The Orange and Blue had the upper hand from kickoff to final whistle. It took nearly 70 minutes to actually take the lead, but the performance as a whole – despite being short-handed by injury and precaution – prompted optimism and earned FC Cincinnati a win.
Yamil Asad earned the match winner. A shot he scorched off the goalkeeper's hands and through to the back of the net after picking up a perfectly lined up pass from Sergio Santos. That would stand as the only goal either club scored on the night, but a relief from FC Cincinnati as the hosts peppered the opposing goal all night. By the end of the night, FC Cincinnati had racked up 24 shots, tallied 3.3 xG and held Querétaro FC to just 0.4 xG and three shots on target.
From the get go, Querétaro clearly displayed signs of a club that was comfortable playing a nil-nil game and rolling the dice in penalty kicks at worst, and at best looked to bunker in and pounce on a lucky moment to strike. FC Cincinnati, to their credit, put the pressure on and never conceded that one lucky moment, earning the clean sheet and the victory.
But until that goal from Asad came in the 64 minute, it wasn’t smooth sailing despite the dominating performance. But the win was certainly, obviously, welcome.
“We were strong outside of the finishing,” FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said from the podium for his postgame press conference. “The two criticisms were…poor turnovers that really, in moments where we had time, we rushed plays and then our final third play tonight was subpar. I think that was pretty obvious.”
“But we put ourselves into enough good situations to not have it be as interesting as it was…the result was important, because anytime you go through a losing streak, the longer that carries on, the harder you're pushing for the win… I think in a lot of ways, we performed well. But for this group at this moment, I think it was important.”
Finishing was a problem. The Orange and Blue were not without opportunities to score, those 24 shots are proof of that. So the box for creative and attacking play can be checked off as a success, but the box for “thing that wins soccer games” was only checked once despite plenty of opportunities. Of the 24 shots, only five made their way on target. Five more were blocked, so credit to the defense there and Los Gallos Blancos goalkeeper Allison had some truly spectacular saves. But until that goal was finally found, the missed opportunities and missed shots continued to rack up with each feeling more dramatic than the last.
It would have been truly a shame to have a game where FCC so thoroughly outperformed their opponent on the field end in penalty kicks. As with Leagues Cup having all matches decided on the night, that’s where it felt the night was headed.
“We had a lot. We had a lot of chances and we couldn’t make it happen,” Asad said. “We should have won by more goals.”
“We knew the space would be there. We knew it was there all game and we knew before the game it would be there for us. Sometimes we could find it, but because we moved the ball slowly, or for many reasons, we couldn't make it.”
That does, in some ways, highlight the challenges of playing without key attackers on the night. Those on the field wouldn’t have taken solace or felt better about a disappointing result if it had come to that, but playing without Luciano Acosta, DeAndre Yedlin and Aaron Boupendza – all for different reasons related to health – posed inevitable challenges. Acosta, for example, can be leaned on to find a bit of magic when an opponent deploys a low block like Querétaro did tonight.
It’s not unreasonable though to suggest the game was won, or the win was earned, in one substitution window. In the 62 minute Noonan went to his bench and called on Sergio Santos and Obinna Nwobodo to energize the squad. Both played dramatic roles in changing and seeing out the game.
The game plan for attacking Querétaro FC was clear. FCC players told the press in an official Leagues Cup mixed zone that they knew the visiting Liga MX side would play compactly and would have space in behind to attack. That strategy was exploited to great effect all throughout the first and early parts of the second half. But the breakthrough came when Noonan went to his bench to bring on Santos, a quick footed forward who instantly stretched the back line and forced the tired legs of the Querétaro back line to track back with him, creating even more space and confusion for FCC to operate within.
It was in one of these moments, where Asad and Santos combined to unlock the defense and get a clean look on net. A perfectly executed substitute resulting in a goal just two minutes after Santos had come on.
“I think his production out of that position has been a big part of him consistently getting starts and getting minutes…he's produced for us,” Noonan said of Asad. “He has a good feel for inviting pressure, knowing how to play through it. Just how to find space, to be efficient.”
“He's a difference maker for our group to get somebody to finish off a chance tonight. So you know, that was an important goal.”
