FC Cincinnati and Philadelphia Union battled to a 1-1 draw at Subaru Park on Saturday night. The hosts took the lead through captain Alejandro Bedoya after 17 minutes, but a diving header from Brandon Vazquez leveled the match in the 40th minute. The remaining 50 minutes were chock full of chances from both sides, but the match would end 1-1.
Vazquez scored his eighth goal of the season, tying Sebastian Driussi (ATX) for second in the league behind Jesús Ferreira (DAL) and Jeremy Ebobisse (SJ). Tyler Blackett earned the assist on Vazquez’ goal, his first since joining FC Cincinnati last summer.
The Orange and Blue will return home on Friday, June 24 for the first time in over a month to face Orlando City SC. Kickoff from TQL Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m. ET and the game can be watched on Star64, streamed in-market at fccincinnati.com, out of market on ESPN+ and listened to on the radio on ESPN 1530.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati at Philadelphia Union
Date: June 18, 2022
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: Subaru Park
Attendance:18,717
Kickoff: 7:38 p.m. ET
Weather: 67º, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-F
PHI: 1-0-1
CIN: 1-0-1
PHI – Alejandro Bedoya (Julian Carranza) 17’
CIN – Brandon Vazquez (Tyler Blackett) 39’
GAME NOTES
- Haris Medunjanin donned the captain’s armband for FC Cincinnati the first time since Nov. 8, 2020, in the season finale at Inter Miami CF. The former Philly Union man has captained the Orange and Blue seven times in his FCC career.
- Brandon Vazquez equalized with a goal in the 40th minute off a low header. That goal was Vazquez’ eighth of the season, tying Brenner’s 2021 record for most in a single season in club history.
- Speaking of that header, it was Vazquez’ fifth headed goal of the season, the most in MLS.
- Tyler Blackett assisted Vazquez’ equalizer, his first assist of the season and of his FCC career
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Nick Hagglund, Geoff Cameron (Ian Murphy 74’) , Tyler Blackett, John Nelson, Ray Gaddis, Obinna Nwobodo, Haris Medunjanin (Allan Cruz 86’), Álvaro Barreal (Luciano Acosta 77’), Brandon Vazquez, Brenner (Dominique Badji 77’)
Substitutes not used: Kenneth Vermeer, Zico Bailey, Nick Markanich, Harrison Robledo, Alvas Powell
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
PHI: Andre Blake, Nathan Harriel, Jakob Glesnes, Jack Elliot, Kai Wagner, José Martínez, Alejandro Bedoya (C), Leon Flech (Matt Real 85’), Dániel Gazdag, Julián Carranza (Christopher Donovan 85’), Mikael Uhre (Cory Burke 63’)
Substitutes not used: Matthew Freese, Joe Bendik, Jesús Bueno, Stuart Findlay, Olivier Mbaizo, Cole Turner
Head Coach: Jim Curtin
STATS SUMMARY: PHI/CIN
Shots: 13 / 17
Shots on Goal: 5 / 5
Saves: 4 / 4
Corner Kicks: 3 / 8
Fouls: 10 / 12
Offside: 3 / 2
Possession: 45% / 55%
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Obinna Nwobodo (Yellow Card) 55’
CIN – Haris Medunjanin (Yellow Card) 57’
CIN – Nick Hagglund (Yellow Card) 62’
PHI – Cory Burke (Yellow Card) 64’
CIN – John Nelson (Yellow Card) 68’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Tim Ford
Ast. Referees: Jeremy Kieso, Jeffrey Swartzel
Fourth Official: Jeremy Scheer
VAR: Sorin Stoica
AVAR: Ian McKay
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan
On the result
“I thought it was a good point for us. I was really pleased with the first 45 minutes, despite going down a goal where we could have done a little bit better to end that play to prevent the goal. We found a good rhythm after conceding. I thought it was important to level the score before half with how we were playing. Second half there were still some good things. I think our final third play was a little bit off in the decision making and how we were able to get into the box. I thought a lot of it was wide service where we could have been a little bit more patient. But to see the game out, 1-1 I think is fair. They did have a couple of good chances with guys back there towards the end where we could do a better job of marking in the box. But I'm pleased with the group coming out of the break and how they performed.”
