FC Cincinnati defeated Inter Miami CF on the road for the first time, 1-0, Saturday night at DRV PNK Stadium. Cincinnati’s victory in their final regular season road game of the 2023 campaign gave FCC a club-record seventh away win this year.
FC Cincinnati finished the season with a 7-3-7 regular season record on the road. FCC became the 21st team in MLS history – and just the third since 2012 (excluding 2020) – to lose three or fewer road games in a single season.
FC Cincinnati (20-5-8, 68 points) officially eliminated Inter Miami (9-17-6, 33 points) from contention for the upcoming 2023 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.
Both sides wasted no time in creating dangerous chances in the opening 10 minutes of the match. Miami’s Tomás Avilés sent a close-range effort off the crossbar in the ninth minute which sprung a Cincinnati counterattack which ended with a shot from Sergio Santos inside the box, but the forward’s attempt was just off the mark. In total there were 13 combined shots in the first 45 minutes, 10 of which came from the hosts – three nailed the goal frame.
But the second 45 minutes saw the 2023 Supporters’ Shield winners outshoot Miami 10-6, including 5-0 in shots on target.
The Orange and Blue found their breakthrough in the 78th minute as Álvaro Barreal snapped a second-chance opportunity past Drake Callender for his fifth goal of the MLS season.
Substitute Aaron Boupendza won possession from Miami as the Herons looked to clear a previous Cincinnati attack, allowing fellow substitute Yuya Kubo to take control of the move and fire a shot on goal from outside the 18-yard box. Callender once again came up big for Miami, stopping Kubo’s initial attempt, but spilled a rebound into a dangerous area where Barreal was first to pounce on the loose ball and finish easily.
Barreal’s late goal served as FC Cincinnati’s fourth game-winning goal this season in the final 15 minutes of the match.
Roman Celentano needed to make two saves to secure his co-MLS-leading 12th clean sheet of 2023.
FC Cincinnati pause competition for the upcoming FIFA international break and will return to TQL Stadium for Fan Appreciation on October 21 to take on Atlanta United FC. Decision Day kickoff is set for 6 p.m., and tickets are still available at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or by calling (513) 977-5425 (KICK).
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati at Inter Miami CF
Date: October 7, 2023
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: DRV PNK Stadium
Attendance: 20,344
Kickoff: 7:39 p.m. ET
Weather: 82 degrees, rain
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
MIA: 0-0-0
CIN: 0-1-1
MIA – None
CIN – Álvaro Barreal 78’
GAME NOTES
• FC Cincinnati became the 21st team in MLS history to lose three or fewer road games in a single season … the Orange and Blue set a club record with seven road wins this season, finishing the regular season 7-3-7 away from home.
• FC Cincinnati swept Inter Miami with a pair of 1-0 wins over the Herons in regular season play … FCC have swept four teams this season in league play (NYCFC, Nashville SC, Toronto FC, Inter Miami CF) and will look to make it five on Decision Day against Atlanta United.
• Cincinnati defeated Miami for the first time on their home field … FCC entered 0-2-1 against Miami at DRV PNK Stadium, but earned the club’s second regular season win on the field (May 22, 2021 vs CF Montréal at DRV PNK Stadium – 2-1 win).
• The Orange and Blue are 6-5-2 all-time in regular season play in the state of Florida, and 2-0-2 under Head Coach Pat Noonan.
• FC Cincinnati are 11-2-3 under Pat Noonan when playing a game just three days following another match.
• FC Cincinnati hold a +27 goal difference in the second half this season.
• Saturday marked FC Cincinnati’s three meeting with Inter Miami CF this season … The Herons are the 16th different opponent all-time that FCC have played three-plus times in a single season.
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Álvaro Barreal (Bret Halsey 81’), Ian Murphy, Matt Miazga, Nick Hagglund, Santiago Arias, Junior Moreno (Yuya Kubo 65’), Obinna Nwobodo, Luciano Acosta (C) (Malik Pinto 88’), Sergio Santos (Aaron Boupendza 46’), Brandon Vazquez (Dominique Badji 88’)
Substitutes not used: Alec Kann, Marco Angulo, Yerson Mosquera, Gerardo Valenzuela
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
MIA: Drake Callender, DeAndre Yedlin (C) (Robert Taylor 76’), Sergii Kryvtsov, Kamal Miller, Noah Allen, Sergio Busquets, Tomás Avilés (Lionel Messi 55’), Facundo Farias, Benjamin Cremaschi, David Ruiz (Jean Mota 56’), Josef Martínez (Nicolas Stefanelli 75’)
Substitutes not used: CJ Dos Santos, Dixon Arroyo, Victor Ulloa, Ryan Sailor, Robbie Robinson
Head Coach: Tata Martino
STATS SUMMARY: MIA/CIN
Shots: 16 / 13
Shots on Goal: 2 / 6
Saves: 5 / 2
Corner Kicks: 8 / 5
Fouls: 12 / 14
Offside: 1 / 3
Possession: 61.6 / 38.4
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Obinna Nwobodo (Yellow Card) 27’
CIN – Roman Celentano (Yellow Card) 84’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Rubiel Vazquez
Ast. Referees: Michael Barwegen, Ian McKay
Fourth Official: Sergii Boiko
VAR: Michael Radchuk
AVAR: Peter Balciunas
