NEW YORK – FC Cincinnati tied with defending MLS Cup Champions New York City FC, 1-1, Wednesday night at Citi Field.
The result sees the Orange and Blue head into the weekend slate of games above the Eastern Conference playoff line in seventh place with a 9-8-12 record (39 points). NYCFC remain in fourth place (13-10-7, 46 points).
FC Cincinnati are unbeaten in eight straight games, the longest streak in the club’s MLS history. The result in the Big Apple was the Orange and Blue’s first point against NYCFC away from home in five tries.
FCC went ahead in the 22nd minute as a result of a New York City FC own goal. With Álvaro Barreal pressuring NYC’s Thiago Martins, Martins attempted to drop the ball back to his goalkeeper Sean Johnson. With the goalie out of position, the intended pass ended up in his own net.
The own goal received for FCC was the fourth this season and the eighth own goal to benefit the Orange and Blue in the club’s MLS history. Three of those eight have come at New York City FC, both of the previous two coming in 2019’s matchup at Yankee Stadium.
NYCFC equalized just before halftime in the 41st minute on a close-range header from Gabriel Pereira.
The hosts went down to 10 men after a red card issued to NYCFC’s Thiago Martins in the 76th minute for taking down Sergio Santos as the last line of defense. Originally deemed a penalty kick, VAR overturned the PK and determined the foul occurred just outside of the penalty area instead of within.
The red card issued to NYCFC was the third ejection of an FCC opponent this season, the 13th in club history. FCC was unable to convert on Álvaro Barreal’s free kick from just outside the box which required a Sean Johnson save, the lone shot on goal for FCC on the evening.
FCC goalkeeper Roman Celentano made a career-high seven saves, all of which came in the first half, to match a club record for saves in a single half (Kenneth Vermeer – 8/27/21 at CLB, 2H).
FC Cincinnati return to TQL Stadium to host the San Jose Earthquakes for the first time in club history on Saturday, Sept. 10. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised on WSTR 64, streamed regionally on fccincinnati.com/stream, out of market on ESPN+, on radio on FOX Sports 1360 while an audio stream will be available via the iHeartRadio app.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati at New York City FC
Date: September 7, 2022
Venue: Citi Field
Attendance: 14,248
Kickoff: 8:08 p.m. ET
Weather: 72 degrees, cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
NYC: 1-0-1
CIN: 1-0-1
NYC - Gabriel Pereira (Tayvon Gray) 41’
CIN - Thiago Martins – Own Goal 22’
GAME NOTES
• All-time against NYCFC, FC Cincinnati are 0-6-2 with both results coming in draws this season … the defending MLS Cup Champions are one of two Eastern Conference foes FCC have failed to defeat all-time (D.C. United).
• Wednesday marked the 20th time in club history that FC Cincinnati played an MLS contest on a Wednesday … the club is 4-8-8 on Hump Day and an undefeated 1-0-3 this season.
• Roman Celentano made seven saves, a new career-high (previous: 6, 4/24 vs LAFC) … his seven saves all came in the first half, which matched an FCC club record (Kenneth Vermeer – 8/27/21 at CLB, 2H).
• The own goal received for FC Cincinnati was the fourth this season (4/2 vs MTL, Johnston 20’; 5/14 at CHI, Czichos 33’; 7/3 at NE, Kessler 41’) … it was the eighth own goal to benefit the Orange and Blue in the club’s MLS history, the third coming from NYCFC.
• NYCFC’s red card shown to Thiago Martins in the 76th minute was the third this season shown to an FCC opponent (3/5 vs DC, Nyeman 80’; 5/4 vs TOR, Priso 6’) and the 13th in club history.
• Matt Miazga became the 10th player in the club’s MLS history to start as captain of FC Cincinnati (Acosta, Waston, Medunjanin, Matarrita, Hagglund, Hoyte, Garza, Cameron, Nwobodo).
• Miazga became the fifth different player to start for the Orange and Blue this season as the squad’s captain, a new club-high in a single season (2019 – 4: Waston, Garza, Hoyte, Hagglund) … A list of FC Cincinnati’s games started as captain in 2022: Acosta – 23, Medunjanin – 2, Nwobodo – 2, Cameron – 1, Miazga – 1).
• Three players returned to the starting lineup after lengthy gaps between starts: Dominique Badji (5/28 at MTL, 4 sub appearances since); Ray Gaddis (7/17 at CLB, 5 sub appearances since); John Nelson (7/23 vs NSH, 6 sub appearances since).
• Ronald Matarrita made his first appearance as a second half substitute since March 19 vs Inter Miami CF following his ankle surgery due to an injury sustained while with the Costa Rican National Team in March.
• Luciano Acosta was unavailable for selection due suspension for yellow card accumulation.
