FC Cincinnati earned the first MLS point in club history Sunday night when the Orange and Blue tied Atlanta United FC, the reigning MLS Cup champions, 1-1, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Here are three takeaways from the result:
Party crashers
In truth, Sunday night was about Atlanta. In two years, the club has transformed into the biggest in MLS with massive crowds, expensive talent and high-reaching ambition.
Before the match, ATLUTD celebrated the MLS Cup with a banner raising. Fans cheered. Five minutes into the match, 2018 MLS MVP Josef Martínez put the home side in front.
But something changed.
When FC Cincinnati conceded against Seattle Sounders FC last Saturday night, the goals kept coming. FCC lost 4-1. That could’ve happened again.
Instead, however, Cincinnati played calm through difficult spells of the match and eventually spoiled the championship celebrations in the 86th minute when Roland Lamah equalized via Kenny Saief’s perfectly-weighted through ball.
Earning a first point is a big milestone. That it came on the biggest stage reiterates the amount of growth FC Cincinnati achieved between last Saturday’s pummeling and Sunday’s draw.
“During the course of this game, I was thinking we were showing major growth,” Head Coach Alan Koch said. “And we might’ve shown major growth tonight without getting anything from the game.
“We believe in the group. We know it’s going to take time, but that growth was unfolding in front of our eyes as the game was going on and on and on. I think getting the point is huge for the players’ confidence.”
Timely substitutions
“On the road and playing in a place like this and conceding early, some teams will collapse,” Koch said.
That happened to an extent last Saturday night in Seattle. After conceding, Sounders FC piled on goals and FCC struggled to build anything after Leo Bertone’s opener.
Sunday was different.
Cincinnati didn’t collapse. Rather, immediately following the goal and then throughout the remainder of the match, it held Atlanta — a team that’s scored 70 goals in the last two seasons — quiet in front of goal.
As a result, the visitors kept the game close. Koch’s three substitutions provided the eventual spark that resulted in the draw.
Darren Mattocks added speed and high pressure against the Atlanta backline when out of possession. Greg Garza’s sprints up the left sideline stretched the field and allowed Matheiu Deplagne to return to his natural right side. Kenny Saief added creativity, as seen with his assist to Lamah.
There was no collapse from the Orange and Blue. If anything, Atlanta looked increasingly vulnerable and agitated. When the final whistle chirped, their fans booed their club and their coach Frank de Boer in his first home match there.
“Give credit to the guys tonight,” Koch said. “They didn’t collapse at all. We just stayed calm and managed the process of staying in the game, did what good teams do on the road and grabbed a goal right at the end of the game.”
Building blocks
Koch was right about the growth. Point or not, Cincinnati almost looked like a different team than the side that showed up in Seattle and allowed four goals.
The backline communicated and kept its shape. The midfield was strong in a 4-2-3-1 to start the game. When Koch opted for a 4-4-2, nothing changed defensively.
There are still attacking issues. Fanendo Adi scored a header from a Deplagne cross in the 55th minute, but the goal was adjudged to be offside. It was the correct call and highlighted the match’s biggest problem: FCC was called offside eight times.
That shouldn’t be happening, but it's a reality with everyone still getting used to playing together and trying to build chemistry. Once or twice is reasonable, but Adi’s disallowed goal showed how punishing it can be.
If the rest of the team can continue supplying players in the attacking third, the forwards and attacking players will need to reciprocate the productivity.
Credit to Lamah for burying the one chance he got and for FC Cincinnati for reminding Atlanta — and MLS — the potential the expansion side is still discovering about themselves.
