Haris Medunjanin’s 85th minute goal from the corner flag powered FC Cincinnati to their first away victory of the season as they defeated the New York Red Bulls, 1-0, at Red Bull Arena on Saturday night. The goal was Medunjanin’s first strike as an FCC player and the goal is now the latest game-winning goal recorded in FC Cincinnati’s MLS history.
While the two sides went into the locker room scoreless, FC Cincinnati (3-6-3, 12 pts.) nearly opened the scoring in the 41st minute when Jurgen Locadia sent a shot just wide of the goal.
The Orange and Blue had a second clear-cut chance in the 72nd minute when Yuya Kubo played a through ball to Brandon Vazquez in the penalty area. The forward’s left-footed shot required a kick save from New York Red Bulls (4-6-2, 14 pts.) goalkeeper David Jensen to keep the scoreline level.
Medunjanin secured all three points for the Orange and Blue in dramatic fashion when he scored from the corner flag in the 85th minute with an Olimpico goal.
FC Cincinnati will be back in action on Wednesday, Sept. 23, when they will play the Philadelphia Union at Nippert Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised on WSTR 64, carried on the radio on WDJO (99.5 FM, 107.9 FM and 1480 AM), streamed regionally on fccincinnati.com/stream, out of market on ESPN+, while an audio stream will be available at TuneIn (WDJO) and fccincinnati.com.
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 West End Stadium – which will open in Spring 2021 – is now available at westendstadium.com. Season ticket deposits are now being accepted for traditional reserved seating and the Bailey. For more information about 2021 season memberships, visit westendstadium.com or the stadium’s social properties on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at @WestEndStadium, or by calling the team’s sales and service staff at 513-977-5425.
FC Cincinnati 1, New York Red Bulls 0
Red Bull Arena | Harrison, N.J.
September 19, 2020
SCORING SUMMARY
CIN – Haris Medunjanin (unassisted) 85’
FC Cincinnati: Spencer Richey, Nick Hagglund (Maikel van der Werff 90’+1’), Kendall Waston ©, Tom Pettersson, Andrew Gutman, Joseph-Claude Gyau, Frankie Amaya, Haris Medunjanin, Yuya Kubo (Allan Cruz 78’), Jürgen Locadia, Brandon Vazquez (Caleb Stanko 90’+1’)
Bench: Bobby Edwards, Zico Bailey, Greg Garza
Stats: Shots 14, Shots on goal 4, Saves 2, Corner kicks 5, Offsides 2, Fouls 9, Possession 54.7%, Passes 482 (78.6%)
New York Red Bulls: David Jensen, Kyle Duncan, Sean Nealis, Jason Pendant, Tim Parker, Aaron Long, Kaku (Omir Fernandez 79’), Dru Yearwood (Florian Valot 64’), Cristian Casseres Jr., Daniel Royer ©, Brian White (Samuel Tetteh 79’)
Bench: Kendall McIntosh, Amro Tarek, Mandela Egbo, Jared Stroud, Ben Mines, Tom Barlow
Stats: Shots 10, Shots on goal 2, Saves 3, Corner kicks 3, Offsides 2, Fouls 13, Possession 45.3%, Passes 383 (70.2%)
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
RBNY – Aaron Long (caution) 8’
RBNY – Sean Nealis (caution) 29’
RBNY – Cristian Casseres Jr. (caution) 55’
CIN – Caleb Stanko (caution) 90’+2’
Referee: Robert Sibiga
Assistant Referees: Adam Garner, Ian McKay
4th Official: Guido Gonzales Jr.
VAR: Chris Penso
AVAR: Tom Supple
Weather: 60 degrees and clear
Attendance: N/A
GAME NOTES
- With tonight’s win, the Orange and Blue are now 3-6-3 through 12 MLS matches … FCC are now 1-5-0 in matches played in road venues … FC Cincinnati’s all-time, all-competition record against New York Red Bulls improves to 2-4-0 … The Orange and Blue are now 3-6-3 against Eastern Conference opponents this season
- Haris Medunjanin recorded his first goal as an FC Cincinnati player in tonight’s match … the midfielder has now scored at least one goal in each of his four MLS seasons
- Nick Hagglund made his first start of the 2020 MLS season … the defender has now made three total appearances this year … last season, Hagglund made 20 starts for the Orange and Blue in their inaugural MLS campaign
- Spencer Richey made his first start since March 7 at Atlanta … the goalkeeper was unavailable for selection while injured in five consecutive matches from July 22 through Aug. 29 … Richey returned to the matchday roster for the first time on Sept. 6 at Columbus
- Brandon Vazquez made his first start since March 1 at New York … the forward has made nine appearances, including two starts, scoring one goal and adding one assist on the season … the forward snapped FCC’s scoreless streak at 558 minutes when he scored at New York City FC on Sept 12
- Head coach Jaap Stam made four changes to the starting lineup from the club’s most recent match against New York City FC on Sept. 12 … Spencer Richey replaced Przemysław Tytoń, Nick Hagglund replaced Mathieu Deplagne, Frankie Amaya replaced Caleb Stanko, Brandon Vazquez replaced Siem de Jong
- Defender Mathieu Deplagne was unavailable for selection in tonight’s match against New York red Bulls due to yellow-card accumulation
- Przemysław Tytoń was unavailable for selection for tonight’s match in accordance with MLS health and safety protocols … earlier this week, the goalkeeper traveled to Poland for personal reasons and is now quarantined back in Cincinnati … he will be available for selection once he has cleared MLS health and safety protocols
- Saad Abdul-Salaam, Siem de Jong and Jimmy McLaughlin were excluded from the matchday roster because of injuries
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati head coach Jaap Stam
On tonight’s result
“Yeah, we’ve been close several times, but at the end of the day, after two losses, you want to get back and you want to get a result. You want to have a win. Everybody knows that away from home is difficult. When I talk to the team, I say that as well. You see today, we showed a lot of energy and also quality moving forward. We kept up a long time in the game. There are always certain spells where sometimes the opposition has the ball. They can press a little bit, or go forward, but not really dangerous. You always have to be careful. We went forward. We created a couple of very good opportunities. We could’ve scored more goals, but this one from Haris (Medunjanin) is a very important one. It gives us three points. I think the guys deserve it as well, because they have been working very hard for it. It’s credit to them that they have done it. Of course, we are very happy with that.”
