The first FC Cincinnati goals from Luciano Acosta and Brenner as well as a new single-game best 11 saves from Przemysław Tytoń propelled the Orange and Blue to earn a point by drawing with Nashville SC, 2-2, in their 2021 MLS regular season opener at Nissan Stadium on Saturday.
The Orange and Blue (0-0-1, 1 pt.) opened the scoring in the 12th minute when Luciano Acosta slotted in a through pass from Ronald Matarrita inside the penalty area. FC Cincinnati doubled the lead from the penalty spot four minutes later with a clinical shot from Brenner into the bottom left corner.
Nashville SC (0-0-1, 1 pt.) was able to cut into the deficit when Jhonder Cádiz got behind a cross and tapped the ball into the net in the 20th minute. Nashville would go on to equalize in the second half as Randall Leal curled a shot from outside the penalty box beyond Przemysław Tytoń.
Tyton went on to set FC Cincinnati’s single-game record for saves in a match by stopping 11 Nashville SC shots.
FC Cincinnati return to the pitch on Saturday, April 24, when the team visits Yankee Stadium to face New York City FC. FCC will officially open their 2021 home slate on Sunday, May 16, when the team hosts Inter Miami CF in the inaugural match at West End Stadium in a nationally televised 4 p.m. game.
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. Additionally, fans are encouraged to download the team’s official mobile app on the Apple App Store or Google Play for instant access to mobile tickets, team content and match notifications.
Information about seating options at the club’s state-of-the-art West End Stadium – which will open in Spring 2021 – is now available at westendstadium.com. For more information about 2021 Season Ticket Memberships, which are now on sale to the general public, visit westendstadium.com or the stadium’s social properties on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at @WestEndStadium, or by calling the team’s sales and service staff at 513-977-5425.
FC Cincinnati 2, Nashville SC 2
Nissan Stadium | Nashville, Tenn.
April 17, 2021
SCORING SUMMARY
CIN – Luciano Acosta (Ronald Matarrita) 8’
CIN – Brenner (penalty) 12’
NSH – Jhonder Cádiz (Randall Leal, Aníbal Godoy) 20’
NSH – Randall Leal (unassisted) 64’
FC Cincinnati: Przemysław Tytoń, Joseph-Claude Gyau, Nick Hagglund, Tom Pettersson, Ronald Matarrita, Kamohelo Mokotjo (Haris Medunjanin 90+3’), Yuya Kubo (Caleb Stanko 61’), Luciano Acosta ©, Calvin Harris (Jürgen Locadia 61’), Alvaro Barreal (Allan Cruz 83’), Brenner
Bench: Cody Cropper, Ben Mines, Avionne Flanagan, Brandon Vazquez, Edgar Castillo
Stats: Shots 7, Shots on goal 2, Saves 11, Corner kicks 1, Offsides 0, Fouls 15, Possession 42.3%, Passes 347 (76.4%)
Nashville SC: Joe Willis, Walker Zimmerman, Alistair Johnson, Daniel Lovitz, Dave Romney, Hany Mukhtar, Randal Leal, Aníbal Godoy, Dax McCarty ©, Alex Muy (Handwalla Bwana 60’), Jhonder Cádiz (C.J. Sapong 60’)
Bench: Jalil Anibaba, Bryan Meredith, Taylor Washington, Rodrigo Piñeiro, Tah Anunga, Eric Miller
Stats: Shots 32, Shots on goal 13, Saves 0, Corner kicks 14, Offsides 2, Fouls 15, Possession 57.7%, Passes 435 (81.6%)
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
NSH – Alex Muyl (caution) 18’
CIN – Kamohelo Mokotjo (caution) 37’
NSH – Alistair Johnson (caution) 66’
CIN – Caleb Stanko (caution) 77’
Referee: Rubiel Vazquez
Assistant Referees: Andrew Bigelow, TJ Zablocki
4th Official: Matthew Thopmpson
VAR: Kevin Terry Jr.
AVAR: Jeff Muschik
Weather: 60 degrees and cloudy
GAME NOTES
· With tonight’’s draw, the Orange and Blue open the 2021 MLS regular season with a 0-0-1 record … the club is now 0-0-1 in away matches … FC Cincinnati’s MLS record against Nashville SC sits at 0-0-1 … FC Cincinnati’s all-time, all-competition record against Nashville SC sits at 0-0-5 … the Orange and Blue are now 0-0-1 against Eastern Conference opponents this season … FC Cincinnati are now 0-2-1 all-time in MLS season openers
· Both of FC Cincinnati’s newest DP additions scored in their FC Cincinnati debuts … Luciano Acosta recorded the first goal this season in the 8th minute after receiving a through ball from Ronald Matarrita … in the 12th minute of action, Brenner scored his first MLS goal from the penalty spot.
· Brenner and Calvin Harris made their FC Cincinnati and MLS debut in today’s match … in addition, Ronald Matarrita and Luciano Acosta made their FC Cincinnati debuts in today’s match
· Luciano Acosta wore the captain’s armband in tonight’s match … Acosta became the sixth player in FCC’s MLS history to start a match as captain, joining Kendall Waston (41), Haris Medunjanin (6), Nick Hagglund (4), Justin Hoyte (4) and Greg Garza (2)
· Przemysław Tytoń set an FC Cincinnati record by recording 11 saves in tonight’s contest … the previous single-game record was six saves, registered twice by Spencer Richey and once by Tytoń
· Zico Bailey, Franko Kovacevic and Maikel van der Werff were excluded from the matchday roster because of injuries.
