Match Recap

FC Cincinnati fall at first place New England Revolution

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FC Cincinnati fell to the New England Revolution, 4-1, Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.

The Revolution improved to 15-3-4 for the season and extended the team’s MLS-best point total to 49 points this season. FC Cincinnati dropped to 3-8-8 (17 points).

Tajon Buchanan opened scoring for the Revolution in the 7th minute. New England’s Emmanuel Boateng and Adam Buska added goals in the 21st and 33rd minutes, respectively, to give the hosts a 3-0 halftime lead. 

Brenner netted his fifth goal of the season in the 54th on a give-and-go pass from Luciano Acosta to put FC Cincinnati on the board. His right-footed shot inside the 18-yard box beat New England and U.S. Men’s National Team goalkeeper Matt Turner, and cut into the deficit, 3-1.

Adam Buska scored seven minutes later to complete a brace and give the match its final scoreline, 4-1.

FCC outshot New England, 13-12, and the two sides were level in shots on goal at four.

FC Cincinnati return to action Friday, August 27 to take on the Orange and Blue’s in-state rival, the Columbus Crew. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and will be nationally broadcasted on ESPN as part of MLS Heineken Rivalry Week.

For up-to-the-minute information about FC Cincinnati, visit the team’s official website at fccincinnati.com, or follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FCCincinnati. Additionally, fans are encouraged to download the team’s official mobile app on the Apple App Store or Google Play for instant access to mobile tickets, team content and match notifications.

Information about seating options at the club’s state-of-the-art TQL Stadium is now available at TQLstadium.com. For more information about 2021 Season Ticket Memberships, which are now on sale to the general public, visit TQLstadium.com or the stadium’s social properties on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at @TQLStadium, or by calling the team’s sales and service staff at 513-977-5425.

**New England Revolution 4, FC Cincinnati 1
Gillette Stadium | Foxborough, Massachusetts
August 21, 2021

SCORING SUMMARY
**NE – Tajon Buchanan (unassisted) 7’
NE – Emmanuel Boateng (Tajon Buchanan, Adam Buska) 21’
NE – Adam Buska (Emmanuel Boateng) 33’
CIN – Brenner (Luciano Acosta) 54’
NE – Adam Buska (Gustavo Bou) 61’

FC Cincinnati: Przemysław Tytoń, Nick Hagglund, Gustavo Vallecilla (Caleb Stanko 46’), Geoff Cameron (Kamohelo Mokotjo 81’), Ronald Matarrita, Haris Medunjanin, Yuya Kubo, Álvaro Barreal (Chris Duvall 77’), Luciano Acosta (c) (Isaac Atanga 70’), Florian Valot, Brenner (Brandon Vázquez 70’)

Bench: Kenneth Vermeer, Edgar Castillo, Avionne Flanagan, Arquimides Ordonez

Stats: Shots 13, Shots on Goal 4, Saves 2, Corners 3, Offside 1, Fouls 8, Possession 50.2%, Passes 471 (85.8%)

New England Revolution: Matt Turner, Henry Kessler, Andrew Farrell, DeJuan Jones, Christian Mafla, Thomas McNamara (Wilfrid Kaptoum 74’), Scott Caldwell (Maciel 62’), Emmanuel Boateng (Damian Rivera 63’), Tajon Buchanan (Teal Bunbury 74’), Gustavo Bou, Adam Buksa (Justin Rennicks 89’)

Bench: Brad Knighton, A.J. DeLaGarza, Earl Edwards, Collin Verfurth

Stats: Shots 12, Shots on Goal 4, Saves 3, Corners 3, Offside 3, Fouls 12, Possession 49.8%, Passes 462 (85.3%)

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
NE – Thomas McNamara (caution) 68’
NE – Tajon Buchanan (caution) 73’
NE – Andrew Farrell (caution) 86’

Referee: Fotis Bazakos

Ast. Referees: Eric Weisbrod, Gjovalin Bori

Fourth official: Luis Arroyo

VAR: Carol Anne Chenard

AVAR: Ian McKay

Weather: 73 degrees and clear

Attendance: 18,268

GAME NOTES

  • FC Cincinnati suffered a loss for the first time in nearly a month (July 24 at Nashville SC) … New England leads the all-time series, 3-1-0.
  • Luciano Acosta is tied with Emmanuel Ledesma for the most assists in a season in club history … Acosta’s next assist for the club will also make him the career assist leader for the Orange and Blue.
  • Florian Valot made his first career start for FC Cincinnati … it was his second start of the season (4/25/21 with RBNY at LA) and the 34th of his MLS career.
  • Chris Duvall made his FC Cincinnati debut … it was his first appearance since starting for Portland in their season finale last season (November 8) at LAFC.
  • No FC Cincinnati players were disciplined and booked for the first time since the 2-1 win over CF Montréal on May 22.

POSTGAME QUOTES

FC Cincinnati Head Coach Jaap Stam

Opening statement on the match

“It’s difficult to win a game when you give away the game in the first half. I think in the first half in what we tried to do, there was a lot of space to play, they gave us a lot of space but what do you do with it? You need to use it, you need to be clinical in your passing as well. If you give them balls away, in transition, they become very dangerous and we’ve seen that in a couple of situations when they scored goals. We gave away too much space, they utilized it very well but that’s why they are top of the league. We needed to do a lot better.”

On the outlook moving forward 

“A lot of times we’re very close to getting a win, but sometimes we can’t because we can’t pull the trigger at times. Today, we’re losing against a team that is number one, a team that is beating all the teams in the MLS, so in a way you can say that it is not a shame, but we expected more today and that is frustrating from all of us. We made it too easy for the opposition today and that is the thing that we need to look at ourselves to be honest … There’s still a lot of games to be played, we always look at it from game to game.”

FC Cincinnati Midfielder Luciano Acosta
Translated from Spanish

Opening statement on the match

“We went up against a really good team today. I thought that there were some good things from the game but at the end of the day we’re going to come away from this one upset and angry at the result.”

On the FC Cincinnati goal

“Obviously the goal gives you a lot of confidence. We felt that it changed the game, we felt that we had the momentum and ability to get it to 3-2 and go from there. Unfortunately, an error and lapse in concentration made it 4-1 and from there it is really difficult to come back. It’s unfortunate.”

FC Cincinnati Defender Chris Duvall

On his debut with FC Cincinnati 
“It was good to get back on the field. Of course, I wish it was in better circumstances, but this is the moment I’ve been working for eight months and this is why we stay fit, to see if I can come in in a moment like this and bring something a little extra to the team.”

On the outlook for FC Cincinnati
“That’s the beauty of MLS. There’s 15 games left and everyone has the same resources to work with. FC Cincinnati’s got some of the best facilities, some great players, great staff. We have every opportunity to make a run. In the years that I’ve been in MLS, I remember a few years back Seattle was dead last at the All-Star Break, came back and won MLS Cup. There is nothing that is out of our reach. We have the players, we have the ability, we just have to start putting together a streak of games.”