Refs, Charlotte FC crash FC Cincinnati’s 10 Year Anniversary with 1-0 loss
Damon Gumbert
A day that was supposed to be a celebration for FC Cincinnati turned into a frustrating affair for the club and fans alike.
FC Cincinnati lost the match 1-0, but also lost Brian Anunga for a game due to a controversial red card that was issued inside the final half hour. Fans who were in attendance to celebrate the historic match were left frustrated after another game dominated by referee decisions that need to be further explained in the coming days.
The match started well for FC Cincinnati. The team was putting Charlotte under a lot of pressure in the first half, totaling eight shots with three on target, a 90% accurate pass rate, an xG of .49 (compared to Charlotte’s .02), and 58% possession. At the end of the first half, it looked like a question of when FCC would score rather than if they would.
Even early in the second half, the Orange and Blue looked to be dominating the game. Then, in the 70’, everything changed. In a play that is still being debated on what happened, Brian Anunga was initially fouled by Wilfried Zaha close to the Cincinnati box. Anunga stayed on his feet and the referee initially pointed as if the foul was on FC Cincinnati and not against Charlotte. Anunga continued with his run before stepping on the leg of a Charlotte player who was sliding to stop his movement.
Initially, Anunga was shown a yellow card for the foul. Matt Miazga, after the game, said, “This is what I was told, that he actually… the ref told me that he made the wrong call and pointed in the wrong direction. So he first, it was our foul, but the way he played it off and called the wrong way, which kind of enticed Brian to keep going. And he thought he had kind of an advantage, and then, you know, that guy also went in pretty hard.”
VAR took a look at the call and had the referee go to the monitor to decide if the offense was red card-worthy. The referee ended up deciding that the play was a “serious foul play.” Head Coach Pat Noonan also said that the advantage had been played. “Yeah, they played advantage. It was a foul on Zaha on Brian, but he deemed that an advantage. So that’s why the play carries on. So, for me, then it’s just a poor judgment call, because there’s no advantage.”
When asked about the play and why Referee Filip Dujic had ruled advantage had been given, the pool report said, “There was no advantage, there was a moment of waiting and seeing, after he (Anunga) did not gain possession, we went back to the original foul.”
In quite possibly the most upsetting thing about the pool report, the referee crew spelled Cincinnati as “Cincinatti.”
If that sounds confusing, you’re not the only one who thinks so. From the different sides of the situation, it appears that Miazga and Noonan believed that advantage had been called when it shouldn’t have, and that if it had not been called, then the second foul never would have happened. The referee is saying that he never called advantage, and that he was just waiting for the situation to play out before whistling for the foul.
Now, if you were to ask me, “Damon, isn’t that almost exactly like if he had called advantage?” You would be correct. The situation is extra murky due to the reasoning behind the referee's decision not to stop the play earlier, and his explanation not making much sense. Why, in that instance over all of the others throughout the match, would you decide not to call a foul when it happens if you know the player does not have an advantage? While we would like to know the answer to this question, and plenty more, we will not get it due to the obtuse nature of PRO referees in MLS when it comes to criticism of their decisions.
While the wheels didn’t immediately fall off for FCC after the red card, things certainly became harder. Charlotte dominated possession in the second half, with 58% possession and an 87% accurate pass rate. Charlotte ended the first half with one shot; they were able to add seven in the second half, with most coming after the red card was given.
The loan goal of the game came in the 85’, when defenders for FC Cincinnati were unable to clear a ball from their own box and let a ball sneak to the feet of Zaha, who put it into the back of the net.
After the goal, a small sign of hope happened when Kevin Denkey made his return to the pitch after suffering an injury in mid-July. Unfortunately, Denkey and Evander were not able to overcome the numbers game, being down a man while also fighting with the referees. Evander was shown a yellow card for dissent moments after a Charlotte player received a yellow card for fouling the Brazilian.
The game mercifully ended after a long 9 minutes of stoppage time. Charlotte claimed the “Queen City Darby” for the second year in a row after completing the sweep this season. On top of Anunga’s red card, Luca Orellano came off at halftime due to hamstring tightness. Noonan did not have an update on the severity during his presser, but Orellano walked to the locker room under his power, so there is hope that he won’t miss much time.
One of the lone bright spots in the second half was the play of Ender Echinique in his third match with the club. “He was lively,” Noonan said of the young wingback. “He was lively with his minutes up until the red card, where then he was kind of isolated up there for a while on his own and tough to have an impact. Initially, he was dangerous and getting behind some good off-the-ball runs. Good chance creation. Did well with his minutes.”
Echinique was blowing away fans with his incredible speed. There was a play where Ender streaked down the pitch with the ball and narrowly scored, before being blocked by Charlotte’s goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina. Immediately after the play stopped, a Charlotte defender went to the ground and grabbed at his left leg. From what it looked like in the press box, he strained his muscle trying to keep up with Echinique, though he was unsuccessful.
Kahlina was incredible for the whole night, putting his body out on several occasions to stop possible goals. The Keeper of the Year winner for 2024 had eight saves on the night, laying out for some that a lesser goalkeeper would not have been able to save. While the 33-year-old goalkeeper was not stellar with his distribution, he did just enough to secure the three 3-points for Charlotte.
The FC will next travel to Portland, Oregon, for a date with former FCC striker Kevin Kelsy. This will be Evander’s first time returning to Portland since he was traded to Cincinnati earlier this year. That match kicks off at 10:30 ET, which means most of us will be asleep. In case you’re not asleep, you can watch the game on Apple TV+ with an MLS Season Pass subscription, or if you don’t feel like shelling out $100 a year, you can watch at any of the clubs' participating pub partners
