incinnati lost a high-scoring heartbreaker Wednesday night against Chicago Fire FC, 4-3, at TQL Stadium. Luka Stojanovic’s goal three minutes into second half stoppage time was the difference.
Robert Beric opened scoring for Chicago, with two goals in three minutes in the 14th and 17 minutes. FC Cincinnati responded with two goals in the first half for the first time since July 17 at CF Montréal.
Luciano Acosta matched the team-high for goals in a season with his seventh strike of the year in the 28th minute. The buildup started from Ronald Matarrita who sent in in a perfectly weighted cross to Zico Bailey, who crossed the ball back across the box to Brandon Vázquez, whose header found Acosta for a tap-in goal. Acosta’s goal came on his 100th career shot on target.
Matarrita assisted Vázquez’s equalizer in the 36th minute. Matarrita sent a long ball from FCC’s defensive half to Vázquez who got in behind Chicago’s defense. On a full extension, Vázquez corralled the pass and slid his shot through Chicago goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina’s legs to give the match a 2-2 scoreline.
Alvaro Medran put the visitors ahead in the 71st minute directly off a free-kick, just outside the 18-yard box.
Tyler Blackett scored the latest non-penalty kick goal in FC Cincinnati history in the 90+1 minute. Matarrita swung in a cross from the left side which Geoff Cameron flicked across to Blackett who buried the equalizer.
The scoreline was not meant to be as Stojanovic’s long distance strike gave Chicago a 4-3 win.
FC Cincinnati hit the road Saturday for a contest at Inter Miami CF. 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+, on radio on Fox Sports AM 1360 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 Chicago Fire FC
Date: October 20, 2021
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: TQL Stadium – Cincinnati, Ohio
Attendance: 21,369
Kickoff: 7:39 p.m. ET
Weather: 66 degrees, clear
Scoring Summary:
CIN – Luciano Acosta (Brandon Vázquez, Zico Bailey) 28’, Brandon Vázquez (Ronald Matarrita) 36’, Tyler Blackett (Geoff Cameron, Ronald Matarrita) 90+1’
CHI – Robert Beric (unassisted) 14’, Robert Beric (unassisted) 17’, Alvaro Medran (unassisted) 71’, Luka Stojanovic (unassisted) 90+3’
Lineups:
CIN: Przemyslaw Tyton, Zico Bailey (Joseph-Claude Gyau 46’), Geoff Cameron, Tyler Blackett, Edgar Castillo (Álvaro Barreal 53’), Ronald Matarrita, Haris Medunjanin (Kamohelo Mokotjo 62’), Allan Cruz (Kyle Scott 77’), Luciano Acosta (c), Brandon Vázquez, (Calvin Harris 77’), Brenner
Substitutes not used: Kenneth Vermeer, Nick Hagglund, Caleb Stanko, Isaac Atanga
Interim Head Coach: Tyrone Marshall
CHI: Gabriel Slonina, Jhon Espinoza (Boris Sekulic 58’), Miguel Angel Navarro, Johan Kappelhof (Gaston Gimenez 64’), Jonathan Bornstein (c), Ignacio Aliseda, Alvaro Medran (Luka Stojanovic 86’), Mauricio Pineda, Fabian Herbers (Brian Gutierrez 46’), Federico Navarro, Robert Beric (Nnamdi Chinonso Offor 64’)
Substitutes not used: Bobby Shuttleworth, Wyatt Omsberg, Alex Monis, Elliot Collier
Head coach: Frank Klopas
Stats Summary: CIN / CHI
Shots:19 / 16
Shots on Goal: 6 / 11
Saves: 7 / 3
Corner Kicks: 5 / 7
Fouls: 15 / 12
Offside: 3 / 0
Possession: 41.1 / 58.9
Misconduct Summary:
CIN – Zico Bailey (caution) 30’
CHI – Johan Kappelhof (caution) 45+1’
CIN – Joseph-Claude Gyau (caution) 48’
CHI – Federico Navarro (caution) 68’
CHI – Gabriel Slonina (caution) 79’
CIN – Geoff Cameron (caution) 80’
Officials:
Referee: Jon Freemon
Ast. Referees: Chantal Boudreau, C.J. Morgante
Fourth official: Luis Arroyo
VAR: Greg Dopka
AVAR: Allan Kelly
GAME NOTES
- Ronald Matarrita returned to action for the first time since October 2 vs. New York Red Bulls … he had missed three games due to time spent with the Costa Rican National Team.
- Luciano Acosta with his seventh goal of the season is now tied with Allan Cruz (2019) and Brenner (2021) for most goals in a season by an FCC player … Acosta with his nine assists this season is also the most in one year.
- Acosta’s goal came on his 100th career shot on goal in MLS.
- With his secondary assist on Acosta’s goal, Zico Bailey earned his first ever goal or assist in MLS.
- Tyler Blackett scored his first goal in MLS … it was the first goal by a defender since Matarrita scored Sept. 29 at Toronto FC.
- Blackett’s goal is the latest open-play goal in FCC history … the latest goal came from Emmanuel Ledesma on Sept. 7, 2019 vs. Toronto FC, but it came via penalty kick (90+2’).
