FC Cincinnati scored twice in the match’s waning moments to complete a 2-1 comeback win over the New York Red Bulls Wednesday night at Red Bull Arena. Luciano Acosta’s 80th minute penalty kick goal brought FCC level, before Obinna Nwobodo’s goal three minutes into stoppage time served as the game winner.
The three points improved FC Cincinnati’s record to 14-2-6 (48 points). The Red Bulls dropped to 6-8-8 (26 points).
For the first time in club history, FC Cincinnati won when trailing at the 75th minute or later. Prior to Wednesday night, the Orange and Blue had also never earned all three points when trailing at halftime.
Cincinnati would fall behind in the 28th minute after Omir Fernandez converted a penalty kick from the spot. The New York goal marked just the fourth time in 26 matches across all competitions this season that the Orange and Blue allowed the first goal.
The Orange and Blue received an opportunity deep in the second half when Santiago Arias was taken down inside the New York penalty area. After no initial whistle, VAR determined Arias was fouled, which sent FCC to the spot.
Luciano Acosta stepped up and converted his fifth PK of the season, and his career-high 11th goal of the 2023 campaign.
The Orange and Blue continued to mount pressure into second-half stoppage time and were rewarded three minutes after the 90th minute. Álvaro Barreal sent a cross towards the center of the penalty área which cleared everyone but found the feet of Acosta. The captain whipped in a cross from the other side, which forced an unsuccessful headed clearance from the New York defense.
Obinna Nwobodo was the first to get to the ball and fired a first-time shot into the bottom right corner of the net to give FC Cincinnati a late 2-1 advantage.
The Orange and Blue improved to 7-0-1 across all competitions this season in midweek games, with the lone draw ended in a penalty shootout win for FC Cincinnati over the Red Bulls in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 in May.
FC Cincinnati Assistant Coach Dominic Kinnear served as head coach for tonight’s match against the New York Red Bulls while Head Coach Pat Noonan was away from the team for a personal matter. Noonan will resume head coaching duties when he returns to the team on Thursday.
The Orange and Blue will return home in front of a sellout crowd at TQL Stadium on Saturday, July 15 to take on Nashville SC. The match will stream exclusively on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Fans can also listen to the match on the radio on ESPN 1530.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati at New York Red Bulls
Date: July 12, 2023
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: Red Bull Arena
Attendance: 13,439
Kickoff: 7:39 p.m. ET
Weather: 87 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
RBNY: 1-0-1
CIN: 0-2-2
RBNY – Omir Fernandez (PK) 28’
CIN – Luciano Acosta (PK) 80', Obinna Nwobodo 90+3’
GAME NOTES
• FC Cincinnati earned the first win in club history when trailing at halftime … the club has now earned four results this season (three draws, one win) when trailing at the break, including each of the past three games.
• FC Cincinnati earned a win for the first time in club history when trailing at the 75th minute … entering Wednesday the club was 0-58-3 when trailing at the 75th minute.
• FC Cincinnati won when conceding first for the first time since the 2-1 win over the Red Bulls in the 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs … in regular season play, it was the club’s third win when conceding first, the first since September 17 at Real Salt Lake.
• Across all competitions, FC Cincinnati are 4-4-4 all-time against the Red Bulls, including 3-2-3 at Red Bull Arena … the club’s 12 games against the Red Bulls are more than any other MLS opponent.
• Wednesday marked FC Cincinnati’s 10th all-time trip to play a match in Red Bull Arena, five more than any other road venue (Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium).
• The Orange and Blue improved to 7-0-1 across all competitions this season in midweek games, with the lone draw ended in a penalty shootout win for FC Cincinnati over the Red Bulls in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 in May.
• Ben Stitz, on a short-term loan from FC Cincinnati 2, made his MLS debut Wednesday night.
• Omir Fernandez’s 28th minute penalty was the third PK awarded to an FC Cincinnati opponent this season (3-for-3) … the past three Red Bulls regular season goals against Cincinnati have come via the penalty spot.
• Malik Pinto, whose 16 sub appearances this season are tied with Orlando’s Dagur Thórhallsson for most in MLS, earned his first start since his MLS debut on March 25 at Nashville SC.
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Álvaro Barreal (Bret Halsey 90+5’), Alvas Powell, Yerson Mosquera, Nick Hagglund, Ray Gaddis (Santiago Arias 61’), Obinna Nwobodo, Malik Pinto (Junior Moreno 46’), Marco Angulo (Sergio Santos 61’), Luciano Acosta (C), Arquimides Ordoñez (Ben Stitz 74’)
Substitutes not used: Alec Kann, Joey Akpunonu, Stiven Jimenez, London Aghedo
Head Coach: Dominic Kinnear
RBNY: Carlos Coronel, Kyle Duncan, Sean Nealis (C), Hassan Ndam (Peter Stroud 81’), Frankie Amaya, Cameron Harper (Matthew Nocita 64’), Omir Fernandez, Daniel Edelman, Dante Vanzeir, Tom Barlow (Wikelman Carmona 72’), Luquinhas
Substitutes not used: Ryan Meara, Jayden Reid, Elias Manoel, Ibrahim Kasule, Ronald Donkor
Head Coach: Troy Lesesne
STATS SUMMARY: RBNY/CIN
Shots: 9 / 7
Shots on Goal: 1 / 3
Saves: 1 / 0
Corner Kicks: 5 / 4
Fouls: 11 / 11
Offside: 4 / 4
Possession: 45 / 55
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
RBNY – Hassan Ndam (Yellow Card) 3’
CIN – Malik Pinto (Yellow Card) 19’
RBNY – Daniel Edelman (Yellow Card) 45+1’
CIN – Sergio Santos (Yellow Card) 62’
RBNY – Dante Vanzeir (Yellow Card) 64’
CIN – Arquimides Ordoñez (Yellow Card) 71’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Lukasz Szpala
Ast. Referees: Ian McKay, Brian Dunn
Fourth Official: JC Griggs
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero
AVAR: Tom Supple
