FC Cincinnati defeated CF Montréal Saturday night, 4-1, in front of a sellout crowd at TQL Stadium.
The Orange and Blue improve to 16-8-3 (51 points) to remain in second in the Eastern Conference. Montréal drop to 6-12-9 (27 points).
Kevin Kelsy found the back of the net for the sixth time this season, giving the Orange and Blue a 1-0 lead in the 36th minute. Luca Orellano doubled Cincinnati’s lead in the 53rd minute from a set piece situation from about 24-yards out before tallying the Orange and Blue’s third goal of the night in spectacular fashion from a restart in play from inside the Cincinnati half. Orellano’s goals were his sixth and seventh of the MLS season.
Substitute Sergio Santos netted FCC’s fourth goal of the night in the 71st minute before the visitors netted a consolation goal in the 81st.
FC Cincinnati return to action on Saturday, September 14 to host the Columbus Crew. Kickoff for the Hell is Real derby is set for 7:30 p.m. and limited remain at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or by calling (KICK). The match will air on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
AS IT HAPENED
CIN: Kevin Kelsy, GOAL – 36’ (1-0) – FC Cincinnati’s first goal of the night came from a corner kick by Luca Orellano. Orellano’s service was initially dealt with by Montréal but was cleared no further than Pavel Bucha. The ball was recycled back to Orellano who sent in a cross towards Alvas Powell, who headed across the box and into the path of Kevin Kelsy who chested down and unleashed a powerful shot that deflected off two Montréal defenders before nestling into the back of the net.
CIN: Luca Orellano, GOAL – 53’ (2-0) – Kelsy was brought down by Joel Waterman as the forward broke in on goal and the foul was initially ruled a penalty before being overturned and given as a free kick outside the area. Orellano took the free kick and fired a left-footed shot that Montréal got a touch on but was not able to keep out of the back of the net.
CIN: Luca Orellano, GOAL – 57’ (3-0) – Orellano stunned the sellout crowd at TQL Stadium with his second long-range goal of the season from inside Cincinnati’s defensive half. On a free kick opportunity inside the Cincinnati half, Orellano stepped up and blasted a shot over a retreating Jonathan Sirois for his second goal of the night.
CIN: Sergio Santos, GOAL – 71’ (4-0) – Five minutes after entering the match as a substitute, Sergio Santos received a long ball from Chidozie Awaziem over the top of the Montréal defense, and took a pair of touches into the penalty area and deposited home his third goal of the season.
MTL: Kwadwo Opoku, GOAL – 81’ (4-1) – Substitute Kwadwo Opoku scored a consolation goal for the visitors after receiving a pass down the middle and holding off charging defenders to tuck home his second goal of the season.
GAME NOTES
- FC Cincinnati improved to 5-4-2 all-time against CF Montréal, including 3-1-1 in Cincinnati.
- With four goals scored, Cincinnati have scored 298 goals across all competitions since joining MLS in 2019. 63 of those goals have come this season.
- Saturday marked the 11th sellout of TQL Stadium this season.
- Luca Orellano netted his second brace of the season (May 25 at TOR).
- Miles Robinson captained FC Cincinnati for the first time, becoming the sixth player to wear the captain’s armband this season (Acosta, Miazga, Yedlin, Nwobodo, Kubo) and the 15th player since 2019.
- London Aghedo made his MLS debut in his third appearance for the Orange and Blue.
- Ian Murphy and Alvas Powell each made their 99th career appearances for FC Cincinnati, one shy of reaching the 100 games played milestone.
- Saturday marked FC Cincinnati’s 20th MLS Regular Season win at TQL Stadium over the past two seasons, the most in MLS.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs CF Montréal
Date: August 31, 2024
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: TQL Stadium
Attendance: 25,513 (sellout)
Kickoff: 7:40 p.m. ET
Weather: 78 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
CIN: 1-3-4
MTL: 0-1-1
CIN – Kevin Kelsy 36’, Luca Orellano 53’, Luca Orellano 57’, Sergio Santos (Awaziem) 71’
MTL – Kwadwo Opoku (Álvarez) 81’
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Luca Orellano (Malik Pinto 85’), Ian Murphy, Miles Robinson (C) Chidozie Awaziem, Alvas Powell (Bret Halsey 74’), Pavel Bucha, Obinna Nwobodo, Nicholas Gioacchini (Sergio Santos 66’), Yuya Kubo (Gerardo Valenzuela 74’), Kevin Kelsy (London Aghedo 85’)
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Corey Baird, Kipp Keller, Stiven Jimenez
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
MTL: Jonathan Sirois, Tom Pearce (Lassi Lappalainen 59’), Fernando Álvarez, Joel Waterman (Gabriele Corbo 78’), George Campbell, Dawid Bugaj (Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty 78’), Nathan Saliba, Samuel Piette (C) (Bryce Duke 58’), Caden Clark, Jules-Anthony Vilsaint (Kwadwo Opoku 46’), Matias Cóccaro
Substitutes not used: Sebastian Breza, Victor Wanyama, Sunusi Ibrahim, Josef Martínez
Head Coach: Laurent Courtois
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/MTL
Shots: 16 / 5
Shots on Goal: 6 / 3
Saves: 2 / 2
Corner Kicks: 7 / 1
Fouls: 13 / 16
Offside: 1 / 1
Possession: 60.3 / 39.7
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Miles Robinson (Yellow Card) 22’
CIN – Ian Murphy (Yellow Card) 40’
MTL – Joel Waterman (Yellow Card) 47’
MTL – Gabriele Corbo (Yellow Card) 86’
MTL – Fernando Álvarez (Yellow Card) 90’+6
CIN – Gerardo Valenzuela (Yellow Card) 90’+7
OFFICIALS
Referee: Jon Freemon
Ast. Referees: Cory Richardson, Adam Garner
Fourth Official: Sergii Boiko
VAR: Sorin Stoica
AVAR: TJ Zablocki
