After scoring the earliest goal at Nippert Stadium this season, what followed saw FC Cincinnati struggle to score again and eventually take a 2-1 loss to Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday night.
Here are three takeaways from the match:
“A disappointing night, a disappointing result in a game that could’ve gone better. I’m very, very disappointed.”
That was the opening statement from Interim Head Coach Yoann Damet in his post-match press conference.
“We need to show more.”
The opening 10 minutes were some of the best the Orange and Blue have produced this season. Pinning the visitors deep in their own half, Cincinnati created chance after chance. Eventually, the home side broke the deadlock in the sixth minute when Allan Cruz scored from point-blank range for his team-leading fourth goal this season.
Attacking opportunities flowed after the goal, but started fading closer to halftime. Eventually, Cincinnati was punished in the 41st minute when Vancouver’s Hwang In-Beom scored from long range.
Cincinnati fell behind in the 84th minute when Whitecaps FC found space down the home side’s right side and scored a second goal from what was essentially only their second clear-cut opportunity.
“(Vancouver) didn’t create much tonight, but they were very efficient in the box,” Damet said. “They created these two chances with the first one out of almost nothing from the third ball on a set piece. We need to do better.”
FCC need to do a better job of closing out the first half in games.
When In-Beom scored against the run of play, the goal deflated the atmosphere Nippert Stadium. Unfortunately, it’s a feeling that’s become common.
Ignoring late second-half goals – like Felipe’s in the 84th minute and a late goal when the New York Red Bulls visited in May – FC Cincinnati continue to concede late in the first half.
Including Saturday night, the club has allowed four goals beyond the 40th minute in its last seven games. That led to points dropped against Vancouver. In other matches, it’s just made the hole deeper for Cincinnati to climb out from.
“We are a little too naïve at times,” Damet said. “It’s very frustrating because in those moments we switched off … The focus and the concentration needs to be more consistent over the course of the game.”
Right back Justin Hoyte offered the similar remarks inside the locker room
“Being one-nil up, we should see the game out or score another,” Hoyte said. “We should win these games.”
Hoyte is right about FCC needing to win these games.
Entering the match, Vancouver sat 11th in the Western Conference standings and hadn’t won since May. Their last win was before Damet took over for FC Cincinnati on May 11.
Thus, despite Cincinnati’s recent struggles, Whitecaps FC had arguably endured worse. It seemed like that trend would continue when Cruz scored early in the match and FCC played enthusiastically.
Instead, Vancouver crossed the continent to earn three points in a match they should never had scored in. That’s where the frustration from Damet, Hoyte and others comes in.
“All the players are disappointed,” the defender said. “Having scored the first goal, then them getting back into the game, we pushed and just couldn’t find that goal we needed. Unfortunately, we gave away the second goal and that’s hard to take.
What comes next
Following the 2-1 loss, FC Cincinnati turn their attention toward their biggest rival and will play Columbus Crew SC next Saturday night in the first #HELLISREAL Derby in MLS play.
The two clubs, separated by only 100 miles, have only met once previously. On that occasion, Cincinnati beat Columbus 1-0 to upset the Crew in the fifth round of the 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
This is the first meeting between the two clubs this month. After Saturday night at MAPFRE Stadium, the Orange and Blue host their northern neighbors on Aug. 25 in a nationally-televised match as part of MLS’ Rivalry Week series.
But before that, FCC General Manager Gerard Nijkamp said there could be news.
"Don't go traveling in the next 48 hours because maybe there's something coming," Nijkamp said.
