FC Cincinnati battled against defending Supporters’ Shield holders Philadelphia Union but dropped a 2-1 decision Saturday night in front of 21,674 fans at TQL Stadium.
The Orange and Blue (4-16-8) sit at 20 points. The Union (12-7-9) improve to 45 points and are in third place in the MLS Eastern Conference.
Kacper Przybylko scored deep into the first half stoppage time for Philadelphia in the 45+3 minute, and Paxten Aaronson, the younger brother of U.S. International Brenden Aaronson, doubled the Union’s lead in the 56th minute.
Trailing 2-0, former Union player Haris Medunjanin netted his third goal of the season in the 82nd minute. Luciano Acosta’s shot was deflected which fell to Medunjanin at the top of the box. His left footed shot was fired into the back of the net to cut the deficit in half.
FC Cincinnati continue a four-match homestand at TQL Stadium next Saturday, October 16 against Orlando City SC. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised on WSTR 64, streamed regionally on fccincinnati.com/stream, out of market on ESPN+, while an audio stream will be available via the iHeartRadio app.
For up-to-the-minute information about FC Cincinnati, visit the team’s official website at fccincinnati.com, or follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FCCincinnati. Additionally, fans are encouraged to download the team’s official mobile app on the Apple App Store or Google Play for instant access to mobile tickets, team content and match notifications.
Information about seating options at the club’s state-of-the-art TQL Stadium is now available at TQLstadium.com. For more information about 2022 Season Ticket Deposits and Renewals, which are coming soon, visit TQLstadium.com or the stadium’s social properties on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at @TQLStadium, or by calling the team’s sales and service staff at 513-977-5425.
FC CINCINNATI MATCH REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs Philadelphia Union
Date: October 9, 2021
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: TQL Stadium – Cincinnati, Ohio
Attendance: 21,674
Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET
Weather: 75 degrees, clear
CIN – Haris Medunjanin (unassisted) 82’
PHI – Kacper Przybylko (unassisted) 45+3’, Paxten Aaronson (Nathan Harrriel, Jack Elliott) 56’
Lineups:
CIN: Przemysław Tytoń, Zico Bailey (Chris Duvall 73’), Gustavo Vallecilla (Geoff Cameron 31’), Tyler Blackett, Edgar Castillo, Haris Medunjanin, Caleb Stanko (Kamohelo Mokotjo 46’), Alvaro Barreal (Brandon Vázquez 64’), Luciano Acosta (c), YuyaKubo (Isaac Atanga 31’), Brenner
Substitutes not used: Kenneth Vermeer, Allan Cruz, Calvin Harris, Arquimides Ordonez
Interim Head Coach: Tyrone Marshall
PHI: Matthew Freese, Jack Elliot, Stuart Findlay, Jakob Glesnes, Jack Mcglynn (Matthew Real 66’), Alejandro Bedoya (Jesus Bueno 84’), Paxten Aaronson, Leon Flach, Nathan Harriel, Kacper Przybylko, Sergio Santos (Quinn Sullivan 15’)
Substitutes not used: Aurelien Collin, Joe Bendik, Anthony Fontana, Davo
Head coach: Jim Curtin
Stats Summary: CIN / PHI
Shots: 15 / 11
Shots on Goal: 6 / 6
Saves: 4 / 5
Corner Kicks: 9 / 5
Fouls: 11 / 11
Offside: 0 / 3
Possession: 63 / 37
Misconduct Summary:
CIN – Edgar Castillo (caution) 68’
PHI – Matthew Freese (caution) 80’
Officials:
Referee: Lukasz Szpala
Ast. Referees: Jeremy Kieso, Ian McKay
Fourth official: Chris Penso
VAR: Hilario Grajeda
AVAR: Gjovalin Bori
GAME NOTES
- Haris Medunjanin scored against the club where he began his MLS career … He spent three seasons in Philadelphia (2017-19), where he made 109 appearances, including 108 starts across all competitions. He scored six goals and contributed 19 assists.
- Medunjanin scored his third goal of the season, his first since the 2-0 win against Toronto FC on September 11 … it was the first goal FCC have ever scored against Philadelphia in the fifth meeting between the sides.
- FC Cincinnati are 0-9-0 this season when trailing at halftime.
- Luciano Acosta’s six corner kicks set a team season high.
- Edgar Castillo will miss the next match due to yellow card accumulation.
- FC Cincinnati made two first half substitutions for the first time in club history … the pair of 31st minute subs are the earliest for the Orange and Blue since October 7, 2020 when Zico Bailey replaced Greg Garza in the 29th minute, also against the Union nearly exactly one year ago.
