FOXBOUROGH - It is April 5th; FC Cincinnati have defeated the New England Revolution 1-0. The team did not play their best but saw marked improvement and have confidence moving forward.
It is June 14th; FC Cincinnati have defeated the New England Revolution 1-0. The team did not play their best but saw marked improvement and have confidence moving forward.
Two bookends of a stretch that could not be any different for either team. Since that April 5th match, the New England Revolution were undefeated. After being winless in MLS matches prior to their trip to TQL Stadium, the Revs found a breakthrough in the aftermath of that loss and went 5-0-4 — firmly placing them in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
FC Cincinnati on the other hand went into this match feeling maybe the lowest they have felt going into a regular season game. After a winless week that concluded 14-days ago with a frustrating 2-1 loss at home, FC Cincinnati entered this game needing to set the record straight.
“Since I’ve been at this club, those kinds of results, that kind of feeling, hasn’t happened to us,” FC Cincinnati defender and captain Matt Miazga said from the locker room postgame, establishing a tenor to what this game meant to them.
“We needed to fix that and set things straight, for ourselves,” the defender continued.
So there were two clubs at a crossroads, one looking to set the record straight, another looking to close the loop on a strong run by getting back at the last team they lost to.
It is April 5th, FC Cincinnati have defeated the New England Revolution 1-0. It is June 14th, The team have defeated the New England Revolution 1-0.
On a collision course, where prior to kickoff it wasn’t clear who was the stoppable object or movable force, it was ultimately FC Cincinnati who earned the victory and closed the loop.
With a Kévin Denkey goal in the 25th minute and strong box defending throughout, FC Cincinnati earned their 10th win of the season. Shutting out the New England Revolution to sweep the season series.
“A good win for the group, obviously, after recent results,” FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said opening his post match press conference from Gillette Stadium. “After the break, the guys came back in a really good way and I think our preparation leading up to the game showed in a lot of ways.”
“Despite not being better with the ball tonight, we defended in a really good way against a strong team — one of the best attacking players in our league with [Carles] Gil and had to defend a lot of crosses. And I thought did that in an excellent way.”
With a two week break between matches to accommodate the FIFA International Window, FC Cincinnati players and coaches alike said they needed to reset and come back to the second half of the season with a fresh mind.
Which makes for a complicated conundrum, given the circumstances.
FCC entered that break (and remain there after this result) second in both the Eastern Conference and Supporters’ Shield table. But, in their opinion, the performances had not been up to par and needed reflection.
Noonan, but also DeAndre Yedlin and Miazga, highlighted they felt they needed to work on their basics. The things that make them great. Things like defensive structure and defending the box. The hallmarks of their team that helped them get to the top of the table, but had been absent in the three matches leading into the international window resulting in three winless results.
So, while Saturday night in Foxborough, Mass. was not perfect and still needed work per the Head Coach, FC Cincinnati walked away feeling like progress had been made and opportunity for continued improvement was on the horizon.
“Keeping a clean sheet on the road is difficult, so I'm really pleased for the guys,” Noonan added in the press conference, launching into an analysis of his squad. “Defensively I think our structure was pretty good for the majority of the game. But there are still moments where I think, as we were stepping to the ball, how we were able to deal with their midfield trio and get one of our center backs releasing in behind Obi (Nwobodo) or Pavel (Bucha), I think we got a few of those moments wrong. That's something that stood out.”
“But how we were able to defend deeper and closer to our goal? I thought was solid. We defended crosses very well tonight, and that was a focus leading up to the game, and a takeaway from the three games prior. So that part was improvement.”
On the offensive side of the ball there were several opportunities for more than just the one goal they scored, but one was all they needed. Striker Kévin Denkey earned the match winner for The Orange and Blue just over halfway through the first half by slipping into the near post to receive the give-and-go pass he had just played with Luca Orellano. The Argentine defender, who started as a left wingback in this match, chased a heavy touch pass down from Denkey and pinged a perfectly timed pass to the near post for Denkey to direct in for his 11th goal of the MLS campaign.
The goal was only possible through the build it underwent two passes prior to Orellano’s assist.
