For the third time in as many games at Nippert Stadium, FC Cincinnati earned a point via a scoreless draw on Wednesday night against Chicago Fire FC. Here are the takeaways from the match.
FCC’s best performance since in-market return
While it was another draw, the Orange and Blue produced their most comprehensive performance since matches returned to home markets.
Maikel van der Werff nearly scored inside the first minute when his header off a Haris Medunjanin free kick forced Chicago goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth to make a close-range save.
Later in the 55th minute, Jürgen Locadia nearly had the game winner when he trapped a Medunjanin pass, then turned and fired a shot on goal – only denied by the ball ricocheting off the keeper’s body.
“Everybody today was locked in and we didn’t give a lot of chances to Chicago and we played some good soccer today,” Medunjanin said. “We were confident on the ball and our backline was dribbling in with the ball and finding Siem de Jong in good spaces where he has the quality to be behind the strikers and then find Jürgen and Adrien (Regattin) up front.
“In the first half we showed we could play good soccer if we believe in each other and play with confidence.”
That last sentence from the veteran midfielder is most important. Since Cincinnati lost, 4-0, to Columbus Crew SC in July, the focus has been shutting down the opposition. But with five clean sheets in the last six league games, FCC have proven they can defend.
“It was a game with opportunities created and we did not give a lot of opportunities,” head coach Jaap Stam said. We defended, again, very well, keeping that clean sheet which is very important for us. In the first half we created a lot of opportunities and we didn’t make the most of them, so we didn’t score.
“The team dealt very well with the majority of situations and didn’t give the chances to them. With the way we played, the set up we’ve done, we are very happy. What we have shown as well. Of course, you're disappointed that we didn’t come away with three points.”
Garza: FCC “missing that last moment”
The good news is Cincinnati have five clean sheets through nine league matches this season, which ties their 34-game total in 2019. That’s a remarkable turnaround for a club that set a single-season goals conceded record last year.
The bad news is the team isn’t scoring, and hasn’t in a league match since the New York Red Bulls scored an own goal on July 22 in the MLS is Back Tournament.
The Orange and Blue have the longest scoreless streak in MLS this season – 394 minutes since their last goal.
“(We’re) just missing that last moment, that last chance to finish off games,” Greg Garza said. “But in time, those things will just come. The team did very well on both sides of the field tonight, and as I said before, just have to get those final chances in.”
Cincinnati currently sits 11th in the Eastern Conference standings with nine points through as many games. Eleventh is misleading, though, because FCC are only three points off sixth place.
But as Cincy Soccer Talk reporter Jeff Wallner pointed out, the club would be third in the conference if the three scoreless draws were wins.
Evaluating FCC’s three home games to date
Wednesday’s draw concluded the home portion of FC Cincinnati’s initial return to home markets phase. During that stretch, the team went unbeaten, provided three convincing defensive displays and showed growth under Stam.
“Being here last year, it’s completely night and day,” Garza said of playing under Stam. “That’s something that Jaap has definitely brought into the team, it is just keeping us all accountable, keeping us all responsible for every action that we make and having someone get into you every once in a while and getting onto you on certain plays or making you feel accountable on certain plays where you do make mistakes. I think that all of us feel a little bit more pressure from the sidelines than maybe we did before.”
That added pressure has led to more confidence within the team.
While FCC haven’t score at home yet, they’ve consistently grown in confidence and understanding their capabilities.
The home opener saw the club start slow, then build toward a single attacking opportunity – a shot that hit the post. The #HellisReal Derby was a mix of Cincinnati sitting deeply and taking the game to Columbus Crew SC.
As for Wednesday night, the Orange and Blue started fast and never let up. Medunjanin pinged balls around the field as the home side generated one attacking chance after another.
“It’s not always easy to create a lot of opportunities,” Stam said. “The ones you get, you have to finish. That happened today again, which we didn’t do, unfortunately. Creating five or six very good opportunities is quite a lot in a game against this side. We are happy with that.”
This roster has the talent to defend compactly and play possessively. Those are both valuable assets. But whereas the defending has led to clean sheets, the possessive play hasn’t led to scoring – yet.
What comes next
Another #HellisReal Derby awaits on Sunday night when FC Cincinnati play Columbus Crew SC at MAPFRE Stadium. The clubs played to a scoreless result last Saturday and drew, 2-2, in the last meeting in Columbus.
The derby will be the two sides’ second meeting in eight days.
