FC Cincinnati fell to New York City FC, 5-0, at Yankee Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
New York City FC (1-1-0, 3 pts.) scored early in the match when Jesús Medina tapped in a rebounded pass in the seventh minute. The home side was able to add a second goal when the ball ended in the back of the FC Cincinnati’s (0-1-1, 1 pt.) net as defender Nick Hagglund attempted to head away a cross in the 53rd minute. NYCFC would go on to score three more goals in the second half.
Allan Cruz made his first start of the season in the FCC midfield. Goalkeeper Przemysław Tytoń was a late scratch in the match, resulting in Cody Cropper making his FC Cincinnati debut.
FC Cincinnati will continue on the road when the team visits Exploria Stadium to face Orlando City SC on Saturday, May 1. FCC will officially open their 2021 home slate on Sunday, May 16, when the team hosts Inter Miami CF in the inaugural match at TQL 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 TQL Stadium – which will open in Spring 2021 – is now available at TQLstadium.com. For more information about 2021 Season Ticket Memberships, which are now on sale to the general public, visit TQLstadium.com or the stadium’s social properties on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at @TQLStadium, or by calling the team’s sales and service staff at 513-977-5425.
New York City FC 5, FC Cincinnati 0
Yankee Stadium | Bronx, N.Y.
April 24, 2021
SCORING SUMMARY
NYC – Jesús Medina (Valentín Castellanos, Andres Jasson) 6’
NYC – Nick Hagglund (own goal) 53’
NYC – Gudmundur Thórarinsson (unassisted) 57’
NYC – Valentín Castellanos (Alfredo Morales) 67’
NYC – Jesús Medina (Maxi Moralez) 83’
FC Cincinnati:, Cody Cropper, Joseph-Claude Gyau, Nick Hagglund, Tom Pettersson, Ronald Matarrita ©, Kamohelo Mokotjo (Caleb Stanko 53’), Yuya Kubo (Haris Medunjanin 64’), Calvin Harris (Zico Bailey 81’), Allan Cruz, Alvaro Barreal (Jürgen Locadia 53’), Brenner (Brandon Vazquez 81’)
Bench: Przemysław Tytoń, Edgar Castillo, Ben Mines, Avionne Flanagan
Stats: Shots 11, Shots on goal 5, Saves 5, Corner kicks 6, Offsides 2, Fouls 14, Possession 47%, Passes 396 (80.3%)
New York City FC: Sean Johnson ©, Maxime Chanot, Alexander Callens, James Sands (Nicolas Acevedo 72’), Anton Tinnerholm (Tayvon Gray 83’), Maxi Moralez, Jesús Medina, Gudmundur Thorarinsson (Malte Amundsen 72’), Andres Jasson (Ismael Tajouri-Shradi 64’), Keaton Parks (Alfredo Morales 63’), Valentin Castellanos
Bench: Luis Barraza, Chris Gloster, Sebastian Ibeagha, Vuk Latinovich
Stats: Shots 22, Shots on goal 9, Saves 5, Corner kicks 6, Offsides 0, Fouls 18, Possession 53%, Passes 449 (83.7%)
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Calvin Harris (caution) 10’
NYC – Gudmundur Thórarinsson (caution) 50’
CIN – Allan Cruz (caution) 56’
NYC – Valentín Castellanos (caution) 60’
Referee: Dave Gantar
Assistant Referees: Jeffrey Greeson, Gjovalin Bori
4th Official: Robert Sibiga
VAR: Alan Kelly
AVAR: Tom Supple
Weather: 68 degrees and sunny
GAME NOTES
· With tonight’s loss, the Orange and Blue are now 0-1-1 through two MLS matches … FCC are now 0-1-1 in away matches … FC Cincinnati’s all-time, all-competition record against New York City FC moves to 0-5-0 … The Orange and Blue are now 0-1-1 against Eastern Conference opponents this season
· Ronald Matarrita wore the captain’s armband in today's match … Matarrita became the seventh 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), Greg Garza (2) and Luciano Acosta (1)
· Allan Cruz made his first start of the season in today’s contest … the midfielder logged 90 minutes in the match.
