COLUMBUS – Led by first-half goals from Darren Mattocks and Emmanuel Ledesma as well as late-game saves from Przemysław Tytoń, FC Cincinnati claimed a road point in a 2-2 draw against Columbus Crew SC in the first MLS edition of the #HellisReal Derby on Saturday Evening at MAPFRE Stadium.
With the draw, FC Cincinnati (5-17-3, 18 pts.) claimed their first road point since they defeated Chicago on July 13. After FCC staked a 2-0 lead in the first half, Columbus Crew SC (7-14-5, 26 pts.) tallied minutes before halftime via Gyasi Zardes’ strike from the penalty spot and equalized on Pedro Santos’ goal from outside the box in the 62nd minute.
FCC Goalkeeper Przemysław Tytoń made four saves – including two deep into second-half stoppage time – his most since FC Cincinnati’s season opener at Seattle on March 2.
Andrew Gutman, Joseph-Claude Gyau and Derrick Etienne Jr. made their FC Cincinnati debuts in tonight’s contest. Gutman and Gyau earned their first MLS minutes in the 2-2 draw.
FC Cincinnati return to the field Saturday, Aug. 17, when the team hosts New York City FC at Nippert Stadium. First kick is set for 7:30 p.m., and the game will be televised live on WSTR 64, streamed on FloFC (in-region) and ESPN+ (out-of-region), carried on the radio on WDJO with an audio stream on TuneIn (WDJO) and fccincinnati.com.
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. Pick-Six mini plans, and individual-game tickets and group options are on sale for all remaining FC Cincinnati games at fccincinnati.com/tickets or by calling 513-977-5425 (KICK).
FC Cincinnati 2, Columbus Crew SC 2
MAPFRE Stadium | Columbus, Ohio
August 10, 2019
SCORING SUMMARY
CIN – Darren Mattocks (Victor Ulloa) 16’
CIN – Emmanuel Ledesma (Roland Lamah) 23’
CLB – Gyasi Zardes (penalty) 45’
CLB – Pedro Santos (Wil Trapp) 62’
FC Cincinnati: Przemysław Tytoń, Mathieu Deplagne, Kendall Waston ©, Maikel van der Werff, Andrew Gutman, Caleb Stanko, Victor Ulloa, Allan Cruz, Roland Lamah (Joseph-Claude Gyau 63’), Emmanuel Ledesma (Derrick Etienne Jr 64’), Darren Mattocks (Rashawn Dally 81’)
Bench: Jimmy Hague, Tommy McCabe, Justin Hoyte, Nick Hagglund
Stats: Shots 7, Shots on goal 3, Saves 4, Corner kicks 4, Offsides 2, Fouls 21, Possession 52.9%, Passes 411 (76.6.%)
Columbus Crew SC: Eloy Room, Alex Crognale, Connor Maloney (Romario Williams 80’), Harrison Afful, Jonathan Mensah, Pedro Santos, Luis Argudo (David Accam 71’), Wil Trapp ©, Luis Diaz (Youness Mokhtar 54’), Artur, Gyasi Zardes
Bench: Jon Kempin, David Guzman, Eduardo Sosa, Jordan Hamilton
Stats: Shots 19, Shots on goal 6, Saves 1, Corner kicks 6, Offsides 1, Fouls 17, Possession 47.1%, Passes 369 (74.3%)
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CLB – Alex Crognale (caution) 18’
CLB – Pedro Santos (caution) 68’
CIN – Maikel van der Werff (caution) 72’
CIN – Allan Cruz (caution) 90+4’
CIN – Victor Ulloa caution) 90+7’
Referee: Silviu Petrescu
Assistant Referees: Gianni Facchini, Philippe Briere
4th Official: Thomas Snyder
VAR: Robert Sibiga
Weather: 79 degrees and sunny
Attendance: 20,865
HOW IT HAPPENED
- 15’ | Wil Trapp sent a cross in from the corner flag that was headed out of the box by the FC Cincinnati defense. After the ball went into the air, Luis Diaz attempted a right-footed volley that sailed just over the crossbar
- 16’ | CIN GOAL – Trapp sent the ball out of bounds, conceding a corner kick to FC Cincinnati. Victor Ulloa sent a cross from the left corner flag, finding Darren Mattocks at the edge of the six-yard box. Mattocks’ header from point-blank range gave Cincinnati the early lead
