FC Cincinnati's latest draw was its eighth of the 2021 MLS season through 18 matches, and its fourth in a row.
The result brought a central question back into the heart of the discussion around FCC's 2021 season: How much progress has been made if the progress is routinely coupled with relative disappointment?
In the midst of a season that's presented a noticeably improved on-field product, it was the case that FC Cincinnati and CF Montreal, the seventh-place team in the MLS Eastern Conference, held one another scoreless Wednesday at TQL Stadium before a crowd of 21,115.
In isolation, that would be a good result for FC Cincinnati, which held its opponent without an on-target shot in an impressive defensive display against a side that's maintained a playoff position in the East for most of the season.
Cincinnati had the better chances in the game, hit the crossbar twice and went close multiple times through a variety of players.
In the full context of Cincinnati's season, though, the game was the seventh time FCC was shutout, and the third time it failed to capitalize on having a man advantage for some portion of the match.
Montreal center back Rudy Camacho was assessed a red card in the 74th minute.
Of perhaps the greatest important to Cincinnati supporters, the game was also FC Cincinnati's eighth unsuccessful attempt to notch the first win at TQL Stadium.
"It's very frustrating because you play to win, especially (in) your home with an amazing crowd, we want to give them a win but I think we showed today we are a good team," FC Cincinnati midfielder Haris Medunjanin said. "We're fighting until the end and we don't give up. Only the most important thing in soccer is to score goals. If you don't score, yeah, you cannot win and I think a couple of the games, we scored the goals but we don't win and now, like, we didn't lose in four games and that's also something positive. We need to continue. We cannot give up."
After both clubs had goals called back due to offside flags on Wednesday, FC Cincinnati went twice off the crossbar. Allan Cruz hit the underside of the bar in the 51st minute and Luciano Acosta narrowly grazed the top of it 30 minutes later.
Cincinnati forward Brandon Vazquez went close on a header in the 87th minute that brought the Bailey supporters section to a near-roar.
"We had a total of 17 shots. They had (eight), not one on target," FC Cincinnati head coach Jaap Stam said. "I think in hitting the crossbar twice as well, I think we've done well. We've created opportunities. The only thing is – and I said that as well to the team afterwards – I'm proud of them in how they performed and how they played. They play very consistent, doing well on the ball, defensively doing well, not conceding, still creating opportunities and then, yeah, you need to finish them off. We all know that and that's a thing that will come eventually."
Meanwhile, none of Montreal eight shots found the target – a first for FCC defensively in 2021.
The clean sheet marked Cincinnati goalkeeper Przemysław Tytoń's first of the year, and his third successive MLS campaign with at least one shutout for the club.
The shutout helped moved FC Cincinnati to unbeaten in four consecutive matches for the second time in 2021, too.
But with no victories during the latest unbeaten run, and no victory of any kind since late June, Cincinnati lags in the East standings as 13th out of 14 clubs.
"Our mentality is that we can't get frustrated and we can't let that get us down because frustration turns into simple mistakes," center back Gustavo Vallecilla said via a team interpreter. "We can't make simple mistakes, so we've just got to stay focused and stay calm about that, and it will come."
At 3-7-8 on the year through 18 matches, FC Cincinnati's dropped points are already impacting their playoff chances.
MLS being the league of parity that it is, just a few results in the right direction could up playoff prospects in Cincinnati.
Medunjanin and Stam both indicated via their post-match remarks there was too much season remaining to to be despondent about the team's current position in the playoff race.
"If you keep on doing what you're good at, and we've been doing that now for weeks and games, then you can see the chances will come and then eventually you need to score," Stam said. "I'm sure that's gonna happen and then hopefully we get these wins, because then you can make big steps on the table (standings) as well but if you don't win it always becomes more difficult."
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