FC Cincinnati used Emmanuel Ledesma’s second-half goal to pull within one, but they weren’t able to complete the comeback and fell at Toronto FC, 2-1, at BMO Field on Saturday night.
Toronto (9-9-5, 32 pts.) took a 1-0 lead into the break via Nick DeLeon’s flicked-on headed goal, and then extended the advantage to 2-0 via Jozy Altidore’s long-range looping goal in the 50th minute. FC Cincinnati (5-16-2, 17 pts.) and Ledesma struck to halve the lead eight minutes later.
FC Cincinnati’s next game will be at home against Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday, Aug. 3 at Nippert Stadium. The match will be televised locally on WSTR Star64, streamed regionally on FloFC, out of market on ESPN+ and carried on the radio on WDJO, while an audio stream will be available on the TuneIn app and fccincinnati.com.
Toronto FC 2, FC Cincinnati 1
BMO Field | Toronto, Ontario
Saturday, July 27, 2019
SCORING SUMMARY
TOR – Nick DeLeon (Omar Gonzalez, Alejandro Pozuelo) 16’
TOR – Jozy Altidore (Nick DeLeon) 50’
CIN – Emmanuel Ledesma (unassisted) 58’
FC Cincinnati: Przemysław Tytoń, Mathieu Deplagne, Kendall Waston ©, Maikel van der Werff, Justin Hoyte, Caleb Stanko (Tommy McCabe 81’), Victor Ulloa, Allan Cruz, Roland Lamah (Kekuta Manneh 71’), Emmanuel Ledesma, Rashawn Dally (Darren Mattocks 56’
Bench: Jimmy Hague, Nick Hagglund, Logan Gdula, Leonardo Bertone
Stats: Shots 11, Shots on goal 4, Saves 1 , Corner kicks 1, Offsides 0, Fouls 14, Possession 45.5%, Passes 459 (81.7%)
Toronto FC: Quentin Westberg, Omar Gonzalez, Drew Moor, Richie Laryea, Justin Morrow, Marky Delgado (Jonathan Osorio 75’), Michael Bradley ©, Jacob Shaffelburg (Chris Mavinga 81’), Alejandro Pozuelo, Nick DeLeon, Jozy Altidore (Patrick Mullins 86’)
Bench: Tsubasa Endoh, Auro, Alex Bono, Ashtone Morgan
Stats: Shots 10, Shots on goal 3, Saves 3, Corner kicks 4, Offsides 1, Fouls 6, Possession 54.5%, Passes 550 (82.7%)
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Mathieu Deplagne (caution) 43’’
CIN – Allan Cruz (caution) 57’
CIN – Kendall Waston (caution) 62’
CIN – Victor Ulloa (caution) 87’
TOR – Drew Moor (caution) 90+4’
Referee: Marcos DeOliveira
Assistant Referees: Eric Boria, Jason White
4th Official: David Barrie
VAR: Chico Grajeda
Weather: 71 degrees and cloudy
Attendance: 25,765
HOW IT HAPPENED
- 16’ | TOR GOAL - Alejandro Pozuelo’s corner kick service found Omar Gonzalez outside the 18-yard box, and his directed header was on target. However, Nick DeLeon flicked a header on the ball on its way by, slightly redirecting it up and over Przemyslaw Tyton for a 1-0 Toronto lead.
- 28’ | DeLeon found Justin Morrow inside the left side of the penalty box and he laid the ball back to Jacob Shaffelburg, who ripped a shot to the upper corner of the near post. Tyton parried the ball over the crossbar for a corner kick.
- 47’ | As Toronto attempted to clear the ball out of its own box, Caleb Stanko picked it up and let a rising shot loose that forced an acrobatic save from Quentin Westberg.
- 50’ | TOR GOAL - In transition, DeLeon pushed a diagonal through ball into open space for Jozy Altidore above the penalty area. As FCC recovered, Altidore took his space and launched a shot back across goal from 23 yards out that found the top corner and extended the Reds’ lead to 2-0
- 58’ | CIN GOAL - Cincinnati pushed ahead and Roland Lamah threaded a low through ball into the box for Allan Cruz. The Costa Rican collected it and tried to create space with a horizontal run, but he was cut down and the ball dribbled away toward Emmanuel Ledesma outside the area. Ledesma ran onto the ball and unleashed a hard, low shot that beat Westberg and pulled Cincy within a goal.
- 95’ | After Toronto was whistled for a foul into the FCC half, Ledesma stepped up for the long free kick. He connected with Mathieu Deplagne for a header on the near post, but Westberg made the save to preserve the lead.
- 96’ | Darren Mattocks had a pair of opportunities in the final minute of stoppage time, first tracking down Westberg and deflecting his clearance attempt inside the six-yard box. However, the ball bounced out of play. Less than a minute later, Mattock’s flashing header from the middle of the box was scooped up by Westberg just before the final whistle.
