Offense struggles, defense comes up big in nil-nil draw with Inter Miami
“I thought our top three was really poor tonight with how we attacked space, how we made decisions in and around goal,” Pat Noonan said after earning a hard-fought point against Inter Miami in Miami. “And I thought defensively, for the most part, the guys did a good job. And then I think with the ball, we struggled because of just unnecessary decisions and turnovers, that, we’ve got to get that part cleaned up.”
Those thoughts were an exclamation point on a poor offensive performance, while the defense came up huge and secured a clean sheet for the third straight game on Saturday. While it was an unattractive game for both teams offensively, FC Cincinnati struggled to generate anything positive when they had possession of the ball. The team’s star player and number 10, Evander, had a forgettable 78% accuracy on his passes, and only one of his three shots was on target. The MVP candidate only managed to have one chance creation while playing a full 90’.
Kei Kamara had an even worse night, only managing one shot that was not on target and a 68% accurate pass rate. The 40-year-old did create three chances but lost eight duels on the night. Dado Valenzuela, who started at striker on the night, arguably had the best night of the three offensive starters, notching an 87% accuracy on passes with two shots, both on target. The reserves did not have a better night, though, with Sergio Santos coming in to replace Kamara in the 59th minute and only contributing one shot and a 50% accurate pass rate in 31 minutes.
While the offense had a horrible night all around, the defense put up another clean sheet, adding number 10 on the season for Roman Celentano. The goalkeeper managed three saves on the night, bringing his season total to 72. MLS All-Star Miles Robinson had an incredible night, notching five clearances, six recoveries, one interception, and a 92% accuracy on passes. The best chance FC Cincinnati had on offense also came from Robinson, who appeared to score a headed goal on a free kick late in the match. Still, that goal was disallowed after the referee spotted Robinson’s forearm being pressed against a defender’s face. VAR looked at the foul and agreed with the referee, despite replays showing that both men had their hands on each other, which should have negated the foul on either player.
“Yeah, the clean sheets are important,” Noonan said. “You know, we relied on Roman again to make a big save, big couple of saves, and, you know, it’s good to have a stretch now where you’re figuring out defensively how to be strong. This is what… we’re going to need down the stretch.”
“It was definitely a chaotic ending,” team captain Matt Miazga said after the match. “I think that Miles scores a great goal. I gotta be smart with how I say things. I think we all felt like it was a goal, but they didn’t call it for us. And what can you do?”
Miazga also had a stellar night, accumulating a 91% accuracy on passes, eight clearances, four recoveries, and one block. While the former Defender of the Year has looked a step off this season after suffering a severe injury last year. While his speed hasn’t been there, as evidenced by his getting out-run a few times in this match, his positioning has more than made up for it on many occasions. Miazga has stayed farther back on defense, allowing him to cut off passes and clear balls that could have been more dangerous if he weren’t there. Brian Anunga also continued his streak of great performances, filling the gigantic hole left by Obinna Nwobodo’s injury.
While the night wasn’t what many wanted, especially after the news that Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba would not be playing, taking four out of six points from the reigning Supporter’s Shield winners is nothing to be mad about. A bad night offensively can be forgiven due to the added defensive presence of having Messi off the pitch. While the great is a magical offensive player, his effort on defense has only gotten worse with age. These two teams only played each other ten days prior, and Miami was embarrassed in TQL Stadium for the second year in a row, losing 3-0 and ending Messi’s brace scoring streak.
It could be said that Miami adjusted its game plan better than FCC did, or that Javier Mascherano outcoached Noonan, but neither of those tells the whole story of the match. Unlike Miami’s key players, Evander and Robinson each played 45 minutes on Wednesday during the MLS All-Star game. Evander has played a full 90’ in four of FC Cincinnati’s five July matches, with the only non-90-minute match being an 89-minute performance against Chicago. The FC dropped three goals over two games without star striker Kevin Denkey and with a seemingly cursed Kei Kamara starting. The defense allowed zero goals in two matches against the highest-scoring team in MLS this season.
If someone had said a month ago that FC Cincinnati would take four points from Inter Miami, many fans would have been ecstatic. The Cincy PostCast even said that it was possible that FCC could lose all of their matches in July. Instead, the club has won three, drawn one, and lost one. They now enter the mini-League's Cup break in second place in the Supporter’s Shield rankings, only a single point behind the Philadelphia Union.
On the League’s Cup coming up, Noonan said, “We’re going after these games the same way we’ve been going at these league games, and that’s to continue to progress, to continue to perform well, and we’ll take it one game at a time.”
The first game in Leagues Cup play for FCC is on Thursday night against CF Monterrey. The game kicks off at 7:00 p.m. at TQL Stadium.
