SAINT PAUL, Minn. – After FC Cincinnati dictated play in the first part of the game, Minnesota United FC netted four first-half goals en route to a 7-1 victory at Allianz Field Saturday afternoon.
Emmanuel Ledesma netted his first MLS goal to get the Orange and Blue on the board in the 56th minute. For Minnesota, Ike Opara netted a pair of goals, Ethan Finlay, Angelo Rodriguez and Mason Toye each recorded a goal and an assist, while Jan Gregus recorded three assists.
Despite the scoreline, FC Cincinnati dominated in possession - even before the Minnesota goals - posting a 62.3% mark to Minnesota’s 37.7%. Additionally, FCC had a season-high 89.5 passing percentage completion rate while out-passing the Loons, 598-350.
FCC will host the Houston Dynamo in a special “Americana” celebration at Nippert Stadium on Saturday, July 6. All tickets for the game are on sale at fccincinnati.com/tickets or by calling 513-977-5425 (KICK). Pick-Six mini plans, and individual-game tickets and group options are on sale for all remaining games. Two special ticket packages are available for the Houston game
- The “Americana” package that also includes a ticket to the pregame BBQ buffet on Sheakley Lawn (more info)
- The “World Cup Celebration” package that also includes a specially designed FCC-USA scarf (more info)
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.
Minnesota United FC 7, FC Cincinnati 1
Allianz Field | Saint Paul, Minn.
Saturday, June 29, 2019
SCORING SUMMARY
MIN – Ike Opara (unassisted) 18’
MIN – Hassani Dotson (Jan Gregus) 23’
MIN – Ethan Finlay (Darwin Quintero, Angelo Rodriguez) 30’
MIN – Angelo Rodriguez (Darwin Quintero) 43’
CIN – Emmanuel Ledesma (Kekuta Manneh) 56’
MIN – Ike Opara (Jan Gregus) 70’
MIN – Mason Toye (Jan Gregus) 75’
MIN – Kevin Molino (Mason Toye, Ethan Finlay) 87’
FC Cincinnati: Spencer Richey, Caleb Stanko, Nick Hagglund, Justin Hoyte ©, Mathieu Deplagne (Forrest Lasso 57’), Victor Ulloa, Frankie Amaya, Eric Alexander (Tommy McCabe HT), Kekuta Manneh, Rashawn Dally (Corben Bone 81’), Emmanuel Ledesma
Bench: Przemysław Tytoń, Logan Gdula
Stats: Shots 10, Shots on goal 5, Saves 1, Corner kicks 3, Offsides 1, Fouls 9, Possession 62.3%, Passes 598 (89.5%)
Minnesota United FC: Vito Mannone, Chase Gasper, Hassani Dotson, Ike Opara, Michael Boxall, Osvaldo Alonso © (Lawrence Olum 70’), Jan Gregus, Miguel Ibarra, Angelo Rodriguez (Mason Toye 62’), Ethan Finlay, Darwin Quintero (Kevin Molino 61’)
Bench: Dayne St. Clair, Brent Kallman, Eric Miller, Rasmus Schüller
Stats: Shots 15, Shots on goal 8, Saves 4, Corner kicks 3, Offsides 2, Fouls 10, Possession 37.7%, Passes 350 (83.7%)
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
MIN – Miguel Ibarra (caution) 54’
MIN – Angelo Rodriguez (caution) 59’
CIN – Justin Hoyte (caution) 73’
MIN – Ethan Finlay (caution) 79’
Referee: Joe Dickerson
Assistant Referees: Brian Poeschel, Cory Richardson
4th Official: Fotis Bazakos
VAR: Kevin Terry Jr
Weather: 88 degrees and sunny
Attendance: 19,778
HOW IT HAPPENED
- 16’ | From the left flank, Kekuta Manneh sent a pass to Rashawn Dally inside the penalty area with his back to goal. With two men on him, Dally took a touch, turned to his left and sent a right-footed shot on frame, forcing a diving save from Vito Mannone to keep the scoreline level.
- 18’ | MIN GOAL, 0-1 – Jan Gregus sent in a low, out-swinging free kick that bounced inches off the line in front of Spencer Richey, which he got enough of to keep out of goal, but Ike Opara trailed the play through the Cincinnati defense and tapped in the rebound for the 1-0 Minnesota lead.
