September 22, 2024 – Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Cincinnati News Release
NASHVILLE – There was little buzz in the FC Cincinnati locker room after Saturday night’s 2-2 draw with Nashville SC. Typically, after an away game, players shower, change, pack, and catch a bus to the airport to get back to Ohio as quickly as possible.
That kind of frenzied energy was noticeably lacking.
The staff still stormed through the tunnels at Geodis Park like Tasmanian devils, and the players still moved with the will to get home quickly, but something was missing.
Some players sat in their lockers, quickly reviewing the night’s game footage on iPads. Others gathered to talk about the game without using any visual aids. By and large, the mood was not one of being overly embarrassed by a loss or a performance. But this was a team that was deeply frustrated by the outcome. This was a team that believed it could have or should have gotten more out of the game. It just won.
“I thought it was a really strong performance,” Pat Noonan said at the start of his post-match press conference. “Some players overcame fatigue and created some good chances and controlled the ball well. And we were tested because we had to play directly and play against some really good hold-up players and players who moved the ball around when they lost it.
“I was really happy with how we managed a lot of the moments, but I think the players were disappointed that they didn’t win the game, so that’s a good thing. And I think we finished the week in a good way.”
Here’s the thing. Given all the circumstances against them tonight — playing three games in eight days, moving to Central Time twice in three days, and dealing with late-summer heat in terms of fitness and recovery to field a healthy lineup — there was still a chance they’d get all three points on the road.
“It was a good week for the team,” FC Cincinnati captain Luciano Acosta said from his locker. “We had a draw with Columbus, a win on the road against Minnesota a couple days ago, and a draw on the road tonight, so it’s been a tough week. So it was a good week and an important week for the team. We’re going to try to take the positives and take the negatives away. We’re going to continue to try to get better and keep going.”
Even if you ignore the drama of the game that was abuzz on social media, FC Cincinnati dominated at Geordie Park and dominated most of the game.
If FC Cincinnati fans wanted to see a quality performance from this team that showed they were playing their best football, they got it. If all you wanted was three points, you went home disappointed. If you were looking for both, like many, you left as dismayed as the players. Because a performance like Saturday night gets you three points.
But that’s not the case this Saturday night.
“We’ve talked about consistency in our performance. This has been the most consistent we’ve been in a while,” Noonan elaborated in a news conference. “In a challenging week, both on the pitch and in terms of the quick turnaround. We had six players who played in three games. So to play through fatigue and see some of the things we’ve done, I think it’s impressive.
“I think the guys feel really good about where we are and know that this is what we need to do to either maintain the seed that we have or get into the playoffs knowing that we’re in good shape.”
The FC Cincinnati manager’s praise is not just for the sake of praise, he has no problem sharing honest and sincere feedback about his team, which is in keeping with what should be a great night of winning. But just minutes before the final whistle, some of the FC Cincinnati players on the pitch let out a pent-up emotion that showed how much they wanted this game. Yuya Kubo turned his heel and clapped his hands in a single, determined gesture to show his displeasure at the end of regulation time. Chidojie Awajiem squatted down and slammed his open palms into the Nashville turf. Luciano Acosta roared in frustration and Roman Celentano hit the steel goal posts, causing them to rattle.
Again, it’s not a voice of complete anguish, but a voice of missed opportunity.
FC Cincinnati fought back twice to secure a draw against Nashville SC in this game. The first was Acosta’s first equalizer since July 13, a beautiful shot into the corner of the net. The second was another in a string of incredible set-piece goals from Luca Orellano, a first-year MLS player this season.
There were some defensive issues that Noonan highlighted as problems they would create (mainly man-marking in the box) but the response was excellent. But the response after the game’s most controversial moment may best show just how tightly the group is tied together now.
Nico Gioachini appeared to have levelled the score in the 38th minute. He picked up a second ball in the box after Yamil Assad had initially tried to get possession. The American, on loan from Italy, took a control touch, lined up a shot and fired a perfect effort into the far post.
Joachim celebrated and communicated with his teammates, before the linesman ruled the play was offside.
At first, it was completely unclear why the play was called off. Many are still shocked by the decision. Later, in the full report, it was revealed that Yamil Assad was fouled, who was originally onside on the play but was ruled offside after Joachim touched him and “interfered” with the defender’s play. But at that moment, there was no clarity or understandable reason why Joachim had the first goal ruled out.
Pat Noonan was left frustrated after the game, expressing disappointment at the way the linesman made decisions from a distance rather than the VAR doing its job and making use of the multiple cameras deployed.
But once the call was made, there was no room for excuses. Perhaps the court of public opinion, or even video evidence, would have proved the FCC right. And the players had no idea that the first half ended with the goal disallowed, but the Internet was abuzz with spectators in Cincinnati, Nashville, and across the country, shocked by the decision.
But unfortunately the goal was gone and never came back. It was essentially a split point. It was a game that split in two, like a road split. In one direction, FCC would tie the game in the first half and go for the game-winning goal throughout the second half, or we would get the game.
We’ll never know what would have happened, but we do know that FC Cincinnati responded nonetheless and took a point on the road.
But the biggest piece of the puzzle, and the single most compelling data point for optimism going forward, is that Luciano Acosta looks a lot more like the Luciano Acosta of old.
“Just looking at this entire week, I think his first two games, he was rusty on the ball,” Noonan said of the captain and MVP candidate. “Defensively, he was outstanding both games, leading the line. When he’s on the ball, he helps us put pressure on the ball and make it hard to break through. And today, we saw improvement on the ball, and he definitely scored a goal.”
“We had a good conversation after the Minnesota game about being on the ball, and he’s his toughest critic,” Noonan continued. “He knows when he’s not performing at his best because the bar is high. So the challenge was to push himself today and in the third game of the week and manage that and help us create, but also help us be as strong defensively as we’ve been the last two games. And I thought he did that.”
“It definitely felt good to be back on the scoresheet and feeling good with the ball,” Acosta added of his performance. “I hadn’t played that much for over a month or been a reserve player. It was a tough month not getting out there. Luckily things are getting better… It’s really, really important to score goals again and play more.”
FC Cincinnati got a result on the road but wanted more. For most teams in the league, a draw is a perfectly acceptable result. But FCC has higher aspirations and expects not only performance but also the results that go with it. If one is achieved without the other, disappointment follows.
The bright side of all this is that Pat Noonan feels his team is headed in the right direction despite the turmoil of the 2024 season. And that’s a win in my book.
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