FC Cincinnati’s job in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs is half done.
Top-seeded FC Cincinnati defeated the New York Red Bulls 3-0 in the first game of the best-of-three first-round playoff series in front of 24,022 fans at TQL Stadium on Sunday.
The game was FC Cincinnati’s first home playoff game at TQL Stadium, and Sunday’s win ensured the venue would host at least one more postseason game this year. A Cincinnati win in Game 2 at Red Bull Arena on Saturday would secure the club’s berth in the conference semifinals, while a loss would force a crucial third game against New York on Nov. 11 at TQL Stadium.
“A good start to the postseason and a very physical game,” said FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan after the game. “Lots of duels and just a game where the boys just had to roll up their sleeves and fight and hope we get a few moments of quality, which we did. So I’m very happy with the boys’ overall performance and the start with a strong win.”
FC Cincinnati is in position to deliver a knockout blow to the Red Bulls in their next game after the club secured a rare lopsided victory in the all-time series.
Defender Alvaro Barreal opened the scoring with a wide-angle goal in the 23rd minute, bringing the crowd to life. Junior Moreno assisted on the play. Both players had their hair bleached before the game and celebrated together after the goal.
Luciano Acosta doubled FCC’s lead in the 35th minute when he fired a shot from 40 yards into the empty net. A slow back pass to RBNY goalkeeper Carlos Coronel forced Coronel to shoot from his line to keep the ball away from an onrushing Dominique Badji. The free throw fell about 10 meters away directly to Acosta, who one-hopped the ball into the gaping net to make it 2-0.
“I didn’t hit it well, but yeah, you know, I just saw the goal was open and I had to hit it,” Acosta said through a team interpreter. “It all came from a lot of pressure from (Badji), so this goal is really thanks to Dom… I think we played a great game tonight. I think we played a different game than we have in the last few years. “Especially in the first half, I thought we were really, really good. A really good game from us. We didn’t play the way they wanted and that was the key.”
The result was the second of Acosta’s postseason career with the FCC. Both were scored against the Red Bulls, including one in last season’s first-round single-elimination game at Red Bull Arena.
Cincinnati’s performance left nothing to be desired from the fans from start to finish. The club responded to critics who pointed out that FCC did not play well in the regular season.
“I have to say, last month we weren’t our strongest,” Noonan said. “Maybe it was because of what was on the line and the start of the playoffs, but they battled it out knowing the challenges ahead of them,” and I thought I managed the game pretty well. We found some moments of quality in the form of Alvaro and just a selfless moment running together with Dom (Badji) to create Lucho’s chance that he always gives us. So an impressive moment that obviously gave you the second goal, that was important.”
After scoring the goal to take the lead and adding another goal to protect themselves from being drawn into penalties by RBNY, the main task in the second half was to absorb the pressure. FCC pulled off the victory without much fanfare, a skill it honed over the course of the regular season.
Cincinnati goaltender Roman Celentano had a strong night, making five saves to earn the first postseason shutout of his career.
Then, in the closing moments of the 90 minutes, Barreal netted again, scoring a volley that secured the win.
“Really, really happy with the game. Happy with the way we played as a team and of course with scoring two goals,” Barreal said through a team interpreter. “With both goals there was a moment when I struck, but was just happy to have scored two goals.”
Only Matt Miazga and Barreal received yellow cards from referee Rubiel Vazquez. A postseason suspension results from only three yellow cards until the conference semifinal round. The ticket totals are then reset for the conference finals.
FC Cincinnati is just 90 minutes away from advancing to the second round of the MLS Cup playoffs for the second year in a row.
“Well, we don’t deserve to go on (yet) because we only won one and you have to win two. “That was the approach for this first series,” Noonan said. “Yes, there have been a lot of conversations about the format, but everyone has to deal with the same format. “We can’t think about what we like or dislike about it. We’ve just got to go out there and play and if we do it as hard as we did tonight, then we’ll get to that part of the playoffs that looks familiar and then it’ll look a little different because that night You have to perform or your season is over. Hopefully we will be able to talk about a one-off elimination game, but we have to do our job to complete this best-of-three game.”
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Game One to FCC
FC Cincinnati will fight for the knockout next week at Red Bull Arena. The club has made progress in its last two knockout round games at the venue, including victory in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs last year and last summer’s US Open Cup game, which was decided by penalty kicks .
The final touch for the FCC (89th minute)
Alvaro Barreal scored his second goal of the evening with a great volley. That’s enough in this game. FC Cincinnati can eliminate the Red Bulls next weekend.
New York grabs or grabs?
RBNY began the second half with three substitutes on the field. Sean Nealis, Dru Yearwood and Omir Fernandez left the game. Dylan Nealis, Peter Stroud and Cameron Harper came in for them. A 2-0 deficit is hardly insurmountable, so these are likely reinforcements for a comeback push. But if the deficit worsens or RBNY starts running out of time, you could see them shutting down tonight and focusing on Game 2 on Saturday, since point totals won’t be taken into account in the new playoff format.
FC Cincinnati leads at the break
The half-time whistle was preceded by an exchange of blows between FC Cincinnati’s Dominique Badji and RBNY’s Sean Nealis. Given the playoff format and the fact that RBNY could declare the game a total loss and cut its proverbial bait, the FCC should expect more physicality and calls for reckless action. If the outcome is essentially decided, the outcome doesn’t matter. A one-sided win counts just as much as a narrow one.
A wild goal to make it 2-0 (35th minute)
Luciano Acosta fired a shot from about 40 meters into the goal, capping a series of events. RBNY goalkeeper Carlos Coronel was out of position after coming off the line and sliding inside to give FCC’s Dominique Badji the ball. Coronel’s attempted free throw didn’t really avert the danger as the ball fell to Acosta, who took a few touches and threw the ball into an empty net. The goal was Acosta’s second career playoff goal in Cincinnati.
First blood for FC Cincinnati (23′)
Alvaro Barreal made it 1-0 with a clever side-angle finish. It was the first postseason goal in MLS and the 18th of his FC Cincinnati career in all competitions.
First MLS Cup game at TQL Stadium begins (1′)
At 8:09 p.m., FC Cincinnati began its first playoff home game at TQL Stadium in light fog and heavy smoke from the pregame pyrotechnics. It is the first home playoff game for the organization in over five years (October 2018, USL Cup playoffs).
Starting lineups for FC Cincinnati and New York Red Bulls
FC Cincinnati starting eleven: Roman Celentano (TW), Yerson Mosquera, Matt Miazga, Ray Gaddis, Alvaro Barreal, Ian Murphy, Obinna Nwobodo, Luciano Acosta (captain), Junior Moreno, Dominique Badji, Brandon Vazquez.
Cincinnati bench: Alec Kann (TW), Yuya Kubo, Marco Angulo, Aaron Boupendza, Sergio Santos, Malik Pinto, Isaiah Foster, Bret Halsey, Gerardo Valenzuela.
The starting eleven of the New York Red Bulls: Carlos Coronel (TW), Andres Reyes, Kyle Duncan, Sean Nealis (captain), John Tolkin, Frankie Amaya, Dru Yearwood, Omir Fernandez, Elias Manoel, Tom Barlow, Luquinhas.
Red Bulls bench: Peter Stroud, Jorge Cabezas, Dylan Nealis, Cameron Harper, Ryan Meara, Wikelman Carmona, Serge Ngoma, Daniel Edelman.