- 23’ | CIN GOAL – Attacking from the left flank, Roland Lamah sent a cross into the 18-yard box to the feet of Ledesma. The midfielder took one right-footed touch and sent a left-footed shot past Room to the far post to double the Orange and Blue’s lead
- 34’ | Following a foul from Lamah on Trapp, the Black & Gold received a free kick opportunity on the edge of their attacking third. Trapp sent the free kick to the edge of the six-yard box, where Zardes was able to head a shot on frame, but Tytoń was able to grab the ball for his first save of the night
- 38’ | Lamah fouled Santos from approximately 30 yards out. Santos sent the ensuing left-footed free kick into FC Cincinnati’s wall, where Kendall Waston was able to head the ball beyond the endline to concede a corner kick
- 45’ | CLB GOAL – Maikel van der Werff committed a foul on Zardes in the box to give Crew SC a penalty. Zardes stepped up to the spot, made Tytoń dive to his left and sent his right-footed shot to the opposite corner to cut the deficit in half
- 62’ CLB GOAL – From the middle of the pitch, Trapp passed the ball into the attacking third where Santos was stationed 30 yards out in a central position. The winger took one left-footed touch and fired a left-footed rocket beyond an outstretched Tytoń and inside the top corner of the far post
- 65’ | Santos received a long lead pass on the left flank, where he sent a low cross to Zardes who was positioned about eight yards from the goal. The forward’s shot went just wide of the near post to concede an FCC goal kick
- 90+3’ | David Accam’s ball was blocked initially by van der Werff, but it rolled back to Accam. Accam’s second shot was once again deflected by van der Werf and was then cradled by Tytoń after the deflection hit the crossbar
- 90+9’ | From the right side of the 18-yard box, Harrison Afful lobbed in a cross off a Mathieu Deplagne headed clearance. Zardes connected with the cross, but his header was parried over the crossbar by Tytoń
- 90+10’ | On the ensuing corner kick, Youness Mokhtar’s cross found Zardes at the far post. Zardes’ driven header was once again denied by Tyton’s diving effort
GAME NOTES
- With tonight’s draw, the Orange and Blue move to 5-17-3 through 25 MLS matches … in addition, FC Cincinnati improve 2-10-2 in away contests … FC Cincinnati’s all-time, all-competition record against Columbus Crew SC sits at 1-0-1 … Cincinnati is now 3-9-2 against Easterrn Conference opponents
- FC Cincinnati Head Coach Ron Jans made his FCC coaching debut in tonight’s match … the Dutchman was named FC Cincinnati’s third-ever MLS head coach on Sunday, Aug. 4 … Jans comes to FC Cincinnati after more than a decade of experience coaching in the Netherlands’ top-tier Eredivisie
- Darren Mattocks recorded his third goal of the season in the 16th minute of tonight’s contest … the goal was the Jamaican’s first since he tallied the Orange and Blue’s lone goal at Orlando City SC on May 19 … with the goal, Mattocks became the third FCC player -- joining Kekuta Manneh and Emmanuel Ledesma -- to record at least three goals and at least three assists on the campaign … Mattocks recorded an assist for FCC in their 2-1 loss to Vancouver on Aug. 3
- Victor Ulloa notched his first FCC assist on Mattocks’ 16th-minute tally … Ulloa recorded his first goal for the Orange in Blue in FCC’s 3-2 win against Houston on July 6 … in Ulloa’s nine seasons as a professional, this is the third campaign in which the Wylie, Texas, native has recorded both a goal and an assist in the same season.