- 23’ | MIN GOAL, 0-2 – Hassani Dotson dribbled out of the back into ample space in the right center channel before launching a rising, knuckling shot from 24 yards out that found the back of the net for a 2-0 lead.
- 30’ | MIN GOAL, 0-3 – Angelo Rodriguez held off a defender at the top of the box and fed Darwin Quintero coming into the play off to his right. Quintero dribbled deep to the line before putting a low cross in through traffic for Finlay to put home from close range.
- 43’ | MIN GOAL, 0-4 – Quintero dribbled through midfield and picked up three defenders before sending a through ball back behind the line to his right as Rodriguez cut across the back of the defenders from the left to meet the ball on the far side. With a one-on-one with Richey, Rodriquez calmly converted to stake the Loons to a 4-0 lead.
- 56’ | CIN GOAL, 1-4 – Emmanuel Ledesma played a pass to Manneh to the left of the 18-yard box and then made a run into the box. Manneh sent the ball back to Ledesma, who first-timed a left footed shot that found space between Mannone’s legs as he slid across to stop it, resulting in FCC’s first goal of the match
- 70’ | MIN GOAL, 1-5 – Ledesma initially cleared Gregus’ corner service but Lawrence Olum collected the clearance. After Olum returned him the ball, Gregus crossed the ball to the six-yard box, where Ike Opara rose high over the defender to head in Minnesota’s fifth goal of the game.
- 75’ | MIN GOAL, 1-6 – Mason Toye found space dribbling toward FC Cincinnati’s goal and rifled a shot into the top-right corner past Richey.
- 87’ MIN GOAL, 1-7 – A through ball found Finlay, who dribbled into the 18-yard box and passed the ball back to Toye. Kevin Molino was left open in Cincinnati’s left side of the penalty box and scored from Toye’s pass.
GAME NOTES
- With today’s loss, the Orange and Blue fall to 3-13-2 through 18 MLS matches … in addition, FC Cincinnati fall to 1-9-1 in away contests … FC Cincinnati’s all-time, all-competition record against Minnesota United sits at 0-1-1 after their first encounter, which also includes a 0-0 draw in the fourth round of the 2018 U.S. Open Cup (Minnesota advanced, 4-2, in penalties) … Cincinnati is now 1-7-1 against Western Conference opponents
- After picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against LA Galaxy, Leonardo Bertone was unavailable for selection in FC Cincinnati’s match at Minnesota United FC because of yellow card accumulation.
- Emmanuel Ledesma recorded his first-ever MLS goal when he scored in the 56th minute of today’s contest … Ledesma is FC Cincinnati’s 10th goal scorer of the season
- Ledesma’s goal snapped FC Cincinnati’s 159-minute scoreless streak in MLS play … the Orange and Blue’s last goal prior to today’s match was an own goal scored by New York City FC’s Sebastien Ibeagha in the 76th minute on June 6 … the goal was FC Cincinnati’s first scored by an FCC player in 253 minutes, when Kekuta Manneh tallied against the Colorado Rapids in the 72nd minute on June 1
- Manneh recorded his second assist of the season on Ledesma’s tally… the midfielder became FCC’s second player to record multiple goals and assists this season … Darren Mattocks has also recorded two goals and two assists for the Orange and Blue
- Interim Head Coach Yoann Damet made two changes to the starting lineup from FC Cincinnati’s most recent match against LA Galaxy on June 22 … Caleb Stanko and Eric Alexander shifted into the starting lineup, while Fatai Alashe and Leonardo Bertone were dropped … today’s lineup is FC Cincinnati’s seventeenth unique lineup of the season … the only two instances FCC have had the same starting XI was on March 10 and March 17
- Caleb Stanko earned his first MLS start at right back in today’s match … the midfielder started at right back for the Orange and Blue in their U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match at Saint Louis FC on June 19
- Eric Alexander made his first MLS appearance – and start – since May 19 at Orlando City SC
- After coming on in the second half, Tommy McCabe made his MLS debut with his halftime substitution for Alexander
- Mathieu Deplagne exited a match for the first time this season when he was replaced by Forrest Lasso in the 57th minute … Deplagne was the lone FCC player to have played every minute of the season entering today’s match and had his consecutive minutes played streak snapped at 1,587
- Three of the Orange and Blue’s five 2019 MLS SuperDraft selections were on the field simultaneously in the second half: Frankie Amaya, McCabe and Rashawn Dally … additionally, a fourth rookie - Logan Gdula - was dressed and available on the bench, while the final SuperDraft selection (goalkeeper Jimmy Hague) did not travel
