Fanendo Adi sat and prayed.
Midway through a season he self-described as “hell,” Adi finally had a moment of peace on Saturday night.
Since he joined FC Cincinnati last July, he’s been the focal point of the club’s frontline. Throughout the remainder of the 2018 USL season, the Nigerian forward always said the focus was on the future, on MLS.
But then that future came and it became something Adi never could’ve expected.
In his third match – his first at home and first against his former club – his injured his left ankle and missed time. During that injury stint, he was involved in a legal matter. After that, he played briefly before a hamstring injury last month.
Once finally healthy to play – July 6 against the Houston Dynamo – the match arrived the day after FCC’s General Manager Gerard Nijkamp said the team wants to sign a striker during the summer transfer window. Oh, and when Adi played, he had to replace the rookie who just scored his first MLS goal three games into his career.
So, that was the scenario Adi found himself in when he entered the match Saturday night in Bridgeview. Replacing Rashawn Dally in the 67th minute – in a game where Cincinnati was getting outplayed – his objective was simply to help earn a road point.
But Adi did something better.
Once Allan Cruz won a tackle near midfield and sprung Kekuta Manneh ahead on a counter attack, Adi began a diagonal run ahead of him. Soon, the ball came his way, and with one touch, Adi placed it to the bottom right corner of the goal – pushing FC Cincinnati into the lead and his adversity into the past.
“It’s been a tough year for everybody,” Adi said afterward. “Not just me, but obviously for me it’s been one hell of a year. I wanted to do well for the club. I came in as a very huge investment for the club. It didn’t turn out to be what we expected, but the club has been very patient with me. They’re still with me … I thank God it went in.”
When the ball went into the net, Adi sat on the grass, crossed his legs, looked up and prayed. Soon, he was surrounded by Allan Cruz and Emmanuel Ledesma.
A few seconds later, Alvas Powell – who just had Adi as a groomsman in his June wedding – gave his close friend a hug.
The congratulations and support continued after the final whistle. In his post-match interview, Interim Head Coach Yoann Damet said praised the forward’s big goal and the team’s even bigger win.
“I’m very happy for Adi,” Damet said. “He’s been working really hard and he’s been through some tough moments … Because he got the goal is huge from him from an individual standpoint, so I’m very happy for him.”
When Adi signed with FC Cincinnati, he was the biggest signing in USL history and the club’s first DP once the Orange and Blue entered MLS. Given his previous productivity in the first division – and an MLS Cup on his resumé – the Nigerian forward arrived with big expectations and potential.
Midway through his fifth month this season, however, he hadn’t hit that potential. Of the team’s 20 league matches, its DP has only played half of those.
But in one simple touch, Adi potentially changed the whole complexion for the rest of his 2019 season.
There’s no more searching for that first league goal with FCC. As for his club, they’ve won two straight and play two home games in four days later this week. Those are opportunities to accumulate points, in addition for Adi to fully recover from his hamstring injury he suffered June 19 at Saint Louis FC in the Round of 16 of the 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
On the goal itself, Adi showed why his team assumed his large contract and acquire his services from the Portland Timbers.
Though in a rush to get that first MLS goal, he patiently waited for the right time to strike the ball.
“I definitely saw the goalkeeper and I wanted him to backstep before I shot the ball because I knew he was started, but the minute I saw him take a step backward, I released the ball and anything can happen at that point.”
Yes, anything can happen. But only someone with a high-quality finishing ability could keep such composure to coolly place the ball into the goal with such accuracy. That’s the Adi who FC Cincinnati signed last July. That’s the forward he can be.
All he – the club and the fans – needed was another reminder, and then a moment of beauty – and peace.