Breaking out of their own box after one of many successful defenses Saturday night, Pavel Bucha controlled the ball and fed an outlet pass to former New England Revolution player (well, former a lot of team’s player) Kei Kamama. Kamara, making his first FC Cincinnati start, not only controlled the pass, but fended off two Revs defenders while progressing up the field.
It is this moment, where the veteran striker is holding up the play and maintaining control, that allows Denkey to catch up to the play and then make his run on to goal. The Sierra Leone national finds his Togolese teammate with a pass and the rest is history. Kamara (unjustly almost) doesn’t find his name on the score sheet, but neither does FC Cincinnati if not for his contribution.
“That was the starting point of us being able to rotate the ball and then get Luca running and Kévin going to goal,” Pat Noonan said, praising his new veteran forward for the play. “Kei did a good job to allow that play to happen… back to goal, how he's able to work his way off the line and use his physical presence to maintain possession and get his midfielders and his wing backs involved. Kei put in a good shift.”
With nearly two decades of experience in Major League Soccer, Kamara brings an additional savvy to his game that along with his physical skills he can find spaces to be effective in his own way. Noonan added in his post-game remarks that one place he wished they had done more to utilize Kamara Saturday night was on set pieces, but that’s something we’ve seen FCC do effectively even in small doses this season.
For a player like Kévin Denkey though, who brings not only supreme athletic ability but skill to his game, having a player like Kamara to play off of was an exciting, effective tandem that both players enjoyed.
“Of course, it's always good to have someone dangerous also with me so I don't have all the focus on me. Is very good to have this kind of player,” Denkey said of playing with Kamara. “Sometimes I can hide and do some stuff. Today was really good and it’s nice to have someone like him with me.”
The lone goal was the biggest moment of the night, but it was hardly the lone opportunity for the FCC offense. Orellano, who had an excellent shot ring off the inside of the post and out in an unfair bit of luck, played perhaps his strongest match of the season in his assist providing effort. Denkey also had two opportunities go just wide of the net after winning a difficult ball in the box. Pavel Bucha and Evander also had strong opportunities blocked or deflected away.
These chances were, for the most part, scattered through the first 70 minutes of the match. In the final 20 minutes (plus three minutes of change), the match flipped, and it was all New England. Down a goal and looking to get a point at home, Revolution manager Caleb Porter shifted from a back five defensive structures, to a back four, sending an additional man forward and putting all the pressure on FCC.
It was ultimately a bend don’t break scenario, and FCC barely stretched, let alone broke. With the Revs playing balls direct, and crossing at every opportunity, the FCC back line cleared out the skies like Air Traffic Controllers and forced all the New England shots to come from distance. While some made it to frame, all were easily handled by Roman Celentano (who earned his sixth clean sheet of the season) as the keeper either absorbed the shot or picked it out of the air harmlessly time and time again.
“The coaching staff emphasize in training that New England likes to cross the ball. So we did have to do a lot of drills on protecting the ball, picking the box and getting our focus and our mentality right with marking,” Miazga explained after the match. “I think we did a good job today. I think the most important thing when you're in the box is communication. I know when everybody gets a man you sometimes can’t pick up the space, but you know the space isn’t going to score, it's the man that's going to score. So I think we did a good job of communication. Even the guys that came in in a tough game like that did a really good job.”
In the final moments, after a free kick from New England sailed over the crossbar, FCC had a chance to increase the lead that was eventually foiled but fate was sealed. Burning all remaining time on the clock with the counter they had formed, full time was called, and FCC had won.
Where FC Cincinnati go next is clear in terms of opponent and fixture date, but with all of Major League Soccer taking this week off for the FIFA Club World Cup…just one week after taking last week off for the FIFA International Window…Pat Noonan and his crew will look to carry this momentum into the week and continue to build in this extended opportunity for training ground time.
FCC doesn’t play for another 10 days, they kickoff next in Le Belle Province when they take on CF Montréal at Stade Saputo, the next 10 days will be as valuable to them as the last 10 days, and will be handled as such.
“Same way we did after the three games in a week,” Noonan said when asked how they’ll approach this next stretch. “We'll look at some of the things that we focused on in training and probably revisit that and look at this game and see some things that we can take away from it that were strong, which a lot of things were.”