· Cody Cropper earned the start in net for FC Cincinnati today following a late swap with previously announced starter Przemysław Tytoń … it was Cropper’s first start in an MLS match since he started for the New England Revolution against the Philadelphia Union on May 4, 2019 … Cropper made five saves in today’s match
· Head coach Jaap Stam made two changes in today’s starting lineup from the match against Nashville SC on April 17 … Cody Cropper replaced Przemysław Tytoń while Allan Cruz replaced Luciano Acosta
· Luciano Acosta, Franko Kovacevic and Maikel van der Werff were excluded from the matchday roster because of injuries.
· Isaac Atanga (health and safety protocols) and Gustavo Vallecilla (visa approval) were also unavailable for the match.
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati head coach Jaap Stam
On the defensive breakdowns on set pieces
“Yeah, well, it was unbelievable. If you can see, from set pieces, you make it easy for the opposition. Yeah, you’re playing a very difficult game and then it’s very hard to come out and score goals. You know how the players are feeling. Their heads are going down and the opposition gets their confidence. Then, they can play a bit more in their own way. It’s shocking to see that we concede goals like this.”
On the challenge to adapt to late changes to the lineup
“Cody (Cropper) has been here since preseason, so we know what he can do. If he is on the bench and Titi (Przemysław Tytoń) steps off, he needs to do the job. Simple as that. We all know what he can do.”
On the message to the team
“It’s very disappointing, because we expected more. Even after the first half, we expected more in the second half. Like I said, if you give away goals, you make it very difficult for yourself and easy for the opposition.”
FC Cincinnati Ronald Matarrita
On today’s match
“Bueno, obviamente no hay mucho que decir. Creo que pudimos haberlo hecho mucho mejor. Creo que cinco goles de set pieces son muchos. Tenemos que ser críticos con nosotros mismos e intentar mejorar. Creo que hay que decirnos las cosas en la cara en el grupo para así mejorar. Así tomar responsabilidad para lo que pasa en cada día, en cada partido”
“Well, there’s not much to say. I think we could’ve played better. Five goals off set pieces are too many. We have to be critical with ourselves and attempt to get better. We have to tell things straight to our faces as a group, so that we can improve. Like that, we can take responsibility for what happens day in and day out, in each game.”
On the difficulty defending in set pieces
“No sé. Tendría que ver el partido otra vez. Creo que estaba concentrado en mi posición para hacerlo bien. Bueno, obviamente ya viendo un video nos queda más claro y así podemos, de ahí, mejorar. Cada uno sabe su responsabilidad dentro de la cancha, su rol en los sets pieces. El que se equivoco tiene que aceptarlo y tiene que saber que tiene que mejorar.”
“I don't know. I would have to watch the game again. I was concentrated on my position so that I could do it well. Obviously, once when we watch the video, it’ll be much clearer and from there we can improve. Every person knows their responsibilities and their role on set pieces. Whoever made a mistake has to accept it and know they have to improve.”
On not having a full squad and late switches on the lineup
“Creo que, sin duda, no tener el equipo completo para el partido cuando ya habías planeado algo, es un poco diferente. Sin duda, no hay excusas. Uno tiene que cumplir su rol. Tiene que demostrar su 100% y cada uno tiene que estar preparado para lo que le toque.”
“I think, without a doubt, not having a full squad for the game once you had something planned, it’s a bit different. Without a doubt, there are no excuses. Everyone has to do their job. You have to give it 100% and everyone has to be prepared for whatever comes.”
FC Cincinnati midfielder Calvin Harris
On today’s match
“[Some] good moments, we had chances to score and also the goals we conceded as well were really disappointing ones. Overall, it’s not too positive and there’s a lot of things that we have to reflect on and try to improve upon for next week.”
On if he felt more comfortable in his second MLS match
“Personally, yeah. Looking at myself, I did feel more comfortable and it’s just a shame that we couldn’t get a result today. In the grand scheme of things it’s not too important, what’s important is the team and the team’s results and today, we didn’t achieve them.”
On if it was difficult to maintain the initial game plan after conceding multiple goals
“We tried and we pushed and obviously it’s not nice to concede goals, and in the manner that we did. But, it’s all done now. We just go on to next week and we have another week of training.”