- FC Cincinnati erased a two-goal deficit for the second time this season (May 16 vs. Inter Miami CF).
- Geoff Cameron will miss Saturday’s match at Inter Miami CF due to yellow card accumulation.
AS IT HAPPENED
- 14’ – CHICAGO FIRE FC GOAL | Mauricio Pineda takes a shot on goal which Przemyslaw Tyton saves, but the ball falls right to Robert Beric on the right goalpost for a tap-in score.
- 17’ – CHICAGO FIRE FC GOAL | Ignacio Aliseda’s shot is cut out by Geoff Cameron but requires a diving save from Przemyslaw Tyton, which falls once again to Robert Beric who finishes off another close-range tap-in to double the visitor’s lead.
- 28’ – FC CINCINNATI GOAL | Ronald Matarrita crosses in a perfectly weighted cross into the right side of the box to Zico Bailey, who kicks the ball back across the Brandon Vázquez, who heads the ball further across the net to Luciano Acosta who gets his left foot on the end of it the bury his seventh goal of the season.
- 36’ – FC CINCINNATI GOAL | Another tremendous ball from Ronald Matarrita in FCC’s defensive half finds Brandon Vázquez all the way at the top of the Chicago 18-yard box, who brings the ball down and hits a one-time shot through the legs of Chicago goalkeeper Slonina to equalize for the Orange and Blue.
- 71’ – CHICAGO FIRE FC GOAL | Alvaro Medran scores directly off a free kick just outside the 18-yard box to put the visitors in front.
- 90+1’ – FC CINCINNATI GOAL | Another cross from Ronald Matarrita down the left side is swung into Geoff Cameron inside the box, who flicks his header to Tyler Blackett who connects on a first-time shot into the back of the net.
- 90+3’ – CHICAGO FIRE FC GOAL | Luka Stojanovic capitalized on a clearance which falls right to him, and buries a rocket of a strike from distance past Przemyslaw Tyton.
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati Interim Head Coach Tyrone Marshall
On the match
“Initially we wanted to inject some more offensive action, so we went with two strikers tonight. As you can see I thought we did that, we generated more goals at home. We had some great chances in the beginning of the game. Defensively, I thought we gave up some soft goals. I think for us moving forward, we have to play the 90 minute game, I think if we did that it would be a different situation. Mentally, we didn’t get to finish the game.”
On the goal conceded deep into stoppage time
“That moment is a great example of what this whole season has been for Cincinnati; we’re just coming up a bit short. We have to be able to deal with those moments better to close the game out.”
On Brandon Vázquez
“I think Brandon is a big target. Looking at his performance in the training sessions, he’s been working his tail off, he’s doing well and we just needed to get a big body in the box. Our message to him tonight was to just enjoy the moment, don't feel like you're restricted, just go score goals; and he did that today.”
On Przemyslaw Tyton
“I don't want to blame Tyton, or anything tonight; I think he has saved us a couple of games earlier. I think he’s working hard, it’s unfortunate some of the goals that went in tonight, but that’s the tale of a goalkeeper. I think Tyton has been doing very well so far, and he’s kept us in games.”
FC Cincinnati Defender Ronald Matarrita
Translated from Spanish
On conceding the final goal
“It’s so tough, it’s so tough for that to happen. We worked so hard to get it back to 3-3. Then for the other team to find it so easy. In the final minutes you have to give everything you can. You can’t lose your head. You have to continue to work as hard as you can. And for the other team to have a goal like that so easy. It just hurts so bad.”
On conceding early goals
“It’s so tough, because we play so well for stretches of the game and then there is moments and you can see these easy goals, but we just have to face it, we have to confront it, we have to keep going forward. We have to face the fact that sometimes players aren’t giving 100 percent. We need to fix that, and we need to keep going forward. It’s so frustrating because it feels like we need to have a goal scored on us to get our heads in the game. We need to start with our heads in the game. We have the players to do that, we just don’t have the mentality. It’s really tough to hide that, we just have to have the mentality and we have to get there because it’s not there right now.”
On his busy season with Costa Rica and FC Cincinnati
“Yeah, you know I’m always going to give 100 percent whether I’m here or whether I’m there. Very happy with my individual performance tonight. Was happy to do whatever I could for the team. Sometimes I’ll make mistakes, but I’m always going to give 100 percent for this team and that’s the least that I can do for these fans, who just come out and support us all the time, is to give 100 percent whenever I’m on the pitch for Cincinnati.”
FC Cincinnati Forward Brandon Vázquez
On the result
“Disappointed, I thought we played great, we fought until the last minute I felt like we deserved
it, so it hurts seeing the results being what it was. Their first two goals were quick and unexpected so it was frustrating, but we had time and we came back quickly. That shows the character that this team has and that's massive. We just need to keep doing that every single game.”
On his performance
“Yeah, it's been a long season. I just been patiently waiting for my time. I've been so close to scoring and doesn't hit the back of the net and today it hit the back of the night. I hope I can do it again Saturday.”
