FRISCO, Texas – FC Cincinnati fell to FC Dallas, 3-1, at Toyota Stadium on Saturday night. Emmanuel Ledesma tallied the Orange and Blue’s lone goal of the evening from the penalty spot in the second half. With the result, FC Cincinnati are officially eliminated from playoff contention
FC Cincinnati (5-20-3, 18 pts.) conceded the first three goals of the match as FC Dallas (12-10-7, 43 pts.) improved to third place in the Western Conference pending the night’s league results. Ryan Hollingshead opened the scoring for the home side in the 12th minute to give FC Dallas a 1-0 advantage at the half. Shortly after the break, Michael Barrios and Zdenek Ondrasek scored within a four-minute span to extend the lead.
Ledesma recorded his fifth goal of the campaign – his second via a penalty kick – in the 64th minute.
Greg Garza returned to the FC Cincinnati starting lineup for the first time since he exited the match at Orlando City SC on May 19 with a calf injury. Additionally, Fatai Alashe made his first appearance for the Orange and Blue since he suffered a hamstring injury against the LA Galaxy on June 22.
FC Cincinnati return to the pitch on Saturday, Sept. 7, when they host Toronto FC. First kick is set for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be televised live on WSTR 64, streamed on FloFC (in-region) and ESPN+ (out-of-region), carried on the radio on WDJO with an audio stream on TuneIn (WDJO) and fccincinnati.com. Individual-game tickets and group options are on sale for all remaining FC Cincinnati games at fccincinnati.com/tickets or by calling 513-977-5425 (KICK).
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.
FC Dallas 3, FC Cincinnati 1
Toyota Stadium | Frisco, Texas
August 31, 2019
SCORING SUMMARY
DAL – Ryan Hollingshead (Zdenek Ondrasek) 12’
DAL – Michael Barrios (Bryan Acosta) 49’
DAL – Zdenek Ondrasek (unassisted) 52’
CIN – Emmanuel Ledesma (penalty) 64’
FC Cincinnati: Przemysław Tytoń, Justin Hoyte, Kendall Waston ©, Maikel van der Werff, Greg Garza (Andrew Gutman 60’), Victor Ulloa (Fatai Alashe 65’), Leonardo Bertone, Roland Lamah (Rashawn Dally 77’), Emmanuel Ledesma, Kekuta Manneh
Bench: Jimmy Hague, Nick Hagglund, Derrick Etienne Jr., Tommy McCabe
Stats: Shots 7, Shots on goal 2, Saves 5, Corner kicks 0, Offsides 1, Fouls 13, Possession 37.1%, Passes 329 (78.1%)
FC Dallas: Jesse Gonzalez, Reggie Cannon (Bressan 90’), Ryan Hollingshead, Matt Hedges, Reto Ziegler ©, Jesús Ferreira (Paxton Pomykal 67’), Bryan Acosta, Brandon Servania, Michael Barrios, Dominique Badji, Zdenek Ondrasek (Ricardo Pepi 87’)
Bench: Jimmy Maurer, Christian Colman, Edwin Cerillo, Bryan Reynolds
Stats: Shots 17, Shots on goal 8, Saves 1, Corner kicks 9, Offsides 1, Fouls 15, Possession 62.9%, Passes 549 (88.3%)
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
DAL – Matt Hedges (caution) 37’
DAL – Dominique Badji (caution) 60’
DAL – Reggie Cannon (caution) 62’
CIN – Andrew Gutman (caution) 65’
CIN – Emmanuel Ledesma (caution) 73’
CIN – Kekuta Manneh (ejection) 75’
DAL – Bryan Acosta (caution) 85’
Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr.
Assistant Referees: Frank Anderson, Logan Brown
4th Official: Kevin Broadley
VAR: Kevin Stott
Weather: 84 degrees and sunny
Attendance: 15,811
HOW IT HAPPENED
- 9’ | Emmanuel Ledesma hit the post after some interplay just outside the area. His curled shot from 20 yards kicked off the far post after beating FCD goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez
- 10’ | Leo Bertone created a turnover in the attacking third and laid a pass off to Ledesma. Ledesma sent the ball over to Roland Lamah, whose shot went just wide of the far post.
- 12’ | DAL GOAL – Ryan Hollingshead received the ball and dribbled centrally where. Maikel van der Werff broke up the play. Jesús Ferreira recovered and laid it out Zdenek Ondrasek, who set up Hollingshead to place his shot past an outstretched Przemysław Tytoń for the game’s first goal.
