Miles Robinson showed why FCC made such a big move to acquire him with his MVP-caliber play to lead FCC to a 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire.
The game quickly started in FCC's favor as the teams grabbed their chances to start the game. However, after a very early chance, both teams seemed to settle down a bit and were seeing the ball almost evenly.
Chicago definitely had some good moments in the middle and created some good chances on paper as multiple front runners looked open. But FCC's defense was all up to the task at this stage, and always seemed to be on the end of a pass, whether it was a hopeful pass or a more direct attack.
As for FCC's offense, the team did a good job of getting the ball into wide areas or near wide areas and using those openings to get the ball to aggressive runners. FCC also had some great chances thanks to their passes, but couldn't capitalize on any of them.
In the end, it was a missed pass from Chicago in the back that led to the first goal of the night. Aaron Bupenza picked up the pass and sent it cleanly from outside the box into the bottom corner for a 1-0 lead in the 39th minute.
A game that appeared to be dominated by FCC took a turn when Obinna Nwobodo appeared to step on Gutierrez's foot in the box after Albus Powell lost Brian Gutierrez. VAR ruled it was a foul on Nubodo, and Xherdan Shaqiri stepped forward to level the score at one apiece.
The second half started much like the first, with both FCC and Chicago scoring in front of the goal and it looked like they could give their teams the lead.
Chicago then took the case to the FCC. FCC struggled to break through Chicago's press, which allowed the home team to push further up the field and accelerate the offense even more. This game looked like Chicago had the best chance of winning the game.
Despite this, Chicago was unable to get anything of substance from that part of the game, and it fizzled out as soon as the game started.
Then the FCC took advantage again. FCC started looking at the ball again and it wasn't long before they scored their second goal of the night. FCC is usually terrible at corner kicks, but tonight was different. Almost everyone seemed to have found the body of the FCC. The situation came to light in the 68th minute when Robinson took a corner kick and the ball found the back of the net, giving FCC a 2-1 lead.
After this goal, FCC tried to score a third goal, but were unable to capitalize on the many chances they had. Chicago also continued to try to break through FCC's defense, but the undeniable experience of Matt Miazga and Robinson, and the youthful energy of Ian Murphy were a huge boost for FCC in the first few games.
Chicago's best chance of the night came late in the game, so the experience of Robinson and Miazga was the reason for FCC's victory. It looked like Chicago was going to score, but Robinson knew where he was in the box and blocked the last pass.
In this game, FCC showed they can do what they did many times last year and win close games.
match 2 – Chicago Fire vs. FC Cincinnati
Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
result: FC Cincinnati 2, Chicago Fire 1
box score
FC Cincinnati starting lineup:
Oman Celentano, Yuya Kubo, Ian Murphy, Matt Miazga, Miles Robinson, Albus Powell (Brett Halsey 64 minutes), Pavel Bucha, Obinna Nwobodo, Luciano Acosta (C), Corey Baird ( Gerardo Valenzuela 87 minutes), Aaron Bupenza (Sergio Santos) 80 minutes)
Substitutes not used: Evan Rulo, Malik Pinto, Archimedes Ordonez, Isaiah Foster, London Aged, Steven Jimenez
Chicago Fire Starting Eleven:
Chris Brady, Rafael Chicos, Mauricio Pineda, Alan Arrigoni, Fabian Habers (Giorgios Koushias 75 minutes), Gaston Jimenez, Kellyn Acosta (Federico Navarro 75 minutes), Maren Haile-Selassie, Brian Gutierrez, Xherdan Shaqiri (C) (Chris Muller 85'), Hugo Kuipers
Substitutes not used: Spencer Ritchie, Tom Barlow, Tobias Salquist