- Emmanuel Ledesma continued his fine run of form with his fourth goal of the season in the 23rd minute … in the club’s last eight contests, Ledesma has tallied four goals and has added two assists
- Roland Lamah recorded his third assist of the season on Ledesma’s tally … it was Lamah’s first time on the scoresheet since he recorded the assist on Kekuta Manneh’s tally at Colorado on June 1
- Derrick Etienne Jr., Andrew Gutman and Joseph-Claude Gyau were in FC Cincinnati’s 18-man matchday roster for the first time since joining the club during the previous week … Gutman started and played 90 minutes for the Orange and Blue … Etienne Jr. and Gyau played 26 and 27 minutes off the bench respectively
- Gutman and Gyau made their first-ever MLS appearances in tonight’s match … Gutman had previously played professional matches in the United States when he spent the first half of this year on loan with the USL Championship’s Charlotte Independence … Gyau is playing professionally in the United States for the first time in his career … the winger played each of his first nine professional seasons in Germany
- Leonardo Bertone was unavailable for selection in tonight’s match because of yellow-card suspension … the midfielder picked up his eighth caution against Vancouver on Aug. 3 … Bertone is FCC’s only player to receive a pair of one-match suspensions this season … Orange and Blue captain Kendall Waston is one yellow card away from receiving his second one-match suspension for yellow-card suspension
- Tonight’s match marked the second time FC Cincinnati have recorded at least two goals in the first half … the Orange and Blue registered a pair of first-half goals in their 3-2 win over Houston on July 6
- FCC scored at least a goal for a third consecutive match and for the seventh time in the last eight matches … The Orange and Blue have only been shutout once since their match at Minnesota United FC on June 29
- Tonight’s match was the first-ever MLS contest played in the #HellisReal Derby … the Orange and Blue and Black & Gold squared off once before when FC Cincinnati was a USL Championship team … the two sides met in the Fourth Round of the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup … Djiby Fall scored the game-winning goal as FCC prevailed, 1-0, on June 14 in front of 30,160 fans at Nippert Stadium
- Austin Berry became the first player for either team to feature in a #HellisReal match as both a player and as a member of the technical staff … Berry started and played 90 minutes at center back in FCC’s U.S. Open Cup win in 2017 … the Cincinnati native now serves as FC Cincinnati’s strength and conditioning coach
- Head Coach Ron Jans made one change to the starting lineup from FC Cincinnati’s most recent match against Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Aug. 3 … Andrew Gutman shifted into the starting lineup, while Justin Hoyte was dropped
- Tonight’s lineup was FC Cincinnati’s 24th unique lineup of the season … the only two instances FCC have had the same starting XI was on March 10 and March 17
- Fanendo Adi (calf), Fatai Alashe (hamstring), Frankie Amaya (groin) Greg Garza (calf) and Spencer Richey (back), were unavailable for selection because of injury … Kekuta Manneh (shoulder) also missed the match for precautionary reasons.
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati Head Coach Ron Jans
On the result
“First of all, we got a result, and in the end, we were more lucky with the point than Columbus was because the first 35 minutes, I think we were a better team. We were leading two nil. They got a little bit of an easy penalty, I think. But after that, we had a lot of problems getting to halftime. In the end, the last 10 minutes, they hit the bar twice. I don’t think we deserved the win, but I’m really happy with the point and we did deserve it because of the fighting spirit in the first 35 minutes. We deserved a point ourselves.”
On the difference in the second half.
“I think it’s the fatigue, maybe because we were pressing so much. We were getting the ball so many times, but it cost a lot of energy. I think in this weather it is sometimes difficult. It is even more difficult when you have the ball, because we lost some balls. There was one ball on the bar and we had a shooting chance with (Andrew) Gutman, who played a good game, but he lost a ball and the counterattack was so dangerous. We were lucky. In those moments, you have to make the right choices and keep the ball in position. We lost the ball too many times too early.”
