FC Cincinnati defeated Inter Miami CF, 1-0, Saturday night in front of 25,082 fans at TQL Stadium. With the win, the Orange and Blue finished the evening atop the Eastern Conference standings for the first time in club history.
The Orange and Blue improved to 4-0-2 (14 points) with the win. Miami suffered their fourth-straight loss to drop to 2-4-0 (6 points).
At the conclusion of Matchday 6, FCC’s 14 points lead all Eastern Conference clubs, followed by 13 points for Atlanta United FC and the New England Revolution.
Defender Yerson Mosquera’s first goal as a member of the Orange and Blue, a header five minutes into first-half stoppage time, was the difference Saturday evening.
Mosquera’s game-winning goal, a header off a corner kick taken by Álvaro Barreal marked at 45+5’, was the latest first-half goal in FC Cincinnati history. The considerable amount of stoppage time which was ultimately when FCC’s goal was scored was due in part to a VAR check earlier in the first half on an awarded penalty for Miami, which was overturned after video review determined the foul in question came outside the penalty area. Miami’s ensuing free kick was blocked by Cincinnati’s wall.
Barreal’s cross on his game-winning assist was perfectly placed at the near post and with enough power for Mosquera to head past Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender. Callender, in a decent effort, got a hand to it but could not push Mosquera’s attempt off frame.
FCC’s fourth win of the season came among several milestones for FC Cincinnati players, including the 100th appearance for Nick Hagglund across all competitions with FCC, the first player in club history to reach the marker. Ray Gaddis became the first FC Cincinnati player, past or present, to reach the milestone of 250 regular season games played in their career.
Captain Luciano Acosta surpassed 15,000 career MLS regular season minutes, and Roman Celentano’s three saves Saturday gave the second-year goalkeeper 100 saves in his MLS career.
FC Cincinnati stay at home to face Philadelphia Union next Saturday, April 8 at TQL Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV via MLS Season Pass and over the radio locally on ESPN 1530.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs. Inter Miami CF
Date: April 1, 2023
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: TQL Stadium
Attendance: 25,082
Kickoff: 7:39 p.m. ET
Weather: 42 degrees, cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
CIN: 1-0-1
MIA: 0-0-0
CIN – Yerson Mosquera (Álvaro Barreal) 45+5’
MIA – None
GAME NOTES
- Saturday continued FC Cincinnati’s best start to a season, improving to first place in the Eastern Conference with 14 points (4-0-2) … the Orange and Blue top the Eastern Conference standings for the first time in club history.
- FC Cincinnati have won two straight over the Herons in TQL Stadium.
- Cincinnati’s four clean sheets in six games this season are matched with Nashville SC for the most in MLS.
- Yerson Mosquera’s first goal with FC Cincinnati made him the 36th different goal scorer in the club’s MLS history.
- Mosquera became the first center back to score for FCC since Nick Hagglund on September 3, 2022 vs. Charlotte FC, which also came off a corner kick.
- Mosquera’s goal was the latest first half goal in FC Cincinnati history (previous: 45+3’: Ronald Matarrita at CLB, 8/27/21; Luciano Acosta vs LAFC, 4/24/22).
- Nick Hagglund became the first player in club history to reach 100 career appearances for FC Cincinnati … the Cincinnati native has made 94 regular season appearances with FCC, four U.S. Open Cup appearances, and played in both MLS Cup Playoff games last fall.
- Ray Gaddis made the 250th regular season appearance of his career … he became the first FC Cincinnati player, past or present, to reach the milestone in their career.
- Roman Celentano’s three saves gave him 100 for his MLS career.
- Luciano Acosta surpassed 15,000 career MLS minutes with his 90-minute performance.
- Saturday was the 50th appearance of Matt Miazga’s MLS regular season career.
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Álvaro Barreal, Yerson Mosquera, Matt Miazga, Nick Hagglund, Ray Gaddis (Santiago Arias 46’), Junior Moreno, Marco Angulo (Malik Pinto 62’), Luciano Acosta (C), Brenner (Sergio Santos 73’), Brandon Vazquez (Dominique Badji 87’)
Substitutes not used: Alec Kann, Evan Louro, Alvas Powell, Ian Murphy, Arquimides Ordoñez
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
MIA: Drake Callender, DeAndre Yedlin (C), Christopher McVey, Sergii Kryvtsov, Franco Negril, Jean Mota, Bryce Duke (Benjamin Cremaschi 86’), Rodolfo Pizarro (Ariel Lassiter 62’), Robert Taylor (Shanyder Borgelin 76’), Josef Martínez, Nicolas Sefanelli
Substitutes not used: Nick Marsman, Aime Mabika, Jake La Cava, Victor Ulloa, Ryan Sailor, Harvey Neville
Head Coach: Phil Neville
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/MIA
Shots: 11 / 10
Shots on Goal: 4 / 3
Saves: 3 / 3
Corner Kicks: 4 / 4
Fouls: 12 / 15
Offside: 3 / 0
Possession: 38.5 / 61.5
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
MIA – Rodolfo Pizarro (Yellow Card) 13’
CIN – Marco Angulo (Yellow Card) 27’
MIA – Bryce Duke (Yellow Card) 45+4’
CIN – Luciano Acosta (Yellow Card) 51’
CIN – Brenner (Yellow Card) 72’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Nima Saghafi
Ast. Referees: Jeffrey Greeson, Jason White
Fourth Official: Guido Gonzales Jr.
VAR: Alejandro Mariscal
AVAR: Jonathan Johnson
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan
On the win
“It's good to get three points. Aside from that, it was really hard to pull some positives, starting with myself. The week of preparation was strange. We had too many off days with intensity, with quality, guys traveling back from international duty, losing Obi [Nwobodo] late in the week. There was things that just threw the rhythm off, and I don't think the guys were well prepared. That starts with me. I give them credit for, on a very poor night, grinding out three points, which is what that game was.”
On ending the night in first place
“We'll celebrate it at the end of the year if we're here in this position. But it just depends. That's case by case because if you would have walked in after the Seattle game, it was a much different feeling because the guys played well and knew that that win, the second home win, was an improvement from the Houston game and certainly beating a quality opponent. And that's no disrespect to Miami. We knew it was going to be difficult. But I think the way we played is why you just don't see the celebration because we just didn't perform well. Again, I liked the fact that they have a good feel for how to respond to results good or bad, depending on the performance and where and how we're winning these games.”
FC Cincinnati Defender Yerson Mosquera
On the goal
“It’s incredible, because this game is hard. It’s beautiful. I am feeling well, I am feeling happy. It’s great, this night, this game is very important to us. We win, and for me to score a goal, that is amazing.”
On the performance of the team
“This is normal in football. We have a good game, we have a medium game, we have a bad game, but what’s more important is how we work to prepare for the next game. We come to put the good feeling for the next game. The most important thing is to prepare ourselves and to learn from this to be ready for the next game. This is normal, in football.”
