CINCINNATI- Despite being without several regulars due to injury and international duty, it was business as usual for FC Cincinnati, topping Toronto FC 3-0 Wednesday night and securing the club's 13th win of the season on the back of the club's depth strength.
After a slow start which saw Toronto FC own the first 10 minutes of the match, FC Cincinnati (13-1-4, 43 points) weathered the storm and found their footing. For the 80 minutes that followed, it was all Orange and Blue, despite what the possession numbers may say.
"The expectation for today's match was to go compete," Head Coach Pat Noonan said postgame. "You knew there were going to be challenges based on relationships on the field with guys that hadn't been in these positions or working next to the guy alongside them. You can see it, especially in the first half...the ball movement, the comfort level was a little bit off. But that's to be expected."
Even with the missed connections, FCC looked like the dominant team in the first half, outshooting TFC 8-4 with a 5-1 advantage of shots on target, generating 1.3 xG to TFC's 0.4, and earned four corner kicks to their zero. Despite out possessing the hosts by nearly double in the first half, TFC certainly never felt in control, save for some brief moments of danger provided by Toronto's offensive core of Italian superstars Federico Bernardeschi and Lorenzo Insigne.
Cincinnati broke through in the 35th minute and found the critical/crucial connection, with Santiago Arias finishing on a corner kick to take the 1-0 lead, his first goal in MLS.
The goal resulted from a moment of chaos in the box. After winning the corner, Álvaro Barreal served the cross in and found the head of Alvas Powell, who, while initially thwarted by TFC keeper Greg Ranjitsingh, left a perfect rebound for Arias, who tapped in the finish.
"Guys just did their job," Noonan explained, "I know they've worked on specific things...to try to attack certain parts of the goal. Santi, you know, his responsibility on that back post was to clean something up if it found its way there, so guys just did their job.
“When you do your job, good things will happen."
That goal ultimately stood as the game-winner as FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano stopped all of Toronto's attacking opportunities and earned his ninth clean sheet of the season, tying him for most in MLS.
"I feel like we're not trying to overcomplicate things," Celentano said of his team's performance. "We don't overcomplicate things; everyone has their roles and responsibilities and their positions. Everyone sticks to the game plan and focuses on what they can and can't do. So as long as we all do our jobs, we have guys that can make something happen."
The second half saw more FCC dominance as the home side continued to use long-ball pressure to generate opportunities, adding two more goals in the final 45 from Luciano Acosta and Dominique Badji to secure the comfortable 3-0 victory.
Acosta doubled the lead in the 54th minute due to a giveaway from the TFC keeper. The pressure provided by Yuya Kubo forced an errant pass in the Toronto box from Ranjitsingh that landed on the foot of Marco Angulo, who made the simple centralizing pass to Acosta, who buried the shot from just beyond the penalty spot. The finish was Acosta’s fourth straight match with a goal, tying a club record.
Nine minutes later, Dominique Badji was able to capitalize off of a quick free kick restart and catch a perfectly weighted through ball from Acosta for a breakaway goal, increasing the lead to three.
"We had been trying things like that a couple of times earlier in the game but just couldn’t find that final pass," Badji said of the goal, "but once I saw Lucho get the ball and turn to face forward, I just knew to make a run, and it was an amazing ball. From there, I just did what I'm supposed to.
"One of my strengths is my speed, so whenever I can use it, I use it, and if they're going to have a high line, then I'll use my speed to get in behind. They gave us an opportunity to (get in behind) a couple of times but we couldn't connect, but on that one, we did."
Ready when called upon
The dominant result stands out as an impressive win in FCC's run of home success. With six regulars out of the starting lineup, FCC put forward an essentially rebuilt back line, with key offensive players also missing.
But today's performance didn't surprise anyone in the Cincinnati locker room.
"It's a microcosm of our season," attacker Badji said of the fluidity of starting 11, "People have had to step so many times and play a new role and play well, and [Wednesday] was an amazing opportunity for people to come in and show what they've got and make the most of their minutes with a few absences...and the guys did it, I think, to the best ability I've ever seen. So this is a testament to our team and how deep we are."
"No one missed a beat, honestly." Celentano added, "We've had a break, and different guys go to different places and have some injuries, but we have the guys on this team to step up in those moments."
Debuts abound
Three members of the Orange and Blue made their MLS debuts in the victory.
"We have an idea of what some of the substitutions might look like, depending on how the game played on either side of the ball. But no, you probably wouldn't expect the group that ended the game to be on the field tonight…but they were because of earned minutes...we felt like we could see the game out in a good way," Noonan said of his ability to debut three new players.
Bret Halsey (23), Gerardo Valenzuela (18), and Stiven Jimenez (15) all made their MLS debuts. Halsey, a short-term loanee from FC Cincinnati 2, became the first player signed to FCC 2 to appear with the first team. Jimenez, at just 15 years, 362 days, became the youngest player in FC Cincinnati history to appear in a regular season game for the club, and the fifth youngest to appear in MLS history.
The experienced stars also shared the popular choice to debut the youngsters. "I'm excited as a veteran player to see so many young guys get their first appearance," said Ray Gaddis, who started his 233rd game in MLS. "I know that's exciting. I remember my first time, and that was some time ago, but it was good that they were able to come in and step right up as well and perform tonight.
Historic streak
With the victory, FC Cincinnati tied the MLS record set by the San Jose Earthquakes in 2002 with 10 consecutive wins at home to open a season. The win also improves the club to 13-0-0 across all competitions at home, a MLS record to start the season.
