After a rained out weekend match, FC Cincinnati looked to reignite its season on the road against the Philadelphia Union, but in a 5-0 dismantling, FCC’s coals have gone cold.
First Half:
The Orange and Blue took the pitch for the first time after the release of former captain defender Matt Miazga. Andrei Chirila and Kyle Smith inserted into the lineup on either side of Miles Robinson. The trio needed to be sound in their defending as the Philly brothers Cavan Sullivan and Quinn Sullivan have been white hot for the Union since the World Cup break.
Cracks formed early for FCC when in the fifth minute, Robinson inexplicably failed to read a jumped pass to Evander setting the Orange and Blue defense on their back foot early. The chance quickly flamed out but a clear sign of the night to come.
FCC’s best opportunity at goal in the match came in just the ninth minute, when Ayoub Jabbari raced forward and found Kevin Denkey in the box. Denkey directed the ball away from goal towards the endline but Dado Valenzuela was unable to run onto it and redirect it back to Denkey for a clear shot at goal. Not a promising play in the attack that flared intrasquad frustrations, but one that the club would beg for in the remaining 80 minutes of the match.
Blood in the water arrived in the 12th minute as Obinna Nwobodo intercepted a clearance from Philadelphia. Nwobodo’s touch spelled as his pace exploded forward. Unfortunately for him, Frankie Westfield beat him to ball with Nwobodo’s right foot connects with Westfield’s chin. Originally called as a yellow card on the field, it was upgraded to a red card after a VAR check due to “a challenge that endangered the safety of his opponent” according to match official Joe Dickerson.
Adjusting well initially to being a man down, FCC’s dam collapsed late in the first half in disastrous fashion. A high elbow in the 43rd minute by Evander in the box lead to a Quinn Sullivan penalty conversion. Only three minutes later his brother Cavan Sullivan connected well with Kai Wagner to find open space on the left side of goal. Cavan passed the ball across the face of goal and found Bruno Damiani. Damiani would find the back of the net but it was just the beginning of his career night.
Second Half:
Returning from the half time break, Pat Noonan made changes in the lineup that would be telling of how FCC favored their odds of pulling the match back into control. A whopping 52% of the total scoring threat on the season for FCC was subbed off with the departure of Evander, Denkey and Ender Echenique. Alvas Powell, Tom Barlow, and Nick Hagglund would come on to spell the attacking trio for a defensive shape.
That defensive move would implode just four minutes into the second half. Cavan Sullivan pulled the ball down into the box, directed it to Quinn Sullivan who finds Damiani at the top of the box for a shot that reaches the inside of the far post past Roman Celentano.
Damiani would collect his hat trick in the 61st minute. Trapped in their only third, FCC loses possession to Cavan Sullivan who lays it off to Damiani for a rising shot past the outstretched Celentano. Damiani was denied a fourth goal in the 72nd minute when VAR determined Wagner controlled the ball with his arm in the build up.
FCC would get a blip of life in the 81st minute with Pavel Bucha finding the night. But VAR earned its paycheck yet again with an offsides decision.
The Union would get a punctuation on the night with a 89th minute penalty score from an egregiously sloppy play by Brian Anunga for not recognizing the pressure at his back and a committing a sloppy foul on the recovery. Milan Iloski would have the honors of closing the scoring for the match.
FC Cincinnati have sunk into a tailspin since the World Cup break with an abysmal road form of two goals scored and 12 goals conceded in their four away matches. The Orange and Blue will hope to turn fortunes and put this game behind them with a home match against the eastern conference’s fifth placed Charlotte FC this Saturday, September 12th.
PHI – Quinn Sullivan – PK 43’, Bruno Damiani (C. Sullivan, Q. Sullivan) 45’+1, Bruno Damiani (Q. Sullivan, C. Sullivan) 49’, Bruno Damiani (C. Sullivan) 61’, Milan Iloski – PK 89’
CIN – None
LINEUPS:
CIN: Roman Celentano, Ender Echenique (Nick Hagglund 46’), Andrei Chirila, Miles Robinson, Kyle Smith, Pavel Bucha, Gerardo Valenzuela (Tah Brian Anunga 62’), Obinna Nwobodo, Evander (C) (Alvas Powell 46’), Ayoub Jabbari (Samuel Gidi 75’), Kévin Denkey (Tom Barlow 46’)
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Teenage Hadebe, Kenji Mboma Dem, Bryan Ramirez
PHI: Andre Blake (C), Kai Wagner, Nathan Harriel, Niel Pierre, Francis Westfield, Quinn Sullivan (Indiana Vassilev 66’), Jovan Lukic (Jesús Bueno 66’), Danley Jean Jacques, Cavan Sullivan (Alejandro Bedoya 75’), Ezekiel Alladoh (Milan Iloski 66’), Bruno Damiani (Malik Jakupovic 75’)
Substitutes not used: Andrew Rick, Japhet Sery Larsen, Ben Bender, Agustín Anello
STATS SUMMARY: PHI/CIN
Shots: 18 / 1
Shots on Goal: 6 / 0
Saves: 1 / 0
Corner Kicks: 7 / 1
Fouls: 16 / 6
Offside: 2 / 1
Possession: 64.7 / 35.3
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Obinna Nwobodo (Red Card) 16’
CIN – Evander (Yellow Card) 40’
CIN – Tah Brian Anunga (Yellow Card) 88’
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