A slow start that never picked up its pace resulted in an FC Cincinnati 1-0 loss to New England Revolution Saturday.
"From the start that's not an easy game but we are always playing for a win," Head Coach Jaap Stam said postgame.
The match gave New England its third straight victory while it quickly ended any streak FC Cincinnati may have started. Here's what we learned:
Kenneth Vermeer bails FCC out of a shaky start
FC Cincinnati did not come out playing how it needed to against the top-ranked team in the MLS Eastern Conference. FCC’s start was riddled with bad passes and sloppy turnovers that gave New England an early advantage.
"The first 15-20 minutes, we weren't playing our normal way," Geoff Cameron said postgame. "I think we were a just a little bit ambitious and anxious you could say because we're playing in front of our home crowd."
After its success last weekend, Cincinnati opted to use the 3-5-2 formation, but it didn’t grant the club the same start as it did before.
New England tallied an impressive 21 shots in the first half alone with four on-target. The Revolution controlled possession minutes which forced FCC’s defense to shift into gear.
Cincinnati goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer made three saves, leading the teams to a scoreless draw at halftime.
"I'm the last person to try to save the ball and I think the first half went pretty well. I made some good saves but not only I did," Vermeer said, acknowledging the efforts of FCC defenders. "I think overall it was a good team performance. We need to finish our own opportunities as well to win or at least get a draw and get a point or maybe three at home."
Intensity builds in a physical match
Backed by passionate fans who weren't yet done celebrating their new home at TQL Stadium, Saturday's match was a physical one by FCC.
In the eighth minute, Caleb Stanko slid under a New England player sprinting to a pass. Stanko's slide sent the player into a midair flip and he was issued the first yellow card of the match.
But the intensity didn't stop there.
Later, Jürgen Locadia and New England’s Henry Kessler shared some words at midfield that had to be broken up by officials. In the minutes before, Kessler took down Luciano Acosta who was chasing at a long ball from Ronald Matarrita. Kessler was issued a yellow card for the tackle.
"I love it," Cameron said of the physicality. "It's part of the game and I think, I'm not going to say anything about the refs, but a few miscalls...This is our home field, we got to establish ourselves, we got to make our ground and put a stamp down. Being physical, being dominant, physically challenging everything that's got to be a given every single week."
Both teams recorded two yellow cards. FC Cincinnati had 15 fouls and New England had 12.
Despite chances for FCC, New England secures victory
In one final attempt, Cameron shot a header over New England goalkeeper Matt Turner. It was the shot that could have brought FC Cincinnati the draw, but instead flew just over the crossbar to secure New England's victory.
"It was a great ball. Obviously it was a bit high and I tried to get over it," Cameron said. "It would have been a great opportunity if I put it in the back of the net. Last minute, tying goal but didn't turn out the way. I wanted to, obviously, I wish I could have gotten a little bit more air but those are the things...It was just a last opportunity really."
On Thursday, Stam said opportunities were the key to his teams offense, and on Saturday, FCC had their fair share.
The orange and blue had 13 shots with four on-target during the match.
Several players had some good looks late in the second half in an attempt to equalize the match, but New England made four saves at the goal while defenders kept the ball out of the danger zone.
"If you combine both teams they had more shots but we had very good and very open opportunities to score even in the second half," Stam said. "Then you at least need to equalize."
FC Cincinnati has three weeks off before their next match against Colorado on June 19.
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