On the emotions in the derby
“Yeah. I really liked the atmosphere, the intensity. I would like to have some more derbies, and I think in two weeks we will have one more against the same opponent. So yeah, I liked it. I liked it a lot.”
On Andrew Gutman’s performance
“I was really satisfied with his performance and also with his stamina, his fitness. He was taking initiative. In attacking, he can help us. I think he did a good, proper job also defensively. So, a good debut.”
On offensive-minded substitutions after conceding a second goal
“We always want to win, but it is all about energy. I think the attackers sprint the most. We have good players on the bench. So, okay you want to win, but it is more getting fresh people into the game. We are just a little bit unlucky. Just before we changed the two wingers, we conceded the (second goal). Great goal from (Pedro) Santos. That was a little bit unlucky, but we did the changes anyway.”
FC Cincinnati Defender Andrew Gutman
On getting adjusted
“Yeah, I thought I did well. I think Kendall (Waston) and Maikel (van der Werff) helped me a lot with confidence and making sure I was in the right positions. You know, obviously, I could clean up a couple parts of the game, I thought. But overall, it was good.”
On his confidence contributing to the attack
“I think when I was coming here, everyone kind of knew a lot of my game was to get forward, and they gave me the freedom to do that, within reason. They covered me well when I was out of position. I pick and choose when to get forward. I wasn’t just going forward 100 percent of the time.”
On if he was happy with his debut
“Yeah, I think so. We had a 2-0 lead. I thought maybe we could have held onto that, but to get a point on the road, in a derby match with this environment, was good.”
On whether he anticipated the match’s environment
“Yeah, I think so. I know Cincinnati fans are passionate, and obviously it is an in-state rivalry. It was good. I think it was a sold-out crowd, they said. So yeah, it was fun to play in.”
FC Cincinnati Goalkeeper Przemysław Tytoń
On his impression of the derby match
“It was my first derby in America. I really liked it. I saw a lot of our fans, which impressed me. I am happy that they came to support us here in Columbus.”
On his performance
“I made some good saves today, which allowed us to stay in the game for some tough moments. I am happy that I could help the team. I did it; I saved those balls, but all the team worked hard from the beginning of the game. We showed from the first minute that we came here to get the points. Maybe in the second half, we didn’t have much power to press them as much as the first half, but we got the point. We look forward.”
On his confidence
“I am happy that they continue, my games, and that I play. I am happy that I performed well tonight, but nothing changed. I am focused on my trainings during the week. Prepare as best as I can and show during the weekend because it's the most important moment for a professional soccer player.”
On his saves at the end of the match
“For me, the last minute was crazy. So many actions, so many chances for Columbus. We survive. I don’t know how, but we get the point. We have to be happy because this point can show us the way where we have to go, how we have to work during the games to get at least one point. No one will give us one for free, so I am looking forward to the next games.”
FC Cincinnati Forward Darren Mattocks
On being able to score in the match
“It’s good not to lose, finally. Great, great result for the fans. Great result for the club. Most of all, great result for the team. We worked extremely hard. This looked like the start of a great rivalry and tonight definitely showed that this could be right up there with maybe Portland and Seattle.”
On if he could hear the FC Cincinnati fans throughout the match
“Yes, exciting. I was wondering if it was our own (home) game. That’s what it felt like. Hats off to all the fans that came down, that’s really big. They’ve been amazing all season, so it’s really good to give them something to cheer about and go back home to Cincinnati.”
On his goal
“We practiced that set piece all week, four guys line up in a train and then speed off. I jumped so high that I think I had to duck a little bit to get it there, but thankfully it went in.”
On if he was surprised that he had so much space on the goal
“Not really, sometimes you got to work to get space in the box a bit because it’s always congested. I think I made a near post run and I drifted back. When you do that in a split second, it’s always tough to mark. As soon as I saw myself wide open, I knew it was going to be a goal.”
