TUCSON, Ariz. – Led by goals from Tommy McCabe, Andrew Gutman and Joseph-Claude Gyau, FC Cincinnati defeated Phoenix Rising FC, 3-0, this afternoon at Kino North Stadium. The match was FC Cincinnati’s first official game of the 2020 MLS Preseason.
McCabe opened the scoring for the Orange and Blue via a left-footed strike following a low cross sent in by Rey Ortiz in the 22nd minute. FCC’s second-round SuperDraft selection added a second assist when he found Gutman, who doubled the Orange and Blue’s lead from the outside edge of the 18-yard box.
Following halftime, the two sides made wholesale changes, outside of Spencer Richey, who remained the only player to return for the second half.
Gyau added FC Cincinnati’s third and final goal of the match by forcing a turnover in the attacking third and firing a shot inside Phoenix’s near post.
The Orange and Blue will return action for their second preseason match when they play Sporting Kansas City at Grande Sports World in Casa Grande, Ariz. at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 1. FCC will conclude their Arizona-based first leg of MLS preseason when they return to Kino North Stadium to play El Paso Locomotive FC at 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 5.
FC Cincinnati will return to the field for their second MLS season on Sunday, March 1, when the team opens the season on the road against the New York Red Bulls. After a road game at Atlanta United FC on Saturday, March 7, FCC will open its 2020 home slate on Saturday, March 14, when the team hosts D.C. United at Nippert Stadium in a 5:30 p.m. game.
Season Ticket Memberships are still available for purchase and start at $230 per ticket. A 2020 Season Ticket Membership also secures fans’ place on the club’s priority list, which will be utilized when sales begin in the new West End Stadium for the 2021 season. Information about all 2020 ticket options – season tickets, multiple-game options, group tickets and individual-game tickets – is available at fccincinnati.com/tickets or by calling 513-977-5425 (KICK).
For up-to-the-minute information about FC Cincinnati, visit the team’s official website at fccincinnati.com, or follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FCCincinnati.
MLS Preseason
FC Cincinnati 3, Phoenix Rising FC 0
Kino North Stadium | Tucson, Ariz.
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
SCORING SUMMARY
CIN – Tommy McCabe (Rey Ortiz) 22’
CIN – Andrew Gutman (Rey Ortiz) 42’
CIN – Joseph-Claude Gyau (unassisted) 53’
FC Cincinnati (First Half): Spencer Richey, Saad Abdul-Salaam, Mathieu Deplagne, Maikel van der Werff ©, Andrew Gutman, Caleb Stanko, Allan Cruz, Tommy McCabe, Jimmy McLaughlin, Rashawn Dally, Rey Ortiz
FC Cincinnati (Second Half): Spencer Richey, Zico Bailey, Nick Hagglund, Kendall Waston ©, Greg Garza, Haris Medunjanin, Frankie Amaya, Yuya Kubo, Joris Ahlinvi, Brandon Vazquez, Joseph-Claude Gyau
Bench: Bobby Edwards, Przemysław Tytoń
Phoenix Rising FC (First Half): Zac Lubin, Owusu-Ansah Kontoh, A.J. Cochran, Corey Whelan, Darnell King, Kevon Lambert, Jose Aguinaga, Jon Bakero, Santi Moar, Junior Flemmings, Lagos Kunga
Phoenix Rising FC (Second Half): Eric Dick, Kyle Bjornethun, Trialist #1, Joey Farrell, Austin Ledbetter, Trialist #2, Trialist #3, Trialist #4; Joey Calistri, Trialist #5, Trialist #6
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
None
Weather: 63 degrees, sunny
GAME NOTES
- Today’s game was FC Cincinnati’s first preseason game of 2020
- Maikel van der Werff wore the captain’s armband in the first half, then Kendall Waston took over as captain in the second half after lineups changed.
- Spencer Richey was the only player for either side to play all 90 minutes in tonight’s contest
- Fatai Alashe (precautionary), Kekuta Manneh (shoulder/limited participation) and Tom Pettersson (precautionary) were unavailable for today’s match
- Darren Mattocks left FC Cincinnati preseason training earlier this week to attend to a personal matter and was unavailable today
- Seven FC Cincinnati players made their FCC preseason debuts: Saad Abdul-Salaam, Joris Ahlinvi, Zico Bailey, Yuya Kubo, Haris Medunjanin, Rey Ortiz and Brandon Vazquez
- Today’s match was FC Cincinnati’s first of three preseason matches in Arizona … the Orange and Blue will also play Sporting Kansas City (Feb. 1) and El Paso Locomotive FC (Feb. 5)
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati Head Coach Ron Jans
On FC Cincinnati’s first official preseason game
“I said before the game we want to see how we execute the playing style and I think there are many more positive things than critical things. So that’s the playing style. I think we have no injuries out of the game, a clean sheet and a good result, so I think we showed in possession some good things. Maybe the finishing could’ve been a little bit better and we were lucky one time when they hit the post.”
On seeing what the team practiced being executed in the match
“Yeah, also a compliment for the people here because you can only do it as a good pitch. It was a good practice for Red Bull. They will press and you have to try to play under the press and I think we did that several times very good, so it’s a good listen.”
On having a quick turnaround before the next match
“They play 45 so I hope they will recover quickly and (Sporting Kansas City) is of course in MLS so that’s a more stronger opponent. So, let’s see if we can do it Saturday again.”
FC Cincinnati Defender Andrew Gutman
On playing the team’s first official preseason game
“It was good. Obviously, MLS is a long break so it was good for us to get 45 minutes under our belts and get our legs moving again.”
On executing what had been worked on all week in training
“I think so. It’s obviously a new system we’re implementing so there are still some tweaks that need to be made. But I thought there was some good stuff and I thought that was some stuff we can still work on.”
On knowing he has a season-long home
“Last year for me was a bit crazy moving around a bit. But I’m happy to be here for the year and I’m happy to be in one spot for the year. I think I can benefit and show my quality.”
On playing another game in four days
“Yeah I think so. The whole point of playing is to play games and that’s what we love to do, so we get another opportunity on Saturday to get after it.”
On Ron Jans’ feedback on the performance
“Not too much. I’m sure he’ll go over the video and have some tweaks he wants to make, but also highlight the positives we had today.”
FC Cincinnati Midfielder Joseph-Claude Gyau
On playing the team’s first official preseason game
“It was a good first step to put everything we’ve been working out on the training ground into play in a real game – not an intra-squad – against some other opponents, so I think it was a good first step.”
On executing some of the things worked on in training
“It feels really good to actually see things work in the game and it definitely is an encouraging feeling.”
On being able to score a goal after a successful execution of the high press
“Real good. I feel like that’s my game, win it in the counterattack. I don’t feel like it’s anything new to me, but definitely rewarding for the club to see something that we’ve been working on hard at training, not just this season, but also last season when Ron came in. We got a goal out of it, so it was good.”
On coming into preseason with the team at full health
“It’s real good. It’s always good playing with Greg [Garza]. Greg’s my boy. I’ve known Greg since I was like 12 years old, so we’ve got a good little understanding. It’s just good to be with the guys, get a result and we just want to build on it.”
