FC Cincinnati didn't deserve any luck. Head Coach Pat Noonan made that very clear in his post-match press conference, saying as much to leave no doubt. The Orange and Blue couldn't catch a break when they needed one most and found themselves on the losing end of a 3-1 match that, despite the poor performance, could have ended very differently.
At times, FCC looked the worst they have this season. The typically regimented and organized Orange and Blue looked disjointed, disconnected and extremely frustrated trying to break down the Charlotte FC midfield, giving up balls on simple passes where there was no one near the vicinity to collect them. When trying to build out of the back, FCC had trouble stringing enough passes through the middle of the field to even break into the opponent's half and essentially played the entirety of the first half on their heels as the confident and organized Charlotte side pressed and pressed and pressed on FC Cincinnati until they broke.
And when they broke, the flood came fast.
The first goal came on a quality cross that Roman Celentano did his best to get in front of but deflected into the net. The second came immediately after. A bad pass just moments after the restart gave Charlotte the ball back, and DP forward Liel Abada blasted home a shot from steps inside the box that doubled the lead.
Two minutes, real time. A 1-2 punch that staggered and shocked both FC Cincinnati and the TQL Stadium faithful.
"Our first 35 minutes were probably the worst of the year," Noonan said of the performance from the postgame press conference. "We weren't ready, and that starts with me. I have to look at why it was so flat… A lot of poor performances and some avoidable mistakes on the two goals that really put the momentum in their favor. But to be honest, they had the momentum before the goals."
But like a boxer who took an early blow, FC Cincinnati pulled themselves off the mat and fought back. And as FCC started pushing forward, the crowd grew to meet them. It wasn't perfect right away, but they survived through to the 45-minute mark with just a two-goal deficit, hardly an achievement for the team that tops Supporters' Shield table, but given how the first half hour went, it was an achievement nonetheless.
But before the halftime break, there was life. Luciano Acosta found the open space and curled a beautifully taken shot around the keeper and into the net at the far post to halve the lead. His 11th goal of the season, his 27th goal contribution. A sign of life. A spark to build a fire.
Then it was Charlotte's turn to be saved by the bell. FCC, smelling blood in the water, pushed for all seven minutes of first half stoppage time and nearly equalized. But when both sides headed into the locker room it was FCC who felt like there was a game to be won.
And in that is perhaps the most frustrating part of Saturday night. That even given the poor performance and some of the unlucky opportunities that fell their way later in the evening, there was every opportunity to earn a positive result out of this match. Chances were there, they just needed to swing FCC's way.
But as Pat Noonan said off the top. They didn't deserve any luck.
"I think the warning signs, in terms of how we've conceded, have been there for a couple weeks now," Noonan said. "There was loss of concentration, lost a mark, set pieces again tonight… some things that we will continue to try to find answers to. Yeah, the way we're conceding goals is concerning.”
"(Charlotte) were a lot better than us. With the ball, defensively and set pieces. In every phase of the game, they were better for the majority of the game."
FCC kicked off the second half with the same vigor they ended the first. So it wasn't long before the breakthrough occurred. Noonan, who had gone to his bench to try and refresh the eleven on the field after the disappointing first half, went to Gerardo "Dado" Valenzuela in the second half, and he instantly made an impact. Just two minutes into the half, a shot from the 19-year-old went off the hand of a Charlotte defender, sending Acosta to the PK spot with the chance to equalize with an opportunity to erase the horrific first 30 minutes and give FCC all the momentum, with essentially a full half of soccer to play.
But the PK was saved. Then, again, it felt like the equalizing moment came when Luca Orellano had his own golazo from distance. But that goal was called back due to an offside in the build-up. Yuya Kubo put a shot off the posts, as did Valenzuela. Sergio Santos had a blistering shot on target deflected high, and Acosta had a sneaky popped-up shot collected over the head of the keeper.
Opportunities came and went. Plenty of them. But by their own admission, the good fortune needed to come back from the hole they put themselves in wasn't earned and thus it never came for them.
So with the karmic debt of 'luck' somehow still unbalanced on the night, the penance was paid in full over the final 25 minutes of the match.
Miles Robinson took a red card trying to disrupt a breakaway, meaning he will now be unavailable for FCC next match and will be departing for the Summer Olympics shortly thereafter. So Robinson will not be available to FCC for a couple of weeks. Luciano Acosta also exited the match early, ailing from what appeared to be a hurt foot and was rushed off for X-rays. Fortunately, those were negative; Noonan did disclose, though, they will have to evaluate Acosta's pain levels moving forward and make sure there aren't any other issues. But not having a break is a good start.
There was not a ton to feel great about exiting this match. But if one were to look for the bright side, the thin line between dismay and glory in this match was shockingly thin. In the game of inches, if a ball or a body went FC Cincinnati's way by even a finger's length, this game could very well have ended with The Orange and Blue earning at least one, if not all, three points. How different was this game if Acosta converted the PK, or if Orellano's overturned goal counted? It's hard not to see the match play out differently with FCC and CLTFC on even footing rather than FCC chasing the match through the second half.
But Pat Noonan felt the outcome was deserving, saying, "A tough night. We had a really poor performance, and the result was certainly fair. Credit to Charlotte – they were the much better team tonight."
The collective mindset now points towards learning from this experience and moving forward. No one could put a finger specifically on why FCC came out as "flat" as they did, but the path forward of moving on with humility and hard work was universally understood.
"I think the team as a whole, we've got a lot of confidence in what we do and how we do it with the players that are on the field. So we expect great things," forward Corey Baird, who made his return to play after a prolonged absence due to injury. So when games don't go our way, obviously, we're going to be upset, but I still think the belief is there in this group, and it's not like the world's ending. We know we're a great team, but we have to bring every game to be that great team. It's not just going to come easy. So, I think it's a little reminder tonight.”
"We've been on an incredible stretch… we'll reset and be ready to go again on Wednesday."