Nwobodo’s impact on the game was not preplanned, and his selection into the game was contingent on the right combination of things happening to make him a suitable selection. The Nigerian midfielder was away from the squad for a significant period of time, needing to leave the country to formally secure his US Green Card. Nwobodo trained independently but only rejoined the team on Thursday, making his availability for the match significantly less than 90 minutes, if it all given his fitness level.
The fortunate wrinkle though is Leagues Cup allows you to roster 23 players on match day whereas standard MLS play only allows for 18. The expanded bench gave the freedom to place him on the matchday roster with being punished if it turned out he was unavailable.
But because of how Queréatro was playing – a slower, generally less transitionally dangerous game as a whole – Noonan felt his skills could shine despite perhaps not having the full fitness he typically does.
“There was some concern there,” Noonan admitted. “We were just going to see how the game was playing out, to make a decision on if and when he were to be inserted into it. And it just felt like, with the tempo, that this was a game where it wasn't going to put him in the transition based game where he had to really open up his legs, where that was the concern.”
Nwobodo’s impact on the match was instant. His tackling was precise, his marking tight and his positioning suburb. From the moment he stepped on the pitch it was as though the midfield was locked down, and any ball played his way was won and turned back in the other direction for an attacking opportunity by his side.
“It was Obi being Obi,” Noonan continued. “Being able to in small spaces, close balls down, help break up plays, connect and get us moving the goal, that’s where we’re going to utilize him…I thought he was, for somebody that hasn't trained, pretty impressive for being able to provide that type of energy and intensity into the match.”
The final piece of the puzzle for success Thursday night came from a new source. Chidozie Awaziuem made his debut with FC Cincinnati, playing all 90 minutes of the match and seeing out the clean sheet with strength. Awaziem, who was acquired only a week ago, had trained very little with the team due to Visa/Work Permit limitations and is (by virtue of the European soccer calendar) still in the early days of his “season.”
Awaziem had only resumed preseason training with his club in Portugal about a week before being transferred to FC Cincinnati. Another week of work adjacent to the first team gets him a little further along, but Noonan made it very clear in the run up to this match that his fitness level would be something they were building on as the Leagues Cup tournament went on.
Instead, he played a full 90 and looked pretty great doing it.
“The plan was not for him to go 90,” Nooan made clear. “(We were going to) see where we're at at halftime andI thought because of the way the first 45 was played, that he could carry on. He was going to be honest with us about how he was feeling as the second half progressed. And I thought that the way he controlled his running, the way we were able to control the tempo with the ball at times, didn't consistently put our back line in spots where they had to defend the space, he managed it for himself in the game in a good way.”
“It feels amazing. It feels great to be part of this wonderful club. I feel so excited to be here and to get a win in my debut. I'm excited and happy that we came out with the three points,” Awaziem said after the match. “Honestly, I didn't feel there was any need for me to go out because I wanted to help the team more. I was feeling good, so I felt that there was no point going out to the bench.”
Securing passage to the knockout stage of Leagues Cup is just the first step in terms of success FC Cincinnati is looking for this month. Noonan, prior to the tournament's kickoff, made clear that playing as many games as possible is an important key to success later in the season. That playing deep into the tournament means getting new players acclimated and tenured players opportunities to stay fresh.
The win Thursday night guarantees a third match and, at least, the same overall tournament performance as 2023. This makes the stakes of Monday’s second group match significantly lower, as with the third seed in the tournament, FCC would host their next match regardless of outcome. But given the stated goals, there’s no reason to think The Orange and Blue will be ‘phoning in’ the match.
“We are missing a lot of guys. We have to improve every day. We have a new face on the roster. So it's gonna be more time to work together and make the team even better,” Asad said. “If we want to reach something, in the Leagues Cup or the end of the season, we need to improve.”
“With guys that are dealing with injuries, we're not trying to approach it differently, because we know we've advanced,” Noonan said plainly. “Do we need to rush them? No, but I don't think we would have rushed them had the result not gone our way tonight.”
“We have to be smart about getting those guys, specifically, healthy, because they're such key pieces. So we'll just see in the next two or three days where they're at and what makes sense with their availability. But I hope they progress in a way where they're available. Because I think we benefit from their leadership and their overall play.”
