FC Cincinnati and Houston Dynamo FC must have been anxious to start their match after a 30-minute weather delay put kick-off on hold.
Both teams tallied their first, and only goal, within the match's first five minutes. Houston struck first in a third-minute attack and FC Cincinnati’s Alvaro Barreal soon answered for the orange and blue with a goal in the fifth minute.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw and marked the conclusion of a three-game road-stint for FCC. Here are three takeaways on the continued improvement FC Cincinnati showed in Houston:
Closing the gaps stops a lethal Houston attack
FC Cincinnati wasn't happy with themselves after conceding a goal just 180 seconds after kickoff, but this time they didn't let it be a dagger.
"If we did this four weeks ago we would have lost the game," admitted center back Geoff Cameron after the match. "That just shows you the steps that we have gone through. That we’ve improved over the last two weeks to fine-tune some things and to be aware and to have that belief and that attitude to keep fighting."
After the early goal, FC Cincinnati held off a Dynamo attack stacked with four multi-goal scorers for the ladder 93 minutes.
Head coach Jaap Stam said although his team conceded early, he was happy with the response that followed from his squad.
“I think all-in-all we did well, the only problems that we had with them were in the beginning of the game," Stam said. “Several minutes after that we changed it up a little bit and you can see we did a lot better, they were finding it more difficult to get through it.”
FC Cincinnati controlled 51% of possession time in the match. The back line of Joseph-Claude Gyau, Cameron, Gustavo Vallecilla and Edgar Castillo held Houston to four shots on goal while Kubo and the midfield played an aggressive attack with multiple takeaways that rumbled the Houston plan.
Tactically, Cameron said the defensive pressure put on Houston was a team effort.
"Defensively, we can’t take just the credit for the back four or back five. It starts with Lucho. It starts with Brenner and pressuring them the right way and closing out spaces," Cameron said. "With us shifting over and filling the gaps and that allows Gustavo, myself, Joe, Edgar to step up in certain situations where we can close out spaces.”
FC Cincinnati adjusts to roster absences
The early departure of Allan Cruz and Ronald Matarrita to the Costa Rica national team seemed daunting prior to the Houston match. The duo each played pivotal roles and marked themselves notable on the stat sheet for FC Cincinnati.
The short-handed roster, mixed with the uncomfortable heat of the Houston air, forced FC Cincinnati to put the depth of its roster to the test.
“I’m quite happy with the resilience of the team and how they are fighting for the result and still trying to get more out of it," Stam said of the full-team effort. "That tells you something”
Midfielder Haris Medunjanin tallied his first start of the season and left back Edgar Castillo tallied his second in the absence of Cruz and Matarrita.
Medunjanin and Castillo fit in well on the pitch and proved not to disrupt the momentum created by FCC in the matches leading up to Houston.
“I think first half I played a solid game, the second half I got more tired and a couple of balls that I lost," Medunjanin said. "I’m here for the coach whenever he needs me and I try to play my best. Sometimes you start, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you come in, sometimes you don’t but you should always be ready. I hope I can build on this."
Road momentum continues
After the match, Stam nabbed FC Cincinnati's three-game road stint as one of the most successful periods for FCC since joining the MLS.
FC Cincinnati will return home with seven out of the nine possible points from the time on the road. Collectively, all eleven of FCC’s points this season have come from road results.
“Who would’ve thought that we would’ve got that," Cameron said. "It just shows you the resilience of our guys and the path that we want to go and we’re coming together.”
FCC is unbeaten in its last four road matches. Their record now stands at 3-5-2 with their last lost dating back to June 19 against Colorado.
"It shows that the team is fighting for every point," Medunjanin said.
Medunjanin also looked ahead to FC Cincinnati's Friday home match against Columbus. He noted how crucial this momentum is heading into that match.
"It's important to come there with a point and with confidence," Medunjanin said.
FC Cincinnat's match against the Columbus Crew will kick off at 7:30 p.m. on July 9 at TQL Stadium.
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