FC Cincinnati falls 3-1 to NYCFC in Game 2 of the first round
FC Cincinnati falls 3-1 to NYCFC in Game 2 of first round
QUEENS, New York (Nov, 02, 2024) − The New York City FC playoff vs FC Cincinnati series is coming back to Cincinnati for a decisive Game Three.
The game started slightly in favor of FCC. The team did a decent job early holding onto the ball and trying to get in behind the NYCFC defense. That included a couple of great chances from Luca Orellano that he maybe should have finished.
NYCFC’s aggressiveness and need to win Game 2 started to become more and more evident. That began in around the 10th minute, as the FCC backline started to get challenged more, needing to make more and more plays.
That culminated during the 23rd minute, as Mitja Ilenic was carrying the ball on the right wing. He played a perfect cutback pass to the six-yard area where Alonso Martinez ran in and slotted it in for a 1-0 NYCFC lead.
Even after that goal, NYCFC continued to put major pressure on the FCC backline. There were multiple times where FCC was saved from a second first-half goal thanks to either luck or a tremendous play.
That wouldn’t last long, though, as NYCFC extended its lead in the 43rd minute. A set piece saw NYCFC get the ball in the middle of the park about 40 yards out. The ball was lofted to the left of the goal where it was headed near the goal on the right where Thiago Martins was left wide open, easily placing it into the net for the 2-0 lead, which was how the first half ended.
The second half started with a glorious chance for FCC to climb a goal back because Matthew Freese came way off his line to kick the ball. He failed to clear it and Yuya Kubo picked it up outside the box with an open net in his sights. However, Kubo was unable to get a shot on frame.
The FCC had a tremendous amount of trouble generating anything concrete in terms of changes, even as the match started to get into its twilight. Luca Orellano and Lucho Acosta just had very disappointing matches offensively, with them unable to really do anything.
That was until Orellano picked the ball up at the top of the box, nutmegging a defender and then rocketed the ball into the top corner to cut the deficit in half.
Around 10 minutes after Orellano’s first goal was when FCC pushed all the pieces onto the table to try and win Game 2. The biggest chance saw Teenage Hadebe get the ball literally at the six-yard spot and Freese scrambling. All Hadebe needed to do was pass it into the corner, but he unfortunately hit it straight at the goalkeeper, as the chance was gone. Alvas Powell also had a couple of good chances, but as usual with him, he failed to do anything of note with them.
FCC wasn’t able to do anything with the chances, and at the end of stoppage time, the referee took it into his own hands to end the game. Chidozie Awaziem just pulled Santi Rodriguez down, causing an NYCFC penalty to be given. He walked up and easily put it in, clinching the game for NYCFC.
First Round, Match #2 – New York City FC vs FC Cincinnati
Citi Field, Queens, New York City, New York
Result: New York City FC 2, FC Cincinnati 1
FC Cincinnati Starting XI (3-4-1-2):
Roman Celentano, Yamil Asad (Sergio Santos 57’), Teenage Hadebe, Miles Robinson, Chidozie Awaziem, DeAndre Yedlin (Alvas Powell 76’), Obinna Nwobodo, Pavel Bucha (Kevin Kelsy 76’), Luciano Acosta (C), Luca Orellano, Yuya Kubo
Bench: Evan Louro, Niko Gioacchini, Corey Baird, Bret Halsey, Gerardo Valenzuela, Ian Murphy
NYCFC Starting XI (4-3-3):
Matt Freese, Thiago Martins (C), Kevin O’Toole, Mitja Ilenic, Justin Haak, James Sands, Maxi Moralez (Andres Perea 71’), Keaton Parks, Santiago Rodríguez, Alonso Martínez (Mosef Bakrar 88’), Hannes Wolf (Strahinja Tanasijevic 90’+1)
Bench: Luis Barranza, Birk Risa, Jovan Mijatović, Julián Fernández, Christian McFarlane, Agustin Ojeda
Scoring Summary:
NYC – Alonso Martínez (Ilenic) 22′
NYC – Thiago Martins 40’
CIN – Luca Orellano (Santos, Acosta) 65’
NYC – Santiago Rodríguez (PK) 90’+7
Discipline:
CIN – Pavel Bucha 43’
NYC – Santiago Rodríguez 52’
CIN – DeAndre Yedlin 56’
CIN – Yuya Kubo 68’
NYC – James Sands 72’
Next up:
vs New York City FC, 4:00 p.m., Saturday, November 9, TQL Stadium (Cincinnati, Ohio)