- 28’ | Bryan Acosta played a long through ball to Michael Barrios, who cut inside and hooked a curling shot to the far post that was stopped by an out-stretched Tyton.
- 41’ | Ledesma played a lofted ball to the left edge of the six-yard box, where Lamah was able to head the ball on frame, but Gonzalez parried the chance away.
- 49’ | DAL GOAL – Acosta split a pair of defenders and played a through ball to Barrios atop the 18-yard box. He took one touch and slotted his shot beyond an outstretched Tyton and inside the far post
- 52’ | DAL GOAL – Barrios crossed a long ball to the far post, connecting with Ondrasek. Tyton blocked Ondrasek’s initial header, but the FCD forward tapped in the rebound into an open net to extend the lead for the home team
- 64’ | CIN GOAL – Kekuta Manneh threaded a ball to Lamah inside the penalty box, but was tripped by Reggie Cannon, awarding FC Cincinnati a penalty. Ledesma’s left-footed attempt beat Gonzalez inside the right post to put the Orange and Blue on the board
- 75’ | CIN RED CARD – Following a video review for an off-the-ball incident, Manneh was sent off with a straight red card
- 79’ | Barrios played a ball to Ondrasek inside the 18-yard box. Ondrasek ripped a shot on goal with his first touch, but Tyton parried the ball over the crossbar to deny Ondrasek his second of the night
GAME NOTES
- With tonight’s loss, the Orange and Blue move to 5-20-3 through 28 MLS matches … in addition, FC Cincinnati fall to 2-11-2 in away contests … FC Cincinnati’s all-time, all-competition record against FC Cincinnati sits at 0-1-0 … Cincinnati is now 2-9-1 against Western Conference opponents
- With tonight’s result, FC Cincinnati are officially eliminated from MLS Cup Playoff contention
- Emmanuel Ledesma scored his fifth goal of the season in tonight’s match … the midfielder’s five goals are tied with Allan Cruz for the team’s lead … additionally, the goal was Ledesma’s second tally via the penalty spot
- Kekuta Manneh received FC Cincinnati’s first red card of the 2019 season in the 75th minute … Manneh will be unavailable for selection in FCC’s match against Toronto FC on Sept. 7.
- Greg Garza made his return to the field for the first time since May 19 against Orlando City SC, when he suffered a calf injury and was substituted off in the 10th minute … he has now made eight appearances, including six starts, this season
- Midfielders Victor Ulloa and Roland Lamah both started against their former MLS club … Ulloa signed his first professional contract with FC Dallas in 2010 after playing in the club’s academy … the midfielder made 143 MLS regular-season appearances, including 114 starts, with Dallas … Lamah signed with Dallas prior to the start of the 2017 MLS season after playing the entirety of his professional career in Europe … in two seasons with Dallas, Lamah scored 19 goals and added nine assists in 61 regular-season appearances
- Fatai Alashe returned to the field for the first time since June 22 against the LA Galaxy when he suffered a hamstring injury early in the second half … tonight, Alashe replaced Ulloa in the 64th minute for his first action since the LA game
- Justin Hoyte made his first start since Aug. 3, against Vancouver Whitecaps FC
- Ron Jans made five changes to the starting lineup from the match against FC Dallas on Aug. 25… Greg Garza, Justin Hoyte, Leonardo Bertone, Emmanuel Ledesma and Kekuta Manneh replaced Andrew Gutman, Mathieu Deplagne, Caleb Stanko, Derrick Etienne Jr., and Darren Mattocks
- Fanendo Adi (calf), Frankie Amaya (groin), Mathieu Deplagne (calf) and Spencer Richey (back) were unavailable for selection because of injury
- Tonight’s game marked the final game before four FCC players depart for international duty next weekend: Allan Cruz (Costa Rica), Derrick Etienne Jr. (Haiti), Alvas Powell (Jamaica) and Kendall Waston (Costa Rica) … all four will be unavailable next Saturday against Toronto FC.
