CINCINNATI – Led by goals from Kendall Waston, Allan Cruz and Mathieu Deplagne, FC Cincinnati recorded their first MLS win in front of a sold-out crowd of 32,250 at Nippert Stadium defeating the Portland Timbers, 3-0, on Sunday afternoon.
After being awarded a free kick on the edge of their attacking third, FC Cincinnati opened the scoring in the 15th minute. Leonardo Bertone lofted a ball toward the far post, where a Kendall Waston header led to FC Cincinnati’s first MLS goal at Nippert Stadium.
Following a deflected shot from Roland Lamah, Allan Cruz doubled the lead for the Orange and Blue in the 61st minute of action with a backheeled effort atop the six-yard box. Just two minutes later, Mathieu Deplagne capped off the scoring with FC Cincinnati’s third goal of the match.
Spencer Richey registered his first-ever MLS shutout and win in the match. The goalkeeper stopped three shots en route to earning FC Cincinnati’s first clean sheet of the season.
FC Cincinnati return to action on Sunday, March 24, when the team travels to play the New England Revolution at 4 p.m. The match will be televised locally on WSTR 64, streamed locally on FloSports and carried on the radio on WDJO. Season tickets, mini plans and individual-game tickets are on sale at fccincinnati.com/tickets or by calling 513-977-5425 (KICK).
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.
FC Cincinnati 3, Portland Timbers 0
Nippert Stadium | Cincinnati, Ohio
Sunday, March 17, 2019
SCORING SUMMARY
CIN – Kendall Waston (Leonardo Bertone) 15’
CIN – Allan Cruz (unassisted) 61’
CIN – Mathieu Deplagne (Darren Mattocks) 63’
FC Cincinnati: Spencer Richey, Mathieu Deplagne, Kendall Waston, Nick Hagglund, Alvas Powell, Victor Ulloa, Leonardo Bertone, Allan Cruz, Kekuta Manneh (Emmanuel Ledesma 85’), Roland Lamah (Greg Garza 80’), Fanendo Adi (Darren Mattocks HT)
Bench: Jimmy Hague, Justin Hoyte, Kenny Saief, Caleb Stanko,
Stats: Shots 17, Shots on goal 7, Saves 3, Corner kicks 10, Offsides 5, Fouls 13, Possession 48.7%, Passes 387 (76.7%)
Portland Timbers: Jeff Attinella, Jorge Villafana, Claude Dielna, Larrys Mabiala, Zarek Valentin, Cristhian Paredes, Bill Tuiloma, Sebastian Blanco (David Guzmán 79’), Diego Valeri, Dairon Asprilla (Andy Polo 67’), Lucas Melano (Jeremy Ebobisse 67’)
Bench: Steve Clark, Jorge Moreira, Andrés Flores, Julio Cascante,
Stats: Shots 10, Shots on goal 3, Saves 4, Corner kicks 6, Offsides 2, Fouls 13, Possession 51.3%, Passes 413 (76%)
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
POR – Larrys Mabiala (caution) 45’+3’
CIN – Kendall Waston (caution) 46’
POR – Lucas Melano (caution) 65’
POR – Larrys Mabiala (ejection) 70’
CIN – Leonardo Bertone (caution) 90’
Referee: Ismail Elfath
Assistant Referees: Kathryn Nesbitt (AR1) and Jeffrey Greeson (AR2)
Fourth Official: Marcos DeOliveira
VAR: Kevin Terry Jr.
