FC Cincinnati 2 fell to New York City FC II Sunday night, 3-1, at Belson Stadium in Queens, New York. The Orange and Blue (15-8-4, 51 points) close out the matchweek second in the Eastern Conference following Philadelphia Union’s win earlier in the day. City (11-7-9, 45 points) snap a two-match losing streak to remain above the playoff line with one match to play.
A quiet opening half hour of play was broken by a Kenji Mboma Dem goal in the 31st minute. Mboma Dem tallied his seventh goal of the season and moves into a tie for a team high with forward Ben Stitz. Mboma Dem has now scored or assisted in three consecutive matches, while Peter Mangione picked up his fifth helper of the year, matching team assist leader Jesus Castellano.
It looked as if the Orange and Blue would take a 1-0 lead into the break, but New York’s Jonathan Shore equalized for the hosts one minute into first-half stoppage time. The goal is Shore’s eighth of the year and was assisted by Taylor Calheira.
Two second-half goals in quick succession for City handed the Orange and Blue just their fourth road loss of the season. Klevis Haxhari scored his first professional goal in the 70th minute before Piero Elias tallied his fourth in the 73rd.
AS IT HAPPENED
CIN: Kenji Mboma Dem, GOAL – 31’ (0-1) – Cincinnati caught the New York backline out of position as the Orange and Blue broke out from defending a City attack. Stefan Chirila controlled possession near midfield before playing back to Peter Mangione, who quickly played a long through ball to put Kenji Mboma Dem behind the defense. Mboma Dem finished with ease in a one-on-one moment with the goalkeeper.
NYC: Jonathan Shore, GOAL – 45’+1 (1-1) – New York pushed bodies forward in the waning moments of the first half, pressuring the Cincinnati goal. Brian Schaefer and the Cincinnati defense dealt with City’s initial surge but cleared only to the top corner of the area where a quick exchange of passes inside the box allowed Jonathan Shore to convert on a curled effort from a tight angle.
NYC: Klevis Haxhari, GOAL – 70’ (2-1) – A goal converted from a set piece allowed New York to take a one goal lead. Chris Tiao delivered a ball into the box from distance with Klevis Haxhari rising up to head what looked a pass across the box. The header instead found the top corner at the far post.
NYC: Piero Elias, GOAL – 73’ (3-1) – A New York break following a Cincinnati turnover lead to City’s third of the night. Two passes from midfield unlocked the Orange and Blue’s defense and Piero Elias created enough space in the box to finish off a curler from the left side of the box.
The Orange and Blue close out the MLS NEXT Pro Regular Season with ‘Soccer Sunday’ at TQL Stadium on Sunday, October 6, against Orlando City B at 1 p.m. ET. The celebration kicks off at 11 a.m. ET with a number of family friendly activities and a meet and greet with FC Cincinnati players and Gary the Lion. Tickets start at just $5 and can be purchased here.
FC CINCINNATI 2 GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati 2 at New York City FC II
Date: September 29, 2024
Competition: MLS NEXT Pro
Venue: Belson Stadium
Kickoff: 7:06 p.m. ET
Weather: 65 degrees, cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
NYC: 1-2-3
CIN: 1-0-1
NYC – Jonathan Shore (Calheira) 45’+1, Klevis Haxhari (Tiao) 70’, Piero Elias (Carrizo) 73’
CIN – Kenji Mboma Dem (Mangione) 31’
LINEUPS
NYC: Alexander Rando, Chris Tiao, Klevis Haxhari, Samuel Owusu, Andrew Baiera, Piero Elias, Jake Rozhansky, Máximo Carrizo (Camil Azzam Ruiz 74’), Jonathan Shore (Jonathan Lopez 74’), Taylor Calheira (C), Jonathan Jiménez
Substitutes not used: William Meyer, Ronald Arevalo, Steven Bednarsky, Julien Lacher, Matthew Leong, Nicholas Kapanadze
Head Coach: Matthew Pilkington
CIN: Paul Walters, Nico Benalcazar (C), Brian Schaefer, Gaël Gibert, Moises Tablante (Ben Stitz 88’), Stiven Jimenez, Yair Ramos (Guilherme Santos 60’), Amir Daley, Peter Mangione (Jesus Castellano 76’), Kenji Mboma Dem, Stefan Chirila
Substitutes not used: Hunter Morse, Connor Stout, Alejandro Guido, Yeiner Valoyes, Lincoln Matuskiewicz
Head Coach: Tyrone Marshall
STATS SUMMARY: NYC/CIN
Shots: 6 / 11
Shots on Goal: 3 / 5
Saves: 4 / 0
Corner Kicks: 1 / 2
Fouls: 17 / 21
Offside: 0 / 4
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
NYC – Klevis Haxhari (Yellow Card) 29’
CIN – Moises Tablante (Yellow Card) 38’
NYC – Máximo Carrizo (Yellow Card) 43’
CIN – Yair Ramos (Yellow Card) 52’
CIN – Gaël Gibert (Yellow Card) 58’
CIN – Stefan Chirila (Yellow Card) 69’
NYC – Camil Azzam Ruiz (Yellow Card) 84’
CIN – Guilherme Santos (Yellow Card) 86’
NYC – Piero Elias (Yellow Card) 89’
CIN – Guilherme Santos (Red Card) 90’
NYC – Piero Ellias (Red Card) 90’+2
CIN – Stiven Jimenez (Red Card) 90’+3
OFFICIALS
Referee: Benjamin Meyer
Ast. Referees: Marcus Moss, Fritz Barberousse
Fourth Official: Kenneth Rojas