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati Head Coach Ron Jans
On tonight’s match
“The game is never 90 minutes the same. I think the first chances were ours … But, the first shot on target from Dallas was a goal. After that, we had problems, they could’ve scored a second one. I think the last 10 minutes before halftime, we were in the game. Normally, it’s the phase in the game where we concede a lot of goals, but we didn’t today. We tried to stay in the game in the second half, but in five minutes, it was over. Not to blame personal players, but it’s also individual mistakes. We lose the ball in transition (on the second and third goal) and then it was over. But, we didn’t give up and that’s what I liked. We scored a goal and I thought maybe the situation just before the red card was an opportunity, but we didn’t make the right choice and then the red card killed the game for us. But, we stick together and we try again and again until the season is over. That’s for next week.”
On if there were particular performances that he liked
“Yeah, I think in the last 10-15 minutes of the first half, in the buildup, we found a lot of times the extra man. But, when you find him, you have to make the right choice to score goals. But, I think we created chances in the first half. Maybe not at the start of the second half. It’s not about creating chances, but it’s about finishing. That’s what I said, we’ve conceded a lot of goals in the whole season. It can not only be bad luck, it’s also sometimes attackers are better in some situations … the goal from Barrios was an example that we lose the ball out of position, then one pass in there and it’s one-versus-one against the goalkeeper. We realized and I realized I wasn’t coming to America to be champion of MLS this season, but doing a good job. On the short term, it’s not easy, but we and I will never give up.”
On if he was pleased in the effort of the players who were brought into the starting lineup
“I was very happy with Greg Garza coming back into the game. We knew that he couldn’t play for 90 minutes, but this is a good restart for him, I think. It was I think May that he played his last game. (Fatai) Alashe came in, his first minutes (since June.) We want to give minutes to young, promising players. Dally came in and I think McCabe will get his minutes in the next games, too. I think some did well and other players like Hoyte, they’ve played before so that’s not a big issue.”
On what he wants to see in the next six matches
“It’s never give up. With ten men, I saw them fighting. Next week, we will try again. We know it’s not about the table anymore, it’s about ourselves. It’s about showing ourselves and we keep on doing that.”
FC Cincinnati Defender Greg Garza
On returning to the pitch
“It’s been an excruciating three-and-a-half months being out of the field. Definitely not the result I wanted to come back to. But, it felt good to actually touch the ball in a game again and just be involved again, that’s for sure.”
On if it’s been difficult to not be involved while rehabbing from injury
“It has. It’s been a frustrating season to even be out, and just looking at everything and looking at the whole perspective of everything, but that’s football. Sometimes you can’t control things. At the end of the day, we use our bodies as much as we can. As much as I wanted to be out there, it was tough being on the outside, that’s for sure.”
On what he wants to get out of the next six months
“I think to end the season as healthy as I can to prepare myself for next season. We always have to think positive. Playoffs are obviously not in the picture anymore, but I think to get a good base of guys that we can count on for the next season and build from there.”
On being able to play in front of his family in his hometown
“It was good. I think that was maybe the second time my grandma and aunt (have seen me play.) My parents have seen me many times. But, (to play) in my home city where I grew up the first 12 years of my life is a beautiful thing.”
FC Cincinnati Midfielder Emmanuel Ledesma
On whether his goal will help build confidence moving forward
“I think so, yeah. We created a lot of chances today. Unlucky, because we are shooting and hitting the post and then their first shot was a goal. But nothing. We keep working, we living, and we keep improving.”
On whether the team is trying to catch a break in the next six matches
“We have to. We have to, because we need to get the confidence back and then get the spirit of the team back. So, today was another example that we have to do a little bit more to get the result. So, nothing. We keep working during the week and we prepare for the next game.”
On the importance of confidence
“Confidence is everything in football, but I think in life. So, when your confidence is high, your mind is clear, you can do whatever you want. The first thing we need to get is confidence, and then after we keep working hard.”
FC Cincinnati Midfielder Victor Ulloa
On being back home in Dallas
“It felt good to be back in Dallas after so long and spending so many good times here. I have great memories. I know most of the guys on the other side. It was good to matchup. Disappointed about the result, but happy to come back home.”
On the difficulty of giving up early goals in second half
“I think the early goals we conceded in the second half kills us, kills our momentum, kills our energy and motivation. It’s tough coming back from behind. We put ourselves in that hole, in the situation. We have to be better than that.”
On the positives of the night
“I think it is difficult as a player to not think about the result. We want to win every game and we want to get a positive result. We came down here thinking we get to spoil some chances for them to get into the playoffs. We work day to day and we try to get the best out of the game. We always want to get a result. We always want to play well individually, and now coming to these last six games, we want to end on a high note. So, we are going to go back to work this week and prepare for Toronto.”
