TORONTO – FC Cincinnati and Toronto FC II played to a 3-3 draw at Lamport Stadium on Wednesday night in mid-week USL action.
FC Cincinnati (9-3-4, 31 pts.) netted three goals in the first half, as Nazmi Albadawi, Emery Welshman and Emmanuel Ledesma each tallied one goal and added one assist in the stanza as FCC held a 3-1 break at the half.
Toronto FC II (0-12-3, 3 pts.) came back in the second half, converting twice in a five-minute span to pull level at 3-3 and ultimately earn the home point.
Cincinnati held an 11-5 edge in shots after the first half but was limited to a single chance in the second as TFC rallied and ultimately out-shot the Orange and Blue 15-12 in the game.
With his assist on the team’s first goal, Ledesma set the FC Cincinnati single-season assist record by collecting his eighth assist of the season in just the team’s 16th game and his 15th appearance this year.
FC Cincinnati returns to the field later this week when the Orange and Blue hosts Ottawa Fury FC at Nippert Stadium on Saturday, June 30. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m., and the game will be televised live on WSTR 64 and streamed on ESPN+. Following the game, there will be a free fireworks display over Nippert Stadium for fans attending the contest. Tickets to the game are available at fccincinnati.com/tickets or by calling 513-977-KICK (5425).
FC Cincinnati 3, Toronto FC II 3
Lamport Stadium | Toronto, Ontario
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
SCORING SUMMARY
FCC – Nazmi Albadawi (Emmanuel Ledesma) 8’
TFC – Ayo Akinola (Dante Campbell) 28’
FCC – Emery Welshman (Nami Albadawi) 38’
FCC – Emmanuel Ledesma (Emery Welshman) 40’
TFC – Robert Boskovic (Ryan Telfer) 70’
TFC – Jordan Hamilton (Steffen Yeates) 75’
Toronto FC II: Borja Angoitia, Robert Boskovic, Dante Cambell, Juilian Dunn-Johnson, Kyle Bjornethun (Ryan Telfer 46’), Liam Fraser ©, Gideon Waja (Steffen Yeates 71’), Luca Uccello, Malik Johnson, Jordan Hamilton, Ayo Akinola (Shaan Hundal 78’)
Bench: Rimi Olatunjl, Rocco Romeo, Noble Okello Ayo, Aiden Daniels
STATS: Shots 15, Shots on target 4, Fouls conceded 17, Corner kicks 3, Offsides 0, Saves 2, Possession 53.2%
FC Cincinnati: Evan Newton, Blake Smith, Dekel Keinan ©, Paddy Barrett, Matt Bahner, Richie Ryan (Corben Bone 64’), Michael Lahoud, Emmanuel Ledesma, Nazmi Albadawi, Russell Cicerone (Jimmy McLaughlin 83’), Emery Welshman (Danni König 73’)
Bench: Spencer Richey, Forrest Lasso, Justin Hoyte, Daniel Haber
STATS: Shots 12, Shots on target 5, Fouls conceded 11, Corner kicks 2, Offsides 3, Saves 1, Possession 46.8%
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
TFC - Kyle Bjornethun (caution) 45’
TFC – Dante Campbell (caution) 88’
Referee: Fabrizio Stasolla
Weather: 67 degrees, cloudy
Attendance: 288
TEAM RECORDS:
Toronto FC II: 0-12-3, 3 pts.
FC Cincinnati: 9-3-4, 31 pts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
7’ | FCC GOAL – Matt Bahner intercepted a clearance attempt and pushed forward, sending a cross in from the right. His attempt was headed out by the TFCII defense, but Blake Smith got to the ball first and headed it deeper to his left where Emmanuel Ledesma worked around a defender to gain possession of the ball deep by the end line. As the Toronto backline collapsed back toward the goal, Ledesma threaded a square ball to Nazmi Albadawi backing off the defense and into the open space by the penalty dot, and the midfielder turned his shot toward the far post to put FCC up 1-0 early.
