Quick Recap
XIs:
MIN: Drake Callender, Morris Duggan, Michael Boxall (Devin Padelford 76’), Jefferson Diaz, Anthony Markanich, Wil Trapp, Nectarios Triantis (Owen Gene 90’), Bongokuhle Hlongwane (DJ Taylor 90’), Joaquin Pereyra, Kelvin Yeboah (Mamadou Dieng 90’), Tomas Chancalay (Julian Gressel 90’)
Substitutes not used: Alec Smir, Carlos Harvey, James Rodriguez, Troy Putt
CIN: Roman Celentano, Teenage Hadebe (Gilberto Flores 90’), Miles Robinson, Nick Hagglund (Alvas Powell 85’), Bryan Ramirez, Pavel Bucha, Samuel Gidi (Brian Anunga 90’), Dado Valenzuela (Obinna Nwobodo 69’), Kévin Denkey, Ayoub Jabbari (Tom Barlow 69’)
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Kyle Smith, Stiven Jimenez
Scoring Summary:
Minnesota United: Yeboah 66’
FC Cincinnati: N/A
Discipline:
Morris Duggan – (Yellow Card 59’)
Jefferson Diaz – (Yellow Card 90+6’)
Next Match
MLS Regular Season: vs. Toronto FC, Sunday, March 8, 7pm, TQL Stadium; Apple TV
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