His first reaction was a sigh. The emotion summed up the match and FC Cincinnati’s form the last three weeks.
Yes, there have been positives. Plenty of them. After all, Cincinnati controlled possession Saturday night and out-passed the Colorado Rapids, 548-361. As Interim Head Coach Yoann Damet preaches the importance of building from the back, those stats add proof to the ideology.
The score line doesn’t, however.
The Orange and Blue lost, 3-1, to the Rapids on Saturday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. That’s a third-straight loss and pushed the club to the lowest points total in MLS.
So, Damet sighed.
“A frustrating game,” Damet said. “We spoke this week about the urgency, the urgency of implementing our style of play and better content during the games coming together. I think the urgency is also to be more clinical. We created a couple of chances tonight, but unfortunately, we didn’t get rewarded.”
There were glimpses of quality, though. The only issue Saturday night is when they occurred, they were immediately followed by better chances for Colorado.
In the 43rd minute, Fanendo Adi nearly put FC Cincinnati in front. But instead of a shot on target, the visitors found themselves racing back to stop a Colorado counter that ended with Andre Shinyashiki giving the Rapids the lead.
Later in the 72nd minute, Roland Lamah delivered a pin-point through ball to Kekuta Manneh. The ball, and Manneh, split the Colorado center backs, and the winger finessed his shot past Tim Howard. The beautiful sequence tied the match.
But then an ugly one occurred just one minute later when Cincinnati couldn’t clear the ball on the ensuing kickoff, and the Rapids scored again to lead 2-1 before adding a final goal 10 minutes later in the 83rd minute.
“The game is dynamic,” Damet said. “We know we can be in front of the goal about to score and concede in the same action. It’s frustrating. We need to be clinical in both boxes when we attack but also when we defend. When we become a bit more clinical, we’re going to get some more results.”
That last statement is what led to Damet’s sigh and comments about frustration. FC Cincinnati played well enough to get at least something from the game, but instead leave Colorado empty-handed. The same could be said about last week’s 2-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls at Nippert Stadium.
When FCC beat the Montreal Impact four games ago in Damet’s debut, they produced the same playing style as in these past performances. The only difference has been which team is scoring the goals.
That’s why it’s easy to be frustrated but hard to be angry. The moments of quality – and spells of currently playing Damet’s tactics – exist, but without a reward. At least, without one right now.
“Tonight, again, I was happy with the opportunities we created,” Damet said. “I think we need to keep pushing in that direction. We need to keep creating these type of opportunities. We need to keep moving to provide options and get in behind. Now we need to be more clinical and just finish these opportunities.”
