The Fc survives in wild 3-3 Queen City Derby Draw
Damon Gumbert
“It’s a shame that we dropped points tonight,” Head Coach Pat Noonan said to open his post-match presser. “To only get one point out of it and to have to scramble for that one is a shame.”
It’s an interesting take from Noonan, as a lot of people who watched the match would have been pleased that an FC Cincinnati side that was missing two key midfielders managed to salvage a point against a very good Charlotte FC. Statistics would back Noonan, as they show that FC Cincinnati had the better match of the two teams.
The FC commanded 66% possession, notched 29 shots with nine on target, had a 90.6% passing accuracy, and took 12 corners on the evening. Charlotte only managed eight shots with four on goal, an 81.5% passing accuracy, and three corners. While Charlotte is a very good counter-attacking team, only having four shots on goal and scoring three goals is a pretty outstanding statistic.
It was the Orange and Blue that opened the scoring, though, when Pavel Bucha scored his sixth goal of the season on a wonderful ball from Tom Barlow. The play was similar to one they had just attempted; Ender Echenique brought the ball up and took on two defenders, passing the ball off on the right wing to Barlow, who then sent a low pass into the box and found Bucha wide open at the top. Bucha slipped the ball past Kristijan Kahlina into the near side corner to go up 1-0 in the second minute of the match.
Charlotte would get on the board five minutes later when Allan Saint-Maximin sent a cross into the box, intended for Liel Abada. Andrei Chirila, who was lined up on the left side of the defense, threw his leg up and tipped the ball back into the air. The ball fell right to the feet of Abada, who chipped it over a sliding Roman Celentano for the goal. It was a learning moment for the 18-year-old Chirila, who may have been better off heading the ball away rather than trying to clear it with his foot.
Charlotte would add a second goal in the 17th minute when Tom Barlow put his leg out in front of Pep Biel in the Cincinnati box, tripping up the attacking midfielder and surrendering a penalty kick. Biel easily put the ball past Celentano for the goal to go up 2-1. Despite some beautiful corner kicks, taken by Kenji Mboma Dem and Dado Valenzuela, and some shots from various players, FC Cincinnati would go into the halftime break down a goal.
Shortly after play resumed, the ball would finally find the back of the net again for FCC. Valenzuela sent a free kick into the box, connecting with the head of Miles Robinson on the far left side of goal, who sent the ball back to the middle of the box. The ball was aiming for Bucha, but he got tied up with a Charlotte defender, and the ball fell to the feet of Chirila. After taking a touch, Chirila sent the ball zooming toward goal. Given the trajectory that it had, it was fairly likely that Kahlina was going to have a good chance of keeping it out, but the ball ricocheted off the leg of Kevin Denkey and worked its way into the top corner of the net.
The celebration was fascinating because it seemed like the only person who knew Denkey had been the one who scored was Denkey. He went off and celebrated by himself while the rest of the team celebrated with Chirila. It was confirmed a few moments later that Denkey had, in fact, been awarded the goal.
Charlotte would not be outdone, though, as they had the first time FC Cincinnati scored, they would answer back within minutes. Idan Toklomati headed in the third goal for Charlotte after beating Nick Hagglund in a foot race, finding himself in a perfect spot to head in a cross from Rodolfo Aloko.
The most notable moments for the next thirty minutes or so were a few close headers from Robinson and a rocket of a shot from Denkey that failed to find the back of the net. Also notable, Kristian Fletcher made his first appearance for the first team in MLS play, substituting in for Chirila in the 74th minute, slotting up top with Denkey.
With time dwindling, Denkey finally evened things out for The FC. Bryan Ramirez sent a corner kick into the box and found Denkey right in front of goal; all the striker had to do was get solid contact to be able to beat Kahlina for the goal. He decided to use his knee to do this, which just made it that much cooler.
Kahlina and Charlotte would face a few more chances from Cincinnati but held on to secure the point.
While it was clear that Noonan was disappointed in the result, he did have some praise for the squad, especially his captain for the night, Robinson. On how well Robinson played, given he was matched up against Saint-Maximin, "Excellent. He’s the one player where we thought we could neutralize one of their biggest threats. An excellent player. You saw how many moments where he was able to escape with his ability to dribble and open up actions for them to run behind or switch play. I thought Miles was very strong in breaking up a lot of plays and limiting his threat.”
Denkey’s two goals moved him into a tie with Evander for the team lead and ended a nine-match streak of not scoring. Noonan spoke on that streak, saying, “He was really mature. I think he has a good awareness of his play and what can improve. It didn’t change his attitude or his confidence.” It’s hard to believe that, when Denkey missed some very easy shots during that nine-match scoreless streak. Despite what the coach and Denkey said himself, it was fairly clear that the transfer rumors during August were having an effect on his play.
With a brace on Saturday, it’s hopeful that the proverbial monkey is off Denkey’s back and may open him up to scoring more going forward. He’ll have to get back to working with Evander, who will return to the lineup after serving a one-match ban due to yellow card accumulation. Obinna Nwobodo will also return after serving a red card ban in this match, which could change many things in the lineup. Bucha was a force in the midfield in this match, but could be pushed back out to wingback with Nwobodo returning to the fold. That, or we could see Valenzuela, who had a very up and down night, move to the bench instead.
Nwobodo’s return could also force Sam Gidi back to the backline. He slid back into that role when Fletcher and Teenage Hadebe came into the match, and it seems like Noonan trusts him a lot on defense. It’s not clear when new additions David Doudera and Julian Malatini will join the team for training and then work their way into the lineup, but that will come with its own questions on where players line up.
For now, The FC will move their focus to the Houston Dynamo, who currently sit in second place in the Western Conference. That match takes place on Saturday, Sep. 19 at 8:30 Eastern.
Extra Stuff
I’ve decided to take a moment at the end of my articles to talk about my fantasy team.
I was dumb this week and forgot to set my lineup, so I trotted out a lineup with Evander in the midfield. I’m running a 4-5-1, so I have plenty of midfielders I could have swapped him out for. Specifically, Aleksey Miranchuk scored 10 points on my bench, so that would have been nice to have.
Even with that mistake, my team is currently up 43-18 thanks mostly to a goal from Daniel Edelman of St. Louis CITY and solid matches from Noel Caliskan and Kye Rowles. I didn’t expect the FC Cincinnati offense to drop three goals on Kristijan Kahlina; not that I would have benched him, but I might have promoted someone else to Vice Captain had I known. I should probably do that regardless.
I still have Cavan Sullivan and known racist Kai Wagner going tonight, while my opponent has Amahl Pelegino, Mathias Laborda, and Christopher McVey. It’s anybody's game, but I have at least some confidence.
On the season, team Kristijanity sits in third place on the table with 49 points. Team Bad Captain is leading with 60, so I would need a generational fumble to catch up, but I’m in a good position to make it to Europe.
I’m gonna be honest, I don’t know if there are playoffs or if the multiple The Post Cincy leagues face off against each other or what. I just work here.