Weather: 51 degrees and cloudy
Attendance: 32,250
HOW IT HAPPENED
- 2’ | Kekuta Manneh played a ball to the right of the 18-yard box, where Allan Cruz sent cross to Fanendo Adi, whose headed effort was just over the crossbar
- 15’ | CIN GOAL - Following midfielder Kekuta Manneh winning a free kick 30 yards from goal, midfielder Leonardo Bertone played a right-footed ball to the head of a running Kendall Waston, who calmly headed the ball across the mouth of the goal to the far post for FC Cincinnati’s first-ever MLS goal at Nippert Stadium
- 20’ | From the corner flag, Roland Lamah provided an left-footed inswinging ball which met the head of Kendall Waston inside the six-yard box. Waston’s headed attempt, however, was just over the crossbar
- 26’ | Diego Valeri sent a cross to the far post. As the ball curled away from goal, Claude Diena headed the ball towards the right post of the goal, but his attempt at goal was cleared by a Kendall Waston header
- 32’ | Diego Valeri stole the ball in the edge of the attacking third and sent in a low cross towards the penalty spot. Victor Ulloa’s clearance deflected off of NIck Hagglund. Cristian Paredes recuperated the ball in the edge of the 18-yard box and passed back to Bill Tuiloma. Tuiloma’s threatening shot to the right of the goal forced Spencer Richey to make a diving save
- 32’ | From the corner flag, Diego Valeri sent a cross to the penalty spot. Larrys Mabiala flicked the ball over to the far post where Dairon Asprilla shot point-black but was denied by Spencer Richey
- 47’ | Portland Timbers were awarded a free kick after Kendall Waston fouled Diego Valeri outside of the penalty box. Valeri stepped up take the set piece, but his shot sailed over the crossbar
- 59’ | Diego Valeri found the ball on the right flank off the field after a Kendall Waston headed clearance. Valeri played a cross to Sebastian Blanco to the near post, whose header was off target.
- 61’ | CIN GOAL - Allan Cruz scored on a backheel for his first goal in MLS. Initially, Roland Lamah shot from outside the box, but the ball deflected toward Cruz, who doubled Cincinnati’s lead
- 63’ | CIN GOAL - Darren Mattocks crossed the ball from the right side to Mathieu Deplagne at the back post. Deplagne first-timed the ball in for FCC’s second goal in two minutes and a 3-0 lead. It was his first goal in MLS
GAME NOTES
- Today’s match resulted in FC Cincinnati’s first-ever MLS win … The Orange and Blue are now 1-1-1 through three MLS matches
- FC Cincinnati’s all-time record against Portland Timbers improves to 1-0-0
- Cincinnati is now 1-1-0 against Western Conference opponents … FCC lost their season opener on March 2 to Seattle Sounders FC, 4-1
- Today’s attendance of 32,250 marked FC Cincinnati’s first MLS sellout … in addition, it was FC Cincinnati’s largest-ever crowd for a league match
- The Orange and Blue recorded their first-ever multi-goal game as an MLS club … in addition, FC Cincinnati has tallied at least once in each of their first three contests
- FCC posted a season-high 17 shots, including a season-high seven shots on goal
- FC Cincinnati Head Coach Alan Koch made no changes to the starting lineup from last week’s match
- Fanendo Adi and Alvas Powell earned starts against their former club … tonight’s match marked the first time either player has played against Portland … Darren Mattocks -- who played for Portland from 2016-17 -- came on at halftime as a substitute
- Kendall Waston recorded the first goal scored by a defender in FC Cincinnati’s MLS history … the goal was Waston’s first since he tallied a brace with Vancouver against New York on Aug. 18, 2018
- FC Cincinnati scored their first-ever MLS goal off of a set piece on Waston’s header … each of FC Cincinnati’s first two goals were scored from open play
- Leonardo Bertone notched his first MLS assist on Waston’s 15th-minute tally … the Swiss midfielder became FC Cincinnati’s first player to record a goal and an assist on the season
- Allan Cruz and Mathieu Deplagne recorded their first-ever MLS goals in tonight’s match.
- Darren Mattocks recorded his first assist with FC Cincinnati … it was the forward’s first assist since 2017, when he registered an assist with Portland at NYCFC on Sept. 9, 2017 … Mattocks led all players with five key passes in just one half of match action
- Spencer Richey made three saves en route to his first-ever MLS shutout … Richey is now 1-0-1 on the season
- Emmanuel Ledesma made his MLS debut after entering the game as a substitute in the 85’ minute for Kekuta Manneh.
