FC Cincinnati 2 suffered a 1-0 loss to Huntsville City FC Sunday night in their first trip to Joe Davis Stadium. With the result, FC Cincinnati 2 (5-11-4, 21 points) remain 12th in the Eastern Conference while Huntsville City FC (8-8-4, 31 points) reclaim the seventh spot, moving back above the playoff line.
Huntsville played much of the first half on the front foot and were able to keep the Cincinnati goal under pressure throughout the opening 45. Azaad Liadi created the first big chance of the match with a skillful backheel following a cross, but Paul Walters did well to get down quickly, pushing the danger away with a good save.
Midfielder Jonathan Bolanos opened the scoring for the Boys in Blue in the 38th minute with his sixth goal of the season and second in the last three matches for Huntsville. Bolanos created space for himself at the top of the area with a few skillful stepovers before firing a low, powerful shot just past the outstretched arm of a diving Walters.
Lucas Tamarez made his FC Cincinnati 2 debut in the 84th as the Orange and Blue looked for an equalizing goal. Tamarez helped create one of Cincinnati’s best chances of the night, late in the second half, collecting possession and playing Jesus Castellano in on goal from a congested Huntsville defensive third. Castellano’s shot went straight to the catching hands of Ben Martino.
The Orange and Blue were unable to find an equalizer in the match and were held to limited scoring chances on the night. Cincinnati created eight shots to Huntsville’s 18 with only two shots on target.
FC Cincinnati 2 are back in action on Thursday, August 10 against Chicago Fire FC II at Scudamore Field at NKU Soccer Stadium with kickoff set for 7 p.m. ET.
FC CINCINNATI 2 GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati 2 at Huntsville City FC
Date: August 6, 2023
Venue: Joe Davis Stadium
Competition: MLS NEXT Pro regular season
Kickoff: 7:03 p.m. ET (6:03 p.m. CT)
Weather: 84 degrees, cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
HNT: 1-0-1
CIN: 0-0-0
HNT – J. Bolanos (K. Amiche) 38’
CIN – None
LINEUPS
HNT: B. Martino, J. Skinner, F. Cicéron, S. Suber, C. N’Sa, N. Perry (A. Sipic, 64’), I. Johnston, J. DeZart II, J. Bolanos (O. Wright, 32’), A. Liadi (J. Drack, 65’), K. Amiche (P. Barnes, 89’)
Substitutes not used: J. Berner, A. Longmire, E. Wachs, S. Joash, C. Rad
Head Coach: Jack Collison
CIN: P. Walters, I. Foster, J. Machado (P. Horton, 46’), J. Akpunonu, L. Aghedo, K. Thomas (H. Conteh, 76’), S. Adams (L. Tamarez, 84’), M. Pinto, J. Castellano, A. Ordoñez, B. Stitz
Substitutes not used: H. Morse, M. Schenfeld
Head Coach: Tyrone Marshall
STATS SUMMARY: HNT/CIN
Shots: 18 / 0
Shots on goal: 8 / 2
Saves: 2 / 7
Corner Kicks: 8 / 0
Fouls: 11 / 11
Offside: 2 / 4
Possession: 45.3 / 54.7
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – S. Adams (Yellow card) 26’
HNT – I. Johnston (Yellow card) 82’
OFFICIALS
Referee: DeShun Beard
Ast. Referees: Sarah Gaddes, Brian Marshall
Fourth Official: Barbara Agnew
