If the night started like an exploding bottle of your favorite fizzy drink after being shaken for 56 minutes and then spontaneously opened, it ended like discovering the meal you meant to enjoy the drink with was still frozen and raw.
FC Cincinnati burst out of the gate in the 18th playing of the Hell is Real derby, the rivalry match between FCC and in-state rival Columbus Crew SC, scoring twice in the first five minutes of the match after a nearly hour-long weather delay halted the scheduled 7:30 p.m. kickoff. But by the end of the night The Orange and Blue were the ones walking off the field deflated as Columbus fought back, scoring twice in the six minutes before halftime then adding a third on an own goal in the second half, and a fourth in added time to seal the match’s fate.
So instead of the nearly hysteric celebrations of the opening minutes returning at the final whistle, FC Cincinnati exited the pitch on Saturday night searching for answers and shaking their heads.
“Disappointing ending to a really promising start to the game,” FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said to open his postgame press conference. “Disappointing certainly for the fans, and what this means to the club. I know the players are disappointed. We all are. So it's a tough, tough night.”
“We gotta own it and move on from it,” Noonan continued. “We let that one get away from us.”
Pavel Bucha opened the scoring for FC Cincinnati less than one minute into the match, and Evander followed that up four minutes later to really get things jumping in the stadium. The rain delay helped FC Cincinnati with the strong start according to Bucha, as the added energy in the building that a full crowd for warm-ups provided helped lift FCC early.
But Columbus struck back in the 42nd when Diego Rossi put a ball to the upper corner of the net to make things 2-1. The shot appeared to be deflected off a defender to add an extra challenge to the shot, but given the spot where Rossi took the shot it’s hard to tell how impactful or not that wrinkle was.
Six minutes later a shot from Max Arfsten pinged off of Brian Anunga and completely changed directions, leaving Roman Celentano moving one way to account for the shot's initial direction, but needing to go the other to stop the ricochet. So Celentano was stuck in no man’s land, helpless as the ball bounded to the back of the net and the scoreline was leveled.
The third for Columbus was a cross that Miles Robinson, in his first game back from the Gold Cup, reached out to try to block or clear but just couldn’t get enough of a boot to. His ever so slight touch was just enough to redirect the shot on to the post and over the line.
The fourth came as FC Cincinnati gambled and sent everything forward, so when Teenage Hadebe couldn’t step up to win a loose ball, Columbus broke the other way and were all alone on frame.
The scoreboard read 4-2 at full time. But really, all that mattered was it read Cincinnati “2”, Columbus “more than 2.”
“Overall, we started great. Great intensity and to be up 2-nil after 15 minutes is amazing. But, it's just unacceptable how we conceded two in the first half. I think if you don't do that, we pull out the win,” defender Miles Robinson said from the mixed zone after the match. “It's definitely tough. It wasn't our day. On a different day, maybe we win three-or-four to nothing. But the fact is, we didn't. So we have to take ownership of that.”
It wasn’t FC Cincinnati’s day, but it also wasn’t as if FC Cincinnati scored those two goals and then disappeared. In the first playing of the Hell is Real derby earlier this season, FCC was hemmed in their own end for the final third of the game, desperately working to defend a draw and escape with a point. This time around, while Columbus ultimately came out on top, the game was far more balanced and the balance of possession shifted back and forth into the night.
Robinson highlighting how on a different night they could have won “three-or-four nothing” isn’t conjecture or unbridled optimism, there were plenty of opportunities for that to be a reality. FCC played well in the early part of the match, after going up, once it was even again, and when they were down. They just couldn’t find the final punch they needed to get over the hump, and after the unfortunate defending put them behind the eightball, those shortcomings only became more explicit.
“The guys didn't stop playing, but I think we stopped executing a lot of ways,” Pat Noonan said, underlining the point in a concise way. “The opportunities were there. So I think we were unfortunate in a couple moments and didn't capitalize on some of ours.”
“There were still a lot of good things,” Noonan continued in his remarks to a follow up question. “Taking our foot off the gas would have meant we stopped playing. We could have scored two or three more goals after the two-nil lead. So I wouldn't say that taking our foot off the gas, and Columbus is also a very good team – they found their rhythm in the first half towards the end there. So I wouldn't say it was foot off the gas as much as missing opportunities.”
That said, the points and the scoreboard tell a less nuanced story. The three points aren’t handed out in a commensurate value based on deservingness. Columbus took all three points in a Hell is Real matchup after going down two in five minutes.
That stings and is going to sting. It’s one of those matches where only three points are technically up for grabs, but it feels like a lot more is on the line. So there is a thin line to walk in how you deal with this game and move forward. FC Cincinnati needs to learn from this, but not dwell on it. They need to identify the problems, but not beat themselves up. There are games on the horizon and things to win this year, nothing has changed from that perspective. If you don’t take something from it, learn and grow, and instead slump because of it, that’s when it will be a true waste.
“We need to turn it around, we have a big one on Wednesday, and I mean, if we're not motivated, now, I don't know what we are. We should be very motivated, and we should be coming out there on Wednesday wanting some revenge,” Lukas Engle said as to where the team needs to go next. “We’ve got no choice but to turn it around, because we got a big one again on Wednesday. But it's tough right now, as it should be.”
FC Cincinnati host Inter Miami CF in four days, setting up another clash of top teams in MLS with major stakes on the line as it pertains to the table and playoff implications. It will be on the team to come together, identify their problems, and get better going into that game…all on a very short turn around.
There is an opportunity to make things right, but to do that you have to move on from this defeat quickly. You have to move on from a very painful, extra disappointing loss very quickly. So perhaps, having a reason to move on quickly is a blessing, rather than a curse.
“(We need to) put the disappointment behind us. Like all games, we'll look at it and see where we let it get away from us, and how do we eliminate giving up leads or giving up momentum,” Pat Noonan explained in the closing of his press conference. “It's a strong group, so (we will) talk about it, and then we'll quickly move on and understand that we got an important game. Sometimes that can be a positive, where you get a chance to get out there immediately against a really strong opponent, and make things better.”
Making things better Wednesday won’t erase the disappointment of Saturday night. But it’s certainly a good place to start.