- Seven total players missed Saturday’s match due to international call-ups for 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualification: Union (6): Andre Blake and Alvas Powell (Jamaica), Jose Martinez (Venezuela), Olivier Mbaizo (Cameroon), Jamiro Monteiro (Cape Verde) and Daniel Gazdag (Hungary), FCC (1): Ronald Matarrita (Costa Rica).
AS IT HAPPENED
- 5’ – Philadelphia Shot On Goal | After a turnover in the midfield, Sergio Santos gets a shot inside the box which Przemysław Tytoń’s diving save prevents an early goal for the Union.
- 36’ – FC Cincinnati Shot On Goal | Isaac Atanga is played a through ball from Haris Medunjanin, but his 1v1 shot on target is saved by Philadelphia goalkeeper Matthew Freese.
- 45+3’ – PHILADELPHIA GOAL | Kacper Przybylko gathers a deflection within the box, takes a touch and fires his shot into the side netting to give the visitors the 1-0 lead deep into first half stoppage time.
- 56’ – PHILADELPHIA GOAL | Paxten Aaronson heads home a cross from Nathan Harriel on a cross into the box to double Philadelphia’s lead.
- 62’ – FC Cincinnati Shot On Goal | Luciano Acosta capitalizes on a turnover in Philadelphia’s defensive third and slots a ball into Brenner whose attempted chip cannot get past the Union’s keeper.
- 82’ – FC CINCINNATI GOAL | Luciano Acosta’s shot is blocked but falls to Haris Medunjanin who takes a touch at the top of the box and fires a left-footed strike into the back of the net.
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati Interim Head Coach Tyrone Marshall
On the team’s performance
“For me you know the second half is what I want to see the team play like. We finished with grit, heart, passion; guys were throwing their bodies around and working hard. For me that exemplifies what I want to see the rest of the season from the players. First half was obviously a tale of two halves; first half we had some opportunities and more than one. They had one chance to think and shot and they put their chance away. Second half we came out trying to find that goal, and they scored again and the guys could’ve put their head down and folded and we didn’t. The message for them is to continue going, continue grinding and that’s what we did. Training all week was like that. Our luck will change. The second half was a good indication of what hopefully will be the rest of the season for us. Overall, some good football, I thought at times and moments we played well. Acosta was on the ball a lot tonight, everyone came in tonight and did their part. Just again, it's who finishes and they did and we didn’t put away our chances, and they put theirs away. I thank the players in the locker room for their effort and we will just continue to work hard and see if we can get a W for them”
On how close he sees FCC to Philadelphia
“I think we're close. We have the parts here, I think we need to surround ourselves with some more of those parts. Hopefully with the addition of Chris Albright, you know he’s going to obviously see those parts that are needed and start to make the moves to add them to be competitive in this league. He knows what type of league we are and what the players need in terms of quality, to be consistent like Philly. If we can do that, definitely Chris is going to bring that to the table to help us get better”
On the team attack
“For me that’s how I want to play; fast. We want to get the ball up to Brenner quickly, we want to get it too Acosta. We want to go with pace and transition. It now puts the defense on their heels and if we can have defenders going on their heels I think we have the quality like you saw tonight, to have a good opportunity. We just have to continue grinding, I thought the week or preparation was good, putting some ideas in their head. I saw a lot of that tonight. Its unfortunate that we didn’t put some of those chances away earlier. The 1v1 opportunity with Brenner, Atanga and even Acosta. We keep moving forward and we take the positive and go forward to the next game and see what happens”
FC Cincinnati midfielder Haris Medunjanin
On team decision making
“Of course they are winners, but they were also fighting for ten years to be the team they are right now. When I came back in 2017 we were struggling. We didn't make the playoffs but after that we did two years in a row and last year they won the Supporters’ Shield. They are just growing and you see they are missing six or seven players but they have a quality bench that can provide for them.”
On scoring against his former club
“For me it doesn't matter, If I score or not. For me I want to win and we want to get out of this situation. We play in this amazing stadium with amazing fans not alot of teams can say that and we are last in the standing. I think today we showed we can play with anybody. We need to play 90 minutes, 95 minutes to be a good team and we do that. It was amazing how we played the first half and had a lot of good chances. We didn't convert then they scored in the 45th minute.”
FC Cincinnati forward Isaac Atanga
On entering as a first half substitution
“Always you need to be ready. When I came in I was definitely trying to help my team win. Score or assist, I tried but it just wasn’t my day. I’ll do better next time.”
On the chances for FC Cincinnati
“We had good chances, we didn’t finish. We’re going to work on it, it’s not a weakness, but it didn’t happen today. We’re looking forward to making it happen.”
