FC Cincinnati fell to Inter Miami CF, 1-0, Saturday night in front of 22,234 fans at TQL Stadium.
Brek Shea’s 90th minute winner, Miami’s first shot on goal all night, was the difference in the closing seconds of the match. Shea also netted the first goal in the stadium’s history on May 16 in the stadium-opener.
FC Cincinnati continue a three-match homestand next Saturday at TQL Stadium to host Toronto FC. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised on WSTR 64, carried on the radio on The Project – 100.7/106.3FM, streamed regionally on fccincinnati.com/stream, out of market on ESPN+, while an audio stream will be available via the iHeartRadio app.
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 2022 Season Ticket Deposits and Renewals, which are coming soon, 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.
Inter Miami CF 1, FC Cincinnati 0
TQL Stadium | Cincinnati, Ohio
September 4, 2021
SCORING SUMMARY
*_MCF – Brek Shea (Nicolás Figal) 90’
FC Cincinnati: *Kenneth Vermeer, Nick Hagglund, Geoff Cameron, Gustavo Vallecilla, Allan Cruz (Florian Valot 84’), Yuya Kubo, Haris Medunjanin (Kamohelo Mokotjo 84’), Luciano Acosta (c), Alvaro Barreal, Isaac Atanga (Calvin Harris 76), Brenner (Brandon Vázquez 76)
Bench: *Przemysław Tytoń, Zico Bailey, Avionne Flanagan, Arquimides Ordonez
Stats: *Shots 10, Shots on Goal 2, Saves 0, Corners 4, Offside 2, Fouls 11, Possession 49.3%, Passes 508 (85.8%)
Inter Miami CF: Nick Marsman, Nicolás Figal, Christian Makoun, Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, Kelvin Leerdam (Robbie Robinson 60’), Blaise Matuidi, Gregore (c), Lewis Morgan, Brek Shea, Indiana Vassilev, Gonzalo Higuaín (Julián Carranza 90+4’)
Bench: *Federico Higuaín, Victor Ulloa, Jay Chapman, John McCarthy, Sami Guediri, Edison Azcona
Stats: *Shots 10, Shots on Goal 1, Saves 2, Corners 5, Offside 1, Fouls 9, Possession 50.7%, Passes 519 (85.0%)
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
*MCF – Brek Shea (caution) 18’
MCF – Gregore (caution) 62’
MCF – Nicolás Figal (caution) 69’
MCF – Blaise Matuidi (caution) 73’
Referee: Lukasz Szpala
Ast. Referees: Adam Garner, Andrew Bigelow
Fourth official: Chris Penso
VAR: Edvin Jurisevic
AVAR: Cory Richardson
Weather: 74 degrees and rain
Attendance: 22,234
GAME NOTES
- Miami’s game-winning goal is the latest winning goal given up by the Orange and Blue (previously – 87’ at CFMontréal, Ahmed Hamdi).
- Calvin Harris returned from injury to make his first appearance since May 16, also vs. Inter Miami CF when he started but left at halftime.
- Allan Cruz made his 50th career appearance in MLS and for FC Cincinnati, which is the second-most appearances for the Orange and Blue behind Nick Hagglund, who made his 51st appearance Saturday.
- Luciano Acosta reached 11,000 career minutes for his MLS career, needing 12 entering the night.
- Five of the nine home matches for FCC have gone into halftime scoreless.
- FC Cincinnati have not had a player receive a yellow card in 271 minutes of game action, not since Luciano Acosta’s 89’ caution against CF Montréal on August 18.
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati Head Coach Jaap Stam
Opening statement on the loss
“There's always sometimes that you can make a choice with other players. In how we played, that was already from the start of the week basically well known in what we tried to do, so you play like a 3-3-4 up top.”
“So you play the three center backs then you get [Isaac] Atanga as a right-winger in possession then you play with Alvaro [Barreal] high as well, and then Lucho [Acosta] and Brenner up top as well. Then one of the midfield players even at times joining him, so that makes it five up top. So we worked on that, and it worked out very well. You can see that Isaac was a very big threat in the first half; he cramped in the second half, that's why we played Calvin [Harris]. He's got the pace as well to do the same thing that Isaac can do.”
On the outlook of the team moving forward
“We cannot bring more players in; because there is nothing to give out. So that's the ongoing discussion for us. That's why we are looking for free agent player as well and the guys that came in, they are working very hard. they are showing what they can do. They've got quality as well, but you guys know best the situation how it was. So there's no need for me basically to go further into it.”
FC Cincinnati defender Nick Hagglund
On the loss
“I mean it’s a frustrating game obviously we lose it in extra time. I thought we had control of the game, I thought we could’ve done a little better with our chances on the offensive third, but I thought that we were pressing them. We made turnovers and then the final pass with the final shot was we just didn’t execute on that so overall, it’s unfortunate that you play 90 minutes and you feel like you do well and then the last 2 minutes that happens. If you don’t execute, if you don’t do the right things at the right time, that’s just what will happen.”
On the team’s locker room mindset
“No the message isn’t changing. I think it’s just about executing. I think we have the bones to do the right things, I feel like we’ve been in games where maybe the games tied 0-0 and we should’ve scored or should’ve won. You know the number of games that we drop points or if were up a man or whatever. This is MLS, this is a league of parody, anything can happen. I think of the 2016 Seattle Sounders that won maybe two games halfway through the season and then rattled off 10 at the end. Why can’t we be one of those teams? I think we just need to get that momentum; I really feel that once we score the flood gates are going to open for us. I think it’s just a confidence thing, I think its sticking together through these hard times. If we don’t stick together, it’s going to be tough and we have to look each other in the face and own what we’re doing.”
FC Cincinnati captain Luciano Acosta
Translated from Spanish
On the loss
“Obviously, very frustrated. Frustrated with how the game ended, but we have another final next Saturday. The next game is next Saturday and that's what we're focused on. When you're where we are in the table and you know you have to get better results, that's how you have to approach every match, that it's a cup final, because we know that if we are going to do what we want to do, we need to get those results and that's the mentality of our team.”
On the team’s mindset
“I believe in this group. I believe in this team. They're a great group of guys. It's a great team and we're just going to attack this moment that we're in. It's obviously a bad moment but we're going to attack this moment that we're in together and move forward together.”