On the performance and the way it played out
“Based on what led up prior to those chances, I think there were some moments where we could have maybe found the next goal, our second goal and taken a lead. But certainly, late in the game, how do you figure out on the road, how to defend the box, where we're not conceding looks like that, because those are could have very easily been converted. They do a good job of getting numbers forward and getting their strikers running at your back line, getting in front of goal. So, you have to be very aware of those late runs and balls that are either knock downs or balls that are cut back. And those are a couple of moments where we could have done better.”
On Alejandro Bedoya’s Goal
“I’ve got to look back, we can end the play earlier. I know Tyler was looking to shield him, shield the attacker. I didn’t have a good look and I haven't seen a replay to be honest. So maybe just clearing it and seeing if we can just live to fight another day. But once the play does go on, how do we prevent Ale [Bedoya] from coming inside like that where he does a good job of using the defenders as a shield to find the back post. He hits it well, there's nothing more we can do. But we can certainly be better at closing that space, so he can't get that shot off.”
On getting results against good clubs, and if he feels good about where the club is
“I do. We've had enough of a sample size with this group to believe that we can get results in these games, regardless of how we're playing. I thought that was one of our better performances through probably 60 minutes. But they believe that they can get the result or it wouldn't have happened, because we were down a goal on the road against a good team. But we found a way to get back into it. And you come into halftime with some thoughts about what you can continue to do to be successful and some of the areas of concern. I think the group, regardless of who we're playing against, certainly believes that we're capable of getting results. Do we understand the difficulty of it? Of course, but we've done it enough now against good teams to understand that this can be a constant.”
On the return to Subaru Park
“It was neat. It was neat to just be back in the in the building. It was a little bit different walking in, but it was it was nice to see some familiar faces. People that I have a lot of respect for and good relationships with throughout the club. So that part was nice. It was nice to be standing on the other side from Jim and watching our teams compete. I think both would say that it was overall an enjoyable experience. The result, I think, certainly helps them that, but I enjoyed watching our guys play today, I thought they were very good.”
On the style of play and possession
“Well, I wish I could say that the lead up to this game was us looking like that for several weeks. But I do think the longer break allowed us to prepare for our opponent in a way where we could work on things, over and over to try to find ideas of how we could have success. But the one area leading up to the break where we were struggling with was our quality with the ball, our spacing, how we were able to play through pressure, and then how we were able to attack after breaking pressure. And I thought our first 45 was probably as good as we've seen from this group this year, against a team that knows how to pressure the ball. And so I was very pleased with that. But I think it was just the spacing, it was the ways in which we found switches of play, whether it was through the middle, whether it was around, I thought that was going to be important in us being able to play higher up the field. But then it was also the ways in which we could play centrally from those wide channels to be able to put them under pressure and not rely on just wide service over and over. So, credit to the players for having the composure to move the ball in certain ways to allow us to play in their half of the field.”
On Brandon Vazquez’ goal and the kick he took to the face
“Very brave, like you said. He came out of it okay. No issues there. I thought that was probably his strongest game overall. He faded a little bit there at the end, but he still somehow does a good job of creating that chance at the end which I think Elliott gets a block on. But I thought his hold up play, I thought his ability to turn and allow us to move forward [was very good]. We talked a lot about that during the break. It's important, against a team that presses well, against a team that will play forward quickly and cause problems. It's important for our attackers to secure the ball and allow us to move our move our lines, and he did a very good job of that, for the most part, throughout the game, and so, very pleased with his performance.”
FC Cincinnati's 2022 schedule can be viewed, HERE. Fans can build their custom 3 Match Flex Plan today. Pick any three matches and save on single match ticket pricing with no fees at checkout. Fans can pick the same seats for three games or select different options around TQL Stadium.
Single match tickets to any of FC Cincinnati’s remaining home games are also available now, head to fccincinnati.com/tickets or call 513-977-KICK, that’s 513-977-5425, to learn more.
FC Cincinnati are playing their fourth season of MLS competition in 2022, and their second playing at TQL Stadium. 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.
