FC Cincinnati and Sporting Kansas City opened Central 3 group stage play of the inaugural Leagues Cup competition Sunday night as the Orange and Blue picked up two points in a shootout win at TQL Stadium. Cincinnati (0-0-1, 2 points) tops the group as Kansas City (0-0-1, 1 point) sits second. Both teams earned a point on the night, with FC Cincinnati earning an additional point due to the Leagues Cup shootout format.
Sporting Kansas City scored two early first half goals, as the visitors took the lead in the ninth minute through an FC Cincinnati own goal. Kansas City’s Khiry Shelton forced the error as he sent a dangerous cross into the box, where Nick Hagglund misplaced a headed clearance into the back of his own goal.
Dany Rosero doubled the lead just four minutes later off a Kansas City set piece. Gadi Kinda delivered a perfectly placed ball into the box as Rosero found a fraction of space at the back post to head past Alec Kann.
FC Cincinnati’s attacking duo of Luciano Acosta and Brandon Vazquez looked to pull one back with dangerous first half chances of their own. Acosta forced a good save from John Pulskamp in the 18th minute, and Vazquez watched his powerful header in the 28th minute, which had Pulskamp beat, go off the crossbar.
The momentum shifted in favor of the Orange and Blue in the 30th minute when Kansas City’s star forward Alan Pulido was sent off with a straight red card following a bad foul on Yerson Mosquera. FC Cincinnati quickly took advantage, cutting the lead on a Pulskamp own goal just four minutes later.
Acosta created the chance, linking up with defender Ian Murphy in the center of the area as Murphy sent a headed effort off the crossbar and subsequently off Pulskamp’s back and into KC’s goal.
Kansas City would take a 2-1 lead into the break, before Brandon Vazquez found the back of the net in the 56th minute to bring things level. Luciano Acosta played provider once again, taking on two Kansas City defenders and finding Vazquez open in the middle of the box for an easy finish.
But Sporting KC would rally, earning a penalty in the 68th minute and converting to restore a one goal lead with just over twenty minutes to play in the match. Gadi Kinda, who assisted on Kansas City’s second goal of the night, scored his first of the competition to make it 3-2.
The Orange and Blue entered second half stoppage time down a goal with five minutes to play. Luciano Acosta looked to level the match late, and his attempted shot struck the hand of Dany Rosero in the box to send Cincinnati to the spot.
Acosta stepped up and converted with confidence to send the match to a shootout. In the shootout, Kansas City and Cincinnati traded their first two attempts before Rémi Walter missed Kansas City’s third penalty attempt. Matt Miazga converted Cincinnati’s fourth penalty and Alec Kann saved Andreu Fontàs critical attempt to claim and extra point.
FC Cincinnati return to Leagues Cup action on Thursday, July 27 at TQL Stadium in their second match of Central 3 group play. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET and tickets for the match can be purchase here. The match will also be streamed live on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV App.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs Sporting Kansas City
Date: July 23, 2023
Competition: Leagues Cup, Group Stage
Venue: TQL Stadium
Attendance: 24,524
Kickoff: 7:39 p.m. ET
Weather: 81 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
CIN: 1-2-3
KC: 2-1-3
CIN – John Pulskamp (OG) 34’, Brandon Vazquez (Luciano Acosta) 56’, Luciano Acosta (PK) 90’+8
KC – Nick Hagglund (OG) 9’, Dany Rosero (Gadi Kinda) 12’, Gadi Kinda (PK) 69’
Shootout:
1 – Acosta / Thommy
2 – Vazquez / Shelton
3 – Kubo / Walter (missed)
4 – Miazga / Fontás (saved)
FC Cincinnati wins the shootout 4-2
GAME NOTES
• FC Cincinnati opened their 2023 Leagues Cup campaign with a 4-2 shootout win (3-3 draw) against Sporting Kansas City.
• The Orange and Blue’s third-ever meeting against Sporting Kansas City ends in a draw. Cincinnati are 0-1-2 against Kansas City all-time.
• Luciano Acosta recorded his 23rd and 24th goal contributions of the year (across all competitions)
• FC Cincinnati can advance to the knockout stages of the competition with a win or draw (shootout win) against Chivas on Thursday night.
LINEUPS
CIN: Alec Kann, Ian Murphy (Yuya Kubo, 63’), Yerson Mosquera (Marco Angulo, 85’), Nick Hagglund (Matt Miazga, 46’), Álvaro Barreal, Junior Moreno, Malik Pinto (Obi Nwobodo, 46’), Alvas Powell, Luciano Acosta, Aaron Boupendza (Sergio Santos, 63’), Brandon Vazquez
Substitutes not used: Roman Celentano, Arquimides Ordoñez, London Aghedo, Evan Louro, Ray Gaddis, Marco Angulo, Stiven Jimenez
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
KC: John Pulskamp, Tim Leibold, Andreu Fontás, Dany Rosero, Jacob Davis, Gadi Kinda (Logan Ndenbe, 75’), Remi Walter, Felipe Gutierrez (Roger Espinoza, 59’), Johnny Russell (Erik Thommy, 59’), Alan Pulido, Khiry Shelton
Substitutes not used: Kendall McIntosh, Robert Voloder, Roberto Castellanos, Kayden Pierre, Stephen Afrifa, Danny Flores, Marinos Tzionis
Head Coach: Peter Vermes
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/KC
Shots: 21 / 11
Shots on Goal: 8 / 4
Saves: 2 / 6
Corner Kicks: 5 / 5
Fouls: 10 / 12
Offside: 2 / 0
Possession: 58.1 / 41.9
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Ian Murphy (Yellow card) 10’
CIN – Yerson Mosquera (Yellow card) 11’
KC – Alan Pulido (Red card) 30’
CIN – Junior Moreno (Yellow card) 48’
CIN – Aaron Boupendza (Yellow card) 50’
CIN – Alvas Powell (Yellow card) 68’
KC – John Pulskamp (Yellow card) 83’
KC – Erik Thommy (Yellow card) 90’+2
KC – Dany Rosero (Yellow card) 90’+6
KC – Roger Espinoza (Yellow card) 90’+8
OFFICIALS
Referee: Daniel Quintero Huitrón
Ast. Referees: José de Jesús Baños Caballero, Jonathan Maximiliano Gómez Olmos
Fourth Official: Christopher
VAR: Luis Enrique Santander Aguirre
AVAR: Jozef Batko
FC Cincinnati’s full 2023 regular season schedule can be viewed HERE. Fans can visit HERE for FC Cincinnati’s 2023 home platform match schedule. FC Cincinnati matches air live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, the unprecedented subscription service features every MLS regular season, playoff and Leagues Cup match.
Single Match Tickets can be purchased now at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or by calling (513) 977-5425 (KICK). For more information about Group Tickets and Premium hospitality options, including suites and all-inclusive experiences, call (513) 763-1025.
FC Cincinnati fans can place deposits on 2024 Season Tickets at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or by calling (513) 977-5425 (KICK). Visit HERE to learn more information.
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. Additionally, fans are encouraged to download the team’s new official mobile app on iOS or Android for instant access to mobile tickets, team content and match notifications.
