FC Cincinnati defeated Club Querétaro, 1-0, in their first match of Group Stage play in Leagues Cup 2024 Thursday night at TQL Stadium. The Orange and Blue (1-0-0, 3 points) advance to the Round of 32 of the competition while Querétaro (0-1-1, 1 point) have been eliminated from the competition after falling to New York City FC in a penalty shootout in their first match.
FC Cincinnati will host their Round of 32 match on Friday, August 9 at TQL Stadium. Tickets will go on sale August 6 with more information to be available at a later time.
The two sides battled to a scoreless first half of action on a rainy Cincinnati night. The Orange and Blue looked to have a chance from the penalty spot after Gerardo Valenzuela was taken down in the box, but the referee and VAR overturned the call near the 10-minute mark.
Yamil Asad played second-half hero for the Orange and Blue as the wingback scored his first Leagues Cup goal in the 64th minute. Sergio Santos picked up an assist on the play, making an impact with his goal contribution just two minutes after coming on as a substitute.
AS IT HAPPENED
CIN: Yamil Asad, GOAL – 64’ (1-0) – A long ball forward for Ian Murphy forced Querétaro defender Medina Alan into a sliding interception, but Alan could not control possession as Sergio Santos picked up the loose ball and drove toward the left wing, creating space for Yamil Asad to move into the middle of the box and receive a pass back across from Santos. Asad redirected Santos’ pass first time and past goalkeeper Allison Guillermo.
FC Cincinnati face New York City FC in their second Leagues Cup Group Stage match at TQL Stadium on Monday, August 5, at 8 p.m. ET. The match will air, for free with no subscription required, on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Fans can listen to the match locally in English on iHeart Media ESPN 1530 and in Spanish on La Mega 97.7 FM.
GAME NOTES
- FC Cincinnati remain unbeaten in Leagues Cup play, 2-0-2, and advance to the Knockout Stage for the second-consecutive season.
- FC Cincinnati are 13-6-6 in non-MLS Regular Season matches since 2019.
- FC Cincinnati recorded a clean sheet for the ninth time this season, across all competitions.
- Yamil Asad scored his third goal for FC Cincinnati, his first career Leagues Cup goal … He became the third separate goal scorer in the club’s history in the competition (Vazquez, Acosta).
- Yuya Kubo became the 14th different player to captain FC Cincinnati since 2019.
- Ian Murphy is the only player to have started all four Leagues Cup matches for FC Cincinnati. He was one of six players to start all three matches last season in the inaugural edition of the expanded competition (Acosta, Barreal, Boupendza, Kann, Murphy, Vazquez).
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs Club Querétaro
Date: August 1, 2024
Competition: Leagues Cup – Group Stage
Venue: TQL Stadium
Attendance: 24,566
Kickoff: 8:10 p.m. ET
Weather: 81 degrees, rain
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
CIN: 0-1-1
QRO: 0-0-0
CIN – Yamil Asad (Sergio Santos 64’)
QRO – None
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Yamil Asad (Malik Pinto 90’), Ian Murphy, Chidozie Awaziem, Alvas Powell, Bret Halsey (Kipp Keller 82’), Pavel Bucha, Yuya Kubo, Gerardo Valenzuela (Obinna Nwobodo 63’), Luca Orellano (Kevin Kelsy 82’), Corey Baird (Sergio Santos 62’)
Substitutes not used: Paul Walters, Evan Louro, London Aghedo, Stiven Jimenez, Nico Benalcazar, Moises Tablante
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
QRO: Guillermo Allison, Franco Russo, Francisco Venegas (Ayrton Preciado 86’), Kevin Escamilla (Jaime Gómez 70’), Brayton Vázquez, Alan Medina, Lucas Rodriguez (Victor López 57’), Federico Lértora, Martín Rio, Pablo Barrera (Rubio Rubín 71’), Samuel Sosa (Aké Loba 70’)
Substitutes not used: Sebastian Hernandez, Carlos Higuera, Ronaldo Cisneros, Omar Mendoza, Jonathan Perlaza, Pablo Ortíz, Carlo Soldati
Head Coach: Mauro Gerk
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/QRO
Shots: 22 / 9
Shots on Goal: 5 / 3
Saves: 3 / 3
Corner Kicks: 7 / 1
Fouls: 9 / 14
Offside: 1 / 1
Possession: 55.8 / 44.2
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
QRO – Franco Russo (Yellow Card) 48’
QRO – Federico Lértora (Yellow Card) 71’
CIN – Ian Murphy (Yellow Card) 83’
QRO – Martín Rio (Yellow Card) 86’
CIN – Roman Celentano (Yellow Card) 90’+2
OFFICIALS
Referee: Randy Solano
Ast. Referees: Humberto Chitay
Fourth Official: Mario Escobar
