FC Cincinnati dropped all three points in a loss to Nashville SC, 3-0, Saturday night at Nissan Stadium.
The Orange and Blue fell to 3-7-4 (13 points) for the season. Nashville improves to 6-1-8 and with the win moved into second place in the Eastern Conference with 26 points. Nashville is the first club in MLS to earn six wins at home this season.
C.J. Sapong scored a brace for the hosts, striking first in the 13th minute. Randall Leal’s 35th minute goal gave Nashville a 2-0 halftime lead before Sapong’s 57th minute goal gave the contest its final scoreline.
FC Cincinnati was shutout for the first time since a 2-0 home loss to Colorado Rapids on June 19. The goalless defeat snapped a six-match streak in which FCC had scored at least one goal, the second longest run in club history.
Arquimides Ordonez made his senior debut with the club as a substitute in the 74th minute, becoming the first homegrown player in club history to appear in a match.
FC Cincinnati returns to action at home next Saturday, July 31 against D.C. United at TQL Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
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 2021 Season Ticket Memberships, which are now on sale to the general public, 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.
Nashville SC 3, FC Cincinnati 0
Nissan Stadium | Nashville, Tennessee
July 24, 2021
SCORING SUMMARY
NSH – C.J. Sapong (Hany Mukhtar) – 13’
NSH – Randall Leal (C.J. Sapong) – 35’
NSH – C.J. Sapong (Hany Mukhtar) – 57’
FC Cincinnati: Kenneth Vermeer, Joseph-Claude Gyau, Caleb Stanko (Brandon Vázquez 63’), Geoff Cameron, Gustavo Vallecilla (Nick Hagglund 46’), Edgar Castillo (Arquimides Ordonez 74’), Haris Medunjanin (Kamohelo Mokotjo 69’), Yuya Kubo, Luciano Acosta ©, Álvaro Barreal (Isaac Atanga 46’), Brenner
Bench: Przemysław Tytoń, Avionne Flanagan, Franko Kovačević, Ben Mines
Stats: Shots 7, Shots on Goal 0, Saves 1, Corners 5, Offside 0, Fouls 15, Possession 65.8%, Passes 651 (89.9%)
Nashville SC: Joe Willis, Dax McCarty (Luke Haakenson 90’), Dave Romney, Jalil Anibaba, Randall Leal, Dylan Nealis (Matt LaGrassa 46’), Brian Anunga (Alex Muyl 82’), Taylor Washington, Eric Miller, C.J. Sapong (Ake Arnaud Loba 68’), Hany Mukhtar (Abu Danladi 90’)
Bench: Bryan Meredith, Jhonder Cadiz, Robert Castellanos, Irakoze Donasiyano
Stats: *Shots 8, Shots on Goal 4, Saves 0, Corners 3, Offside 1, Fouls 14, Possession 34.2%, Passes 330 (77.3%)
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Gustavo Vallecilla (caution) 38’
NSH – C.J. Sapong (caution) 68’
CIN – Geoff Cameron (caution) 81’
NSH – Hany Mukhtar (catuion) 84’
Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr.
Ast. Referees: Matthew Nelson, Kevin Klinger
4th official: Baldomero Toledo
VAR: Daniel Radford
AVAR: Joshua Patlak
Weather: 90 degrees and clear
Attendance: 23,832
GAME NOTES
- FC Cincinnati suffered its largest loss since a 3-0 defeat at Orlando City SC on May 1 … the 2-0 halftime deficit was the largest since also trailing 2-0 at the half to Orlando.
- FC Cincinnati made multiple halftime substitutions for the first time this season.
- Kamohelo Mokotjo saw his first action since starting on May 1 at Orlando.
- In the second meeting with Nashville SC in MLS, FCC is 0-1-1 … the sides tied, 2-2, in the season opener at Nissan Stadium in April.
- Saturday’s match was the hottest temperature of the season at start time.
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati Head Coach Jaap Stam
On the 3-0 loss
“Not at all the result we wanted. Not that we expected to win easily over here but the intentions of us was clear I thought. We wanted to press them, higher up the pitch as well, to win the ball and hopefully to come out in transition or keep possession and go forward. I think the pressing and what we were doing against them when they were playing with a fire I think we did quite well. We forced [Nashville] at times to play the ball under pressure…we intercepted a lot of balls.”
On holding possession
“I think with possession we did quite well keeping possession, if you look at the data. The important thing of course when you have possession a lot like, what do you do with it to create opportunities? You can see when teams play in a 5-3-2 [formation] it’s difficult to play through it. You dominate but you still need to be decisive going forward. We were not decisive enough today in creating that many opportunities or making it difficult for them.”
FC Cincinnati Defender Nick Hagglund
On the result
“I think obviously it’s a tough result, a tough place to play. They’ve kind of turned this into a fortress. Their style of play is very direct and I think the fans feed off that here. I think maybe if we score a goal earlier, maybe the game is a little bit different. But when you go down early in this heat you start chasing the game. It was a tough match.”
On the stretch of games
“Both teams played three games in a week. Both teams played in the heat. I just think when you go down a goal after the long week it’s tough mentally, you have to overcome that to get back into the game to get a result. I think giving up that early goal ultimately hurt. Ultimately we have to be able to dig ourselves up out of that and find a way to win on the road like we have before.”
FC Cincinnati Winger Arquimides Ordonez
On making his debut
“Definitely was a little nervous but the entire coaching staff, they kind of trust me. I had to play simple, play like I do in practice and not think to much about everyone watching.”
On debuting while the team is down 3-0
“I didn’t really think of it like that, I came in as left back so I was just trying to make sure we didn’t give up more goals on my end. I tried to help out in my defensive part and go as much forward as possible. It’s definitely not the ideal situation but you just have to play as best as you can.”