On the team’s execution of the high press
“They did it very well. We spoke about it several times already, and doing that takes a little bit of courage as well. With the whole week now, we have put a lot of attention to it again. Sometimes you just have to go for it, with all the risks that are there, but they did it very well. Everybody was really into it as well. You can see that as well. The commitment was there in what you needed to bring. There was no fear in what we did. That’s very important, and you can see that it paid off. They’ve done it very well.”
On whether he felt the result was justified
“Yeah, because if you look overall at the game, we deserved to win, in how we played and creating opportunities. But also, we know in soccer that the better team, who creates opportunities to score, sometimes loses. It’s always the case when you play a very good side with players who have capabilities in creating opportunities for themselves. So, we needed to stay focused and that’s what we have done. The goal that Haris (Medunjanin) scored, we didn’t exactly train on that, but we know with his kick and how he can hit the ball. That’s what we have seen in Orlando against New York (Red Bulls). He’s got the ability to put that ball all by himself, instead of someone else touching it. That’s what he did. He aimed for the second post. It went in. A very important goal for us.”
FC Cincinnati defender Nick Hagglund
On tonight’s result
“Yeah, I thought it was a cohesive performance from minute one to minute 90. I think it could’ve been more than 1-0, but ultimately, I think it was just a reward of the team trusting each other. We did things a little bit differently, in terms of pressing. We trusted each other in that, and it takes bravery to do that. So, I was just very proud of the guys to trust one another and be confident in that. Hopefully, we continue to grow in that.”
On whether he felt the result was justified
“For sure. I felt we had two or three opportunities. Maybe Brandon’s (Vazquez) goal wasn’t offside, or close to being offside. You know, we had a couple of chances right at the door. It was a just result for sure, even if Haris (Medunjanin) isn’t going to hit an olimpico, but he has hit it twice against (New York) Red Bulls. So, maybe it is not a fluke?”
On the team’s feelings after the match
“I think it was just excitement. For us, this felt like a fresh week. We had a whole week to prepare for the game. I think we came in forgetting about the results and just focusing on this game and what we were going to do to win this game. I think every day in practice we brought out that intensity that you saw in the field today, and I think it showed. For us, it is about taking what we learned this week and preparing for the next game the same way, with the same intensity and continue the excitement and confidence we got this game towards the next games.”
FC Cincinnati midfielder Haris Medunjanin
On tonight’s result
“On the game, I'm very happy with the team performance because we came out flying. We had a plan today that we were going to press (New York) Red Bull all game. We're not going to let them breathe. You know, let them get comfortable, and I think we showed that like the whole game. I'm very happy with that. I think we should have already scored like three goals. I think we had a lot of chances. We created a lot of chances. Everybody was sharp. I think from the back Nick (Hagglund) did amazing job. He didn't play all year long, and he comes in and shows that he's a very important piece for this team and because his energy in the back is amazing. That's why we could push Kendall (Waston) and Tom (Pettersson) to press forward then and it was much easier for us in the midfield. I think (Jürgen) Locadia showed today his strength. He can hold the ball; it's just he needs to finish the chances. He was very sharp today. I think, okay finishing, but holding the play and creating chances and running. I was talking with him. In this league, you need to run. You need to fight if you want to succeed and I think he showed that today. He and Brandon (Vazquez) did very good up front. I think Brandon played an amazing game. He hasn’t played in a long time, 90 minutes, so to come in and show that he is an important piece for this team. Sometimes, the patience pays off. I'm very happy with the team today honestly.”
On his goal
“Yeah I was surprised it went in straight. It was like five minutes to go and we pushed everybody in front of the goalkeeper, like we did the first game against (New York) Red Bulls, and I was trying to shoot the ball as hard as I could to the goal. Sometimes you need to have a little bit of luck and it perfectly went in, but I am happy with the three points. Like I said before, it's about the team performance. I am a team player and it doesn't matter who scores. Okay, today it was me, but I want to play as good as I can to score today. I was happy that we showed that today by playing with our heart and 100 percent, 90 minutes. Not a lot of teams can break the pressure down in this league. Playing against the (New York) Red Bulls, they're a playoff team every year, it’s not easy. We'll have a couple of other games this year. We play good teams. I understand people want us to win, but it’s a new team, a new coach. It takes a little bit of time and hopefully, we can continue that in this stretch. One is down and Wednesday, Philly (Union) us waiting. Play at home and show the same energy. Anything can happen.”
On playing his former team on Wednesday
“I have only good words about Philly (Union). I had an amazing three years over there. Like I said before, the coach, Jim Curtin, amazing guy. Amazing coach. I have only high words for him and his staff. They gave me everything there to be the leader of the team, and last year we had an amazing season. The best season in the history of Philadelphia. It is nice to play against them. I am happy to see my friends also, like the striker Kacper Przybyłko, (Jamiro) Monteiro, (Alejandro) Bedoya, (Brenden) Aaronson, my son over there. It is nice to see them all. The emotion will be high in this game, because I want to win. I play for Cincinnati right now. It is nice in the beginning, you can say hi, but when the game starts, I don’t know them anymore. I want to win this game. Then after the game, we can talk when we take the three points.”