- Gdula dressed for the Orange and Blue for the first time since being recalled from loan with Hartford Athletic on June 25 … during his time with the USL Championship side, Gdula made five appearances, all starts, and scored a goal
- Allan Cruz (Costa Rica), Darren Mattocks (Jamaica), Alvas Powell (Jamaica) and Kendall Waston (Costa Rica) were unavailable for selection because they are currently with their respective national teams at the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup
- Fanendo Adi (hamstring), Fatai Alashe (hamstring), Greg Garza (calf) and Roland Lamah (hamstring) were unavailable for selection because of injury
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati Interim Head Coach Yoann Damet
On what he told the team at halftime
“That the second half was a new game for us. It was 4-0 down, so there’s only so much we can do at halftime. We tried to motivate them, make sure we come out in the second half with a different attitude, with the willingness to keep playing and to also be defensively stronger was difficult, but we tried to find the right way to go back in the second half.”
On what he can say to the group after the match
“It is difficult. We just conceded seven goals. Again, we have to look back, take responsibility for it. Staff, players and keep working. That is the only thing we can do.”
On if there are any positives to take away from the match
“Of course, there are always positives. It is difficult to speak about the positives when you just lost 7-1. The result is a big part of football, so you cannot forget that. But, with the ball, there were some interesting things … but, it’s not enough. We didn’t create enough opportunities on goal. The most disappointing part is the defensive part. We need to be stronger. I think they were very close to 50% of success on the attack, they had maybe 16 shots and they scored seven times, so very disappointing.”
On if it was important for Emmanuel Ledesma to score his first MLS goal
“That’s always good. I always try to be positive with the players. I am strong and tough with them, but we still need to look at the positives and there are some positives individually for Manu. That’s good for him, he needs to take that, but unfortunately, the bigger side of the game this afternoon is the loss, so we also have to look at that more.”
On Tommy McCabe making his MLS debut
“Again, games like that are opportunities for these young players to have some minutes. That’s very positive for Tommy, I think he did well. I knew his qualities from preseason, that’s also why we brought him back, but it’s good for him to get some minutes. It’s a good experience and he can keep learning from that.”
On why Minnesota was able to find success in the game
“They put their chances in the back of the net, it’s as simple as that. They were very efficient, they used the space that we gave up well.”
FC Cincinnati Midfielder Tommy McCabe
On making his MLS debut
“It was a nice feeling to finally get a taste and be out on the field. It was under though circumstances, but I still enjoyed being out there.”
On the instructions Yoann Damet gave him prior to entering the match
“He gave me some tactical directions and then told me to enjoy myself and be confident.”
On his goals moving forward
“To just keep working hard, to keep improving. Just moving forward from here. It’s not easy, but just keep getting better.”
On his performance
“Tough circumstances, but I thought I did well.”
FC Cincinnati Midfielder Emmanuel Ledesma
On scoring his first MLS goal
“It felt good to experience it. For me it’s amazing but (today) sucked for everybody and it was embarrassing today. I’m happy I scored but I’m so sad inside. It hurts me we lost like this.”
On the result
“We started really well. I think in the first 10 minutes we did really well. Then we conceded the first goal. I think everybody gave up and then we lost our minds. The weather killed us. We can find a lot of excuses but it is about us. It is not about the other team, because we started really well. We hit the crossbar, I think so, and then we create a lot of chances. Then, we lose like this. That isn’t normal.
On if the first goal was deflating for the team
“No, it was a free kick, it just came through the (near) post and surprised (Spencer Richey), he tried to save it. But, it’s okay, the game is finished. We have to learn a lot about this and keep working, keep moving forward”
On if there are positives that they’re building on:
“Football is like this. The positive thing about this is we have another opportunity next game to get three points and win again.”