28’ | TFC GOAL – After Toronto worked the ball from one side of the penalty area around the top of the arc to the right side, Dante Campbell collected the ball and whipped in a cross that Ayo Akinola met three yards out and headed powerfully past Evan Newton to pull TFCII level.
38’ | FCC GOAL – On a restart in the FCC end, Paddy Barrett lumped the ball down field and to the edge of the TFC penalty area, where Albadawi won the ball and cut inside the 18-yard box. He cut a square ball back into the center of the area as Emery Welshman ran onto it and first-timed it back across the goal to re-claim the advantage for the Orange and Blue.
40’ | FCC GOAL – Russell Cicerone looped a pass over the midfield, allowing Emery Welshman to run onto the ball into the Toronto half. He maneuvered down the right center channel and into space near the top of the penalty area and played Ledesma across the top of the box. After a few touches to create some space, Ledesma unleashed a hard, looping left-footed shot over TFC goalkeeper Borja Angoitia and inside the far post for a quick two-goal advantage.
71’ | TFC GOAL – On a free kick near the edge of the penalty box, Ryan Telfer lofted a ball into traffic around the penalty spot and Robert Boskovic rose above the defense to lean in and head the ball past Newton from very close range and pull the Reds within a goal
75’ | TFC GOAL – Four minutes later, as Toronto worked the ball around in the Cincinnati end, it skipped out wide left to Steffan Yeates. He looked up and sent an in-swinging cross back inside the area, where he found Jordan Hamilton near the spot for the first-time side volley that leveled the score.
86’ | Toronto continued to keep the pressure on Cincinnati and Newton was forced into a low diving save at the post on Telfer’s shot off a free kick
86’ | On the ensuing corner kick, Jordan Hamilton rose up to meet Telfer’s service and his headed shot clanged off the near post
GAME NOTES
With his set-up on the game’s first goal, Emmanuel Ledesma collected his USL-leading eighth assist of the season in just the team’s 16th game and his 15th appearance
Ledesma’s eighth assist in 2018 is now a FC Cincinnati single-season assist record, passing Kenney Walker’s previous record of seven in 2017 in 25 games
Overall, this is Ledesma’s fifth game in which he’s factored in at least two goals this season
His first-half goal was his eighth of the season
Nazmi Albadawi netted his sixth goal of the season with his eighth-minute strike … he now has goals in three straight games and has goals in five of the team’s last seven USL games
Albadawi’s assist on Emery Welshman’s first-half goal was officially his first assist of the season and his first-career USL assist … in 2016, he set the NASL single-season assist record with 10
Emery Welshman drew the start on Wednesday night in hometown … it was his eighth start of the season and his first since June 13 against Bethlehem Steel
With a goal and an assist, Welshman factored in multiple goals for the first time this season … it was his second goal of the season and his first since March 31 at Indy – a span of 15 USL games … his assist on Ledesma’s first-half goal was his second of the season and his first since April 15 at Bethlehem
FC Cincinnati moved to 4-0-1 all-time against Toronto FC with Wednesday’s draw, including a 2-0-1 mark in Toronto
The Orange and Blue pushed its 2018 road record to 6-1-2 on the year
Of the team’s 31 points this year, 20 have come on the road … the team has taken 20-of-27 available road points this year
Tonight’s game was the second time this season that FC Cincinnati was not shown a caution in a game … both game occurred on the road and both ended in draws (April 15 at Bethlehem Steel FC)
Albadawi’s seventh-minute goal tied for the team’s earliest goal of the season … at Indy on May 2, Kenney Walker converted a penalty kick in the seventh minute
The draw helped Cincinnati remain undefeated in June so far, posting a 3-0-3 record overall and a 3-0-2 mark in USL play … NOTE: while the U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round game saw MLS’ Minnesota United FC advance in penalties, the official final score of the game was a 0-0 draw