· Isaac Atanga and Gustavo Vallecilla were unavailable for the match as they are awaiting pending visa approvals.
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati head coach Jaap Stam
On the performance from the field players
“I don't have any concerns. You know sometimes we need to make changes. First game after preseason some players get a little bit of a cramp as well, so we need to have a look at that and how they're feeling. At times in these games as well, you see that you need to defend in certain games more than others, and that's what they've done today as well. That’s a very promising thing. It’s an important point for us to take home. Everybody’s always talking about how difficult it is to get results away from home. We get a result and a point in Nashville, which is a positive thing. To get to the level of playing that we want to eventually want to go takes time, not only six weeks of preseason that will solve everything, that will make things turn around straightaway. No, it takes a little bit more time. That’s what you’ve seen today by seeing good bits and also bits that look like you need to defend a lot as well. That’s what happened, but that means that the players are willing to work for each other, that the mentality is there, the grit is there. They stick up for each other and by doing that they have that positive feeling as a team as well.”
On Calvin Harris’ debut
“Calvin (Harris), his first game in MLS. What we've seen in preseason, is that he's a very young player that has got a lot of qualities to improve to become a very good player within the MLS and then for us as a club. He has shown in preseason that he can do his thing, what we're asking from him, to use his pace to take players on, to get in between lines as well, to get on the ball and open up and go forward. Today, as well, is not always the easiest game for him, especially as there's probably a little bit more attention for himself to get into this game then compared to the preseason games. But Calvin has done well, you know he sticks to what I've asked from him and what he needed to do which is very important. At times on the ball and holding the ball up for others as well to combine to go forward, so we're happy with that. And for him as a young player that he is to get to this level is already a very positive thing. But at the end of the day by working with these players, by having a lot of training sessions and minutes in games as well, he's becoming a better and better player. So, we're very happy with Calvin.”
FC Cincinnati midfielder Luciano Acosta
On the importance of his goal in his debut
“El gol es importante también. Hacer un gol en el primer partido de la temporada es muy lindo, muy bueno. Pero la verdad, me quedo con el sacrificio de todo el equipo y el punto que ganamos.”
“The goal is important too. Scoring in the first game of the season is really nice, it’s good. But to be honest, my takeaway is the sacrifice that the team put in and the point that we earned.”
On how the team can improve defensively
“Seguir trabajando. Seguir trabajando defensivamente, ofensivamente cuando tenemos la pelota. Hay que seguir trabajando dia en dia. Partido a partido, hay que mejorar. Nashville (SC) es un buen equipo pero por suerte nos vamos con un punto a casa, que es muy importante. Sumamos.”
“Keep working hard. We have to keep working hard defensively, offensively when we have the ball. We have to keep working hard day in and day out. Game by game, we have to improve. Nashville (SC) is a very good team, but luckily we bring a point home, which is very important.”
On being the captain for FC Cincinnati
“Bien. La verdad que me sentí muy bien. Es una buena presión para mi. Es un buen reto para mi, ser capitán de este gran equipo. No solo por llevar la banda se necesita un capitán. Creo que somos muchos capitanes dentro de la cancha, dentro del equipo. La verdad que hoy me sentí muy feliz y con mucha confianza. Trate de demostrarlo dentro del juego.”
“Good. Truth is that I felt very good. It’s a good pressure for me. It’s a good challenge for me, being captain of this great team. Just because you have an armband, it doesn’t mean a captain is needed. I think there are a lot of captains inside the pitch, in our team. Truth is, I felt very happy today and with a lot of confidence. I tried to show it on the pitch.”
FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Przemysław Tytoń
On today’s match
“It was a tough game. I mean, we start well. Then after leading, 2-0, we give up the one goal and then they start to feel like they can come back to the game. As a defensive shape, I think we did a good job. It was a very physical team, Nashville (SC). We don't have many tall guys in the team, but we have a different quality. We did well. We did well. This point is very important for us in the first game of the season, and we have to respect this point. We have to take it and. I hope this point in the game will give us power to build something better as a team. So (the) next games are very important for us.”
On whether the team is disappointed after the draw
“Of course. If you're leading, 2-0, away, normally you're supposed to get at least one point and we took the one point. But of course, we all want to win. If you watch the game. they had more chances than we had. So, sometimes, the game is like that. We have to deal with that, and we have to take this point as a winning point, not as a losing game, or like losing two points. That’s a winning point. I want to look at this as a positive way.”
On Nashville SC’s second goal
“Well first there is a corner and I think Jürgen Locadia cleared the corner with a header, not so strong. So, the ball was like 60 meters. Then we missed to attack the ball faster and more aggressively. I was prepared for the cross. I don’t know if they want to shoot or not. It was the perfect shot in the corner. I was close to saving it, but it was a great shot. I haven’t seen the replay yet, but it’s no big deal.”
