Despite a second-half rally, FC Cincinnati were unable to earn points in Sunday afternoon’s 3-2 loss to the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena.
Here are the takeaways from FCC’s 2020 MLS regular-season opener:
The two halves were drastically different
The Orange and Blue truly looked like a different team in each half. If the opening 45 minutes saw Cincinnati struggle to maintain possession and ward off Red Bull counter attacks, the second half saw the visitors dominate the game with one attacking chance after another.
While the best start to the regular season would’ve seen FCC earn at least a point, Sunday’s performance was largely a positive one, interim head coach Yoann Damet said.
“We finished on a positive note,” Damet said. “The second half was much more what we were expecting to show today. I think in the first half, you could see a lot of tension, a lot of mistakes on our end and we got punished. Much better showing in the second half, much more energy, much more understanding of what we wanted to do with the ball and we got rewarded by these two goals.
“I think it’s just frustrating to come to Red Bull Arena, to score two goals and still not get a point.”
It’s worth noting that this was the first time FCC had scored two goals in a second half since last season’s home opener on March 17 against the Portland Timbers. That’s a little detail, but it shows a big difference.
The forwards looked lively and effective
No position came under more scrutiny in 2019 than the forwards, so it’s important to highlight the bright start to the 2020 season.
Brandon Vazquez made his Cincinnati debut and created the club’s opening goal when he found space down the left flank and opted to set-up Allan Cruz instead of taking a close-range shot. The decision was the correct one, as the pass nutmegged a defender and went to directly to Cruz, who scored the team’s first goal.
“In the second half, I feel like we were attacking,” Vazquez said. “Our mentality was more aggressive and that helped us a lot.”
Vazquez has demonstrated his potential in front of goal. But to have the presence of mind to remain calm and look for the best option – so close to the goal – speaks volumes about his unselfishness.
In the 64th minute, Jürgen Locadia replaced Vazquez and instantly showed why he was so coveted by GM Gerard Nijkamp. In his first few touches on the field, Locadia nearly scored twice.
He eventually scored his first MLS goal in the 83rd minute when he had a one-on-one with David Jensen and buried his rebound after Jensen stopped the initial shot.
The goal was the exclamation to a wild week for Locadia, who hadn’t trained with the team since last Thursday in Bradenton, Florida, because he needed to go to Amsterdam for his visa. He returned to the U.S. on Friday, and travel delays forced him to meet the team in directly New York on Saturday.
“It’s been a crazy week, a very tough week,” Locadia said. “No practice, just me and my personal trainer in Holland and I flew in yesterday, but I was happy with my debut.”
He has now scored in his Eredivisie, Premier League and MLS debuts.
Sunday showed the overall improvement of this tea
The second half served as a reminder of how much better FC Cincinnati truly are than what they produced in 2019.
For a team that saw 11 new players added to the roster – and two new Designated Players – the Orange and Blue are still a work in progress, but they’re truly progressing.
All three subs were a reminder of that.
Locadia already has as many goals as the club’s DP striker had in 2019, and he only played the final 26 minutes. Kekuta Manneh offered moments of excitement when he came in for Yuya Kubo, and Andrew Gutman sustained the aggressive forward runs from left back that Greg Garza made from the opening whistle.
The pieces are starting to come together, and rather quickly.
On Sunday, FC Cincinnati didn’t look like a team with a coaching change less than two weeks ago, and a side that’s DP forward hadn’t trained with for 10 days.
Moral victories aren’t something that should become a habit, but Sunday provided a moral victory – and hope – to a team that searched for hope all last season. The team has already found it one game into 2020.
What comes next
Following Sunday’s loss, FC Cincinnati will play on the road again next Saturday, when they face Atlanta United FC. The teams met during the second week of the 2019 season, too, and drew, 1-1, thanks to a late equalizer from Roland Lamah.
Cincinnati will play its first match at Nippert Stadium on March. 14, when they host D.C. United.