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, John Nelson (Junior Moreno 65’), Ian Murphy, Matt Miazga (C), Nick Hagglund, Ray Gaddis, Yuya Kubo (Ronald Matarrita 84’), Obinna Nwobodo, Álvaro Barreal, Dominique Badji (Brenner 46’), Brandon Vazquez (Sergio Santos 65’)
Substitutes not used: Alec Kann, Zico Bailey, Geoff Cameron, Allan Cruz, Alvas Powell
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
NYC: Sean Johnson (C), Maxime Chanot, Thiago Martins, Alexander Callens, Tayvon Gray, Maxi Moralez, Malte Amundsen (Thiago Andrade 74’), Santiago Rodriguez (Héber 69’), Nicolas Acevedo, Gabriel Pereira (Andres Jasson 81’), Talles Magno
Substitutes not used: Luis Barraza, Matias Pellegrini, Kevin O’Toole, Gedion Zelalem, Vuk Latinovich, Keaton Parks
Interim Head Coach: Nick Cushing
STATS SUMMARY: NYC/CIN
Shots: 22 / 4
Shots on Goal: 8 / 1
Saves: 1 / 7
Corner Kicks: 10 / 2
Fouls: 9 / 12
Offside: 1 / 3
Possession: 65.3 / 34.7
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
NYC – Gabriel Pereira (Yellow Card: Excessive Celebration) 43’
CIN – Obinna Nwobodo (Yellow Card: Foul) 64’
NYC – Thiago Martins (Red Card: Professional Foul Last Man) 76’
NYC – Nicolas Acevedo (Yellow Card: Foul) 83’
NYC – Maxime Chanot (Yellow Card: Foul) 90+3’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Ted Unkel
Ast. Referees: Meghan Mullen, Ryan Graves
Fourth Official: Silviu Petrescu
VAR: Edvin Jurisevic
Ast. VAR: Nick Uranga
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan
On the result
“Certainly a difficult match. Very good NYC team, they were by far the better team. And, you know, I think that started just in the first half. I got it wrong, our pressing was wrong, we couldn't get effective pressure to the ball higher up the field. They were able to get into the wider areas. And once they advance with the ball, they do a really good job of finding pockets to receive and run to goal. We really struggled with that in the first 45, I thought it was better in the second half, defensively. But on the night, in a game where you're defending for long periods you need some moments where you can have that quality and movement to be able to get out of pressure and get out of your own half. And that was hard for us on the night. But what I will say is, I can only credit the players who were put in obviously a difficult spot with the opponent, with how the game was playing out, to be able to get a point out of this game. That's a testament to them."
On catching a break with the own goal
“Well, it sure felt like we got out of here fortunate with a point based on the performance. So whether it's us finding some luck after a tough stretch of things maybe not going our way, I don't know. But again, it's just the mentality of the group that allows us to even walk off the field with a point because they suffered through long stretches. And they did it in a way where they showed a strong mentality, it's as simple as that. That point is on the players tonight.”
On the recent performances
“Just trying to find more balance and a complete performance with and without the ball. I mean, our last two games, I think we defended really strong to be able to get three points in the previous game and one tonight. But with the ball, we're struggling for some quality, for some ideas, maybe some consistency in the group, certainly shown tonight. But a lot of it also has to do with how we get pressure to the ball. And if we can do that more efficiently, it allows us to transition closer to goal, it allows us to be able to play higher up the field, to be able to defend forward in ways where it becomes more clear with how we can win balls, with how we can keep possession. It becomes difficult when you're constantly doing that in your 18. And that's what we're trying to find solutions to.”
On Ronald Matarrita’s return
“It's nice to see him out there again. He's out there because his play since he's returned to the group has been outstanding. And his mentality has been outstanding. And he was deserving of those minutes. You know, we were looking at maybe getting them out there for a little bit longer of a stretch, but there was a like a five minute period where there was a couple guys that had some issues and we just needed to be smart about how we made some of those subs, knowing that guys had some knocks that we just needed to be aware of so we could have 11 guys on the field at the end of the game that weren't physically struggling.”
Fans can place deposits now for 2023 Season Tickets, and current season ticket holders can renew for 2023 now. Anyone with interest in 2023 Season Tickets can place their deposit HERE, or by calling 513-977-KICK, that’s 513-977-5425.
FC Cincinnati's 2022 schedule can be viewed, HERE. Fans can build their custom 3 Match Flex Plan today. Pick any three matches and save on single match ticket pricing with no fees at checkout. Fans can pick the same seats for three games or select different options around TQL Stadium.
Single match tickets to any of FC Cincinnati’s remaining home games are also available now, head to fccincinnati.com/tickets or call 513-977-KICK, to learn more.
FC Cincinnati are playing their fourth season of MLS competition in 2022, and their second playing at TQL Stadium. 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 official mobile app on the Apple App Store or Google Play for instant access to mobile tickets, team content and match notifications.
