Despite Emmanuel Ledesma converting his 54th-minute equalizing penalty, FC Cincinnati conceded two goals over the next 10 minutes and eventually lost 4-1 to second-place D.C. United on Thursday night at Nippert Stadium.
Here are takeaways from the match:
After a decent start, it got worse
When the teams entered the locker rooms at halftime, FCC trailed but only needed some offensive efficiency to get back into the match. Eventually, that arrived via Ledesma scoring his second goal this season on a penalty.
But what followed saw Cincinnati struggle to keep its shape defensively, and goals started to leak past Spencer Richey.
Lucas RodrÃguez scored his second goal in the 59th minute, while Wayne Rooney made it 3-1 in the 64th. U.S. Men’s National Team winger Paul Arriola finished the scoring at 4-1 at the 73rd minute.
Before the match, FC Cincinnati had won two straight and were looking to challenge the one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. When the full-time whistle sounded, it’s clear the clubs have a gap in quality between them
That being said…
…It does help that the Orange and Blue play again on Sunday.
Rather than a week to digest the lopsided loss, the club only has two days of training before hosting the New England Revolution on Sunday night at Nippert Stadium.
With the Revolution sitting ninth in the conference, the match is a good opportunity for Cincinnati to accumulate points against a club close to it in the standings.
When the sides last met on March 24, FCC won 2-0 at Gillette Stadium for their first road win in the team’s MLS history.
What comes next
Cincinnati host the Revs before two matches against Canadian clubs.
Next Saturday, the Orange and Blue play at Toronto FC, which will be the first meeting between the sides this season. Following that, Cincinnati host Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Aug. 3.
It’s worth noting FC Cincinnati are 11-1-1 against Canadian teams in the team’s four-year history. In the lone MLS encounter against a team from up north, Cincinnati beat the Montreal Impact 2-1 on May 11 in Yoann Damet’s first match as the interim head coach.