GAME NOTES
- With today’s loss, the Orange and Blue fall to 5-16-2 through 23 MLS matches … in addition, FC Cincinnati fall to 2-10-1 in away contests … FC Cincinnati’s all-time, all-competition record against Toronto FC sits at 0-1-0 … Cincinnati is now 3-9-1 against Eastern Conference opponents
- Emmanuel Ledesma became FC Cincinnati’s third player to reach three goals this season, joining Allan Cruz and Kekuta Manneh … Ledesma has registered three goals and three assists on the year, matching Manneh’s team-leading numbers in both categories …Ledesma has scored all three of his goals and has added two assists in the Orange and Blue’s last six matches
- Maikel van der Werff made his MLS and FC Cincinnati debut in tonight’s match … the Dutch center back was signed by FC Cincinnati on July 2 and was officially added to the roster on July 19 after he received his P-1 Visa
- Przemyslaw Tyton made his first start in an MLS match since May 4 at San Jose … the FCC goalkeeper started both of the Orange and Blue’s U.S. Open Cup matches against Louisville City FC (June 12) and at Saint Louis FC (June 19) … he finish the night with one official save, but was active coming off his line to clear danger
- Tommy McCabe made his second MLS appearance, coming on in the 81st minute … it was his first appearance since June 29 at Minnesota when he made his league debut … both of his appearances have now come on the road.
- Interim Head Coach Yoann Damet made seven changes to the starting lineup from FC Cincinnati’s most recent match against New England Revolution on July 21 … Przemysław Tytoń, Maikel van der Werff, Justin Hoyte, Victor Ulloa, Roland Lamah, Emmanuel Ledesma and Rashawn Dally shifted into the starting lineup, while Spencer Richey, Nick Hagglund, Alvas Powell, Leonardo Bertone, Frankie Amaya, Kekuta Manneh and Fanendo Adi were dropped … the seven changes from one match to the next are the most for FCC this season
- Tonight’s lineup is FC Cincinnati’s 22nd unique lineup of the season … the only two instances FCC have had the same starting XI was on March 10 and March 17
- Spencer Richey (back), Alvas Powell (hamstring), Frankie Amaya (groin) and Fanendo Adi (calf) - as well as Fatai Alashe (hamstring) and Greg Garza (calf) - were unavailable for selection because of injury … Leonardo Bertone also picked up a knock in the team’s walk-through on Friday, and while he traveled to Toronto, he did not pass a morning fitness test.
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati Interim Head Coach Yoann Damet
Overall how the game went:
“I am very proud of the guys. It is never easy to go play in Toronto. The character we showed tonight is the right one. We should show that every single game. I am very proud of them. That is a good reaction after New England. Unfortunately, we didn't get rewarded at the end, but I think we deserve better than that tonight.”
On improvements needed
“That is part of the game. There are going to be injuries, for sure. We have players available. They were there tonight, and they did a great job. So, like I said, I am very happy about the performance of the guys tonight. I think, again, two goals. Unfortunate on the second one. Classic goal from (Jozy) Altidore, but again at the end we pushed. The mentality was very good from the guys. We got some great opportunities we couldn’t capitalize on. So, that is unfortunate.”
On returning to Nippert Stadium next week
“Yeah, for sure. It is good to be back home. The energy is different. It is different when we play home. The fan support has been amazing this season. So, we are looking forward to it, and we hope they are going to push us to get the result against Vancouver.”
FC Cincinnati Defender Maikel van der Werff
On how the night went:
“It’s disappointing because we deserve way more than what we now have. The second half was for us. In the end, we had some good chances. We were close, but like I said, we deserve more.”
On making his MLS debut
“Double feelings of course because I’m happy I made my first minutes and my debut in MLS. But I thought we deserved more, especially in the second half – for sure a draw and a goal. So, that is the feeling that is with me most today.”
On adjusting to the team after one week with them
“All the guys here help me a lot to adapt quick. They’re friendly and kind to me. During the trainings and the game, we speak a lot, so that’s good. I think we can help each other during the game.”
On physicality of the match
“Of course, especially because it was my first game. As you know, my season ended a few weeks ago, so I have to come from far. But I feel good and fit. My muscles feel good and it was a tough game, but I think it will be like that every game.”
On the team’s level
“We have a lot of qualities. We have to believe we can achieve some goals and more wins. That’s the most important thing. You could see this is in the second half. We were way better and we pushed them. We deserved for sure a draw. “
FC Cincinnati Forward Emmanuel Ledesma
“We deserved more in this game than one goal. We created a lot of chances. It was disappointing tonight. We played really well. The intensity was so high. And then the confidence was there. So today we needed a little bit more (luck). Now we go home, take all the positive things and we keep fighting and keep working for the next game.”
“We just need to keep working, keep believing, keep fighting and then playing. Today we showed we can do better than the other times and now we get the confidence … we keep fighting. We keep believing.”
