FC Cincinnati’s away trip to Orlando City was dimmed by a series of events that could not be called anything except unlucky. Still, they would still leave the Sunshine State with a 1-1 draw and a hopeful position in the Eastern Conference.
FIRST HALF
The lineup saw some slight rotation from their midweek Leagues Cup action. Tom Barlow was given the nod ahead of Kenji Mboma-Dem, while Dado Valenzuela served the final match in his suspension. Pavel Bucha slotted back into his main position as a CM, and Ender Echenique occupied the RWB spot to compliment Bryan Ramirez on offense.
It was a back-and-forth affair right from the whistle, as both sides were trying to land the first blow. Orlando had more clear cut opportunities and touches in the opponent box in that first half—20 to Cincinnati’s 10.
Against the trajectory of the match, the Orange and Blue took the lead near the middle of the half. Bucha continued his unstoppable form with a well-taken shot on the edge of the box which nestled into the bottom right corner of the net.
The possession was split slightly in favor of Orlando (55%), who also had two more shots on target than Cincinnati. Unsurprisingly, this also gave them a lead in xG, with 0.76 to their opponent’s 0.49.
Despite that, Bucha’s seventh goal of the season gave Cincinnati a slim lead heading into the locker room.
SECOND HALF
FC Cincinnati lost the lead quickly into the second 45 minutes. Barely even three minutes into the half, Orlando caught the defense off guard. A ball flicked on by Justin Ellis found Tyrese Spicer in a one-on-one footrace. He made no mistake with his finish. The result now seemed more fit for how the match had been.
Losing their lead gave the Orange and Blue some more urgency in the final third. They logged more opportunities than they had up until then, but more feats of heroic goalkeeping by Maxime Crepeau, and being on the other side of the post’s benefits, kept them out.
A brilliant ball played through by Echenique found Denkey in the 53rd minute, who dribbled around the keeper and seemed poised to finish, but somehow it banged off of the post.
Just after this, the Orange and Blue were awarded a penalty for an apparent missed challenge on Evander. After further review, it was waved away because there didn’t appear to be any contact. The Brazilian playmaker was also booked for simulation.
Denkey received a ball lofted into the box in the 59th minute and found Tom Barlow for an easy tap-in. However, it was disallowed due to offside as soon as the fan favorite got up to celebrate.
With only five minutes to go, Evander tried to play through a cluster of Orlando defenders above the box. However, Mboma-Dem’s close-up shot was denied by Crepeau. The deflection appeared to go off the outstretched arm of the defender, but the appeals were ignored by Tori Penso and her refereeing crew. This would garner a lot of controversy within the fanbase.
In this half, Cincinnati kept 54% of possession and attacked in spurts, while their opponents only threatened in moments. Both shared two shots on goal, but the Lions had ten total to Cincinnati’s six. The expected goals were both higher than before—1.2 for the hosts, and 0.86 for the visitors.
At the blow of the final whistle, both sides would have to settle with a point apiece.
The Orange and Blue’s record now sits at an almost completely even 7-6-6, which puts them in sixth place in the East. They are only three points removed from third-place New England. The next chance to climb a few spots in the table comes in a midweek tussle with NYCFC, who are lurking just a point behind them.
BOX SCORE:
ORL (4-4-2): Maxine Crepeau, Bernardo Goncalves (Adrian Marin 39’), Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Griffin Dorsey, Tyrese Spicer (Daryl Dike 82’), Luis Otavio, Joran Gerbet (Marco Passaic 46’), Ivan Angulo, Justin Ellis (Wilded Cartagena 61’), Antoine Griezmann
CIN (3-4-1-2): Roman Celentano, Samuel Gidi (Kyle Smith 66’), Matt Miazga (Teenage Hadebe 90’), Miles Robinson, Bryan Ramirez (Kenji Mboma-Dem 80’), Obinna Nwobodo (Brian Anunga 46’), Evander, Pavel Bucha, Ender Echenique, Tom Barlow (Ayoub Jabbari 80’), Kevin Denkey
Discipline:
Robin Jansson – (Yellow Card, 29’)
Evander – (Yellow Card, 55’)
Matt Miazga – (Yellow Card, 85’)
Scoring Summary:
Orlando City: Spicer 48’
FC Cincinnati: Bucha 23’
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