NEW YORK – Another match against New York City FC, another nightmarish outcome for FC Cincinnati.
Playing without an injured Luciano Acosta and with announced starting goalkeeper Przemysław Tytoń on the bench as a late scratch, Cincinnati fell to NYCFC in a 5-0 loss at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.
"There's not a lot to say. The team should have played better," FC Cincinnati defender and acting captain Ronald Matarrita said through a team interpreter. "Five goals coming from set pieces is unacceptable. We have to look at ourselves and see what we did wrong so we can work to improve."
The match saw FC Cincinnati's all-time record against NYCFC drop to 0-5-0. In that span, FC Cincinnati's been out-scored 20-4.
The hosts scored early in the match and made clinical use of their set-piece opportunities, tallying goals from five set-pieces.
Jesus Medina opened the scoring in the sixth minute from close range for New York after the ball fell to him off a free-kick.
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NYCFC then poured on the offense in the final 45 minutes with four further goals coming via an FCC own goal in the 53rd minute, defender Gudmundur Thorarinsson's free-kick tally in the 57th minute, Valentin Castellanos' score in the 67th minute and Medina's second in the 83rd minute.
"It becomes very difficult if you keep giving away goals from set pieces, yeah, the opposition feels, ‘oh, that’s nice’ and they feel confident they can play and move forward," FC Cincinnati head coach Jaap Stam said. "And then, yeah, we’re talking about the third, fourth and fifth as well. They’re all set pieces, so we concede five goals from set pieces. Yeah, that’s, to me, quite worrying and quite frustrating.”
Backup Cincinnati goalkeeper Cody Cropper faced 22 shots with 10 of those on-frame. He made four saves to prevent further damage on the scoreboard.
Meanwhile, FC Cincinnati was stymied in the attacking third of the field by NYCFC goalkeeper Sean Johnson, who acrobatically preserved his first shutout of 2021 and denied FCC on all five of its on-target shots.
Here's what we learned about FC Cincinnati on another forgettable day against NYCFC:
• Even if FC Cincinnati itself didn't sense it, it felt like FCC was losing momentum even before the 1 p.m. kickoff. The starting lineup and bench list revealed that Luciano Acosta wasn't dressing for the game. The club later reported Acosta was ruled out from traveling on Friday after a fall that injured his elbow. About 15 minutes before kickoff, FC Cincinnati then revealed Przemysław Tytoń, the announced starting goalkeeper, would begin the game on the bench. The move was precautionary, a club official said, and came after Tytoń felt tightness while warming up. Maybe the squad had full confidence coming into the match despite the unexpected lineup alterations but the players then responded by conceding the opener just six minutes into the game when Medina got loose at the back post. His goal was essentially uncontested. It was an uphill slog from that point on and playing down a goal with the personnel issues was never going to be good enough on the road.
• Until further notice, FC Cincinnati is what we thought they were defensively, and what they are is very shaky. FCC dodged a few bullets against Nashville SC on April 17 and pulled out a valuable point in a 2-2 draw. On Saturday, the ball was flying into the back of the net. The near-misses started to become broadside strikes against Cincinnati, which now has defensive record of seven goals conceded off of 56 opposition shots through two matches. Five goals conceded off of set pieces is truly stunning, so you can take Stam at his word when he says it's worrisome.
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After the bend-but-don't-break survival act against Nashville match and five goals conceded against NYCFC, it's hard to be anything but skeptical of FC Cincinnati's team defending through two matches.
• FC Cincinnati needs to be mentally tougher. It is often said that matches can be decided in the minutes immediately leading up to and leading out of halftime. As halftime approached, FC Cincinnati showed its first signs of life in the attack and looked like they might have a foundation to build on. Rookie Calvin Harris, making his second start in a row, forced NYCFC goalkeeper Sean Johnson into two tricky saves. FCC was getting pressure up the field and retaining possession. But instead of using those positives as fuel in the second half, NYCFC immediately seized control back and took control by doubling their lead in the 53rd minute. There aren't a lot of good excuses for how or why FCC would allow this to happen.
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"From the first half, you're thinking we can go forward," Stam said of the team's play prior to halftime. "We went forward. Sometimes we have to make better choices... but it becomes more difficult when you're starting that game again and you concede the second goal. Heads are going down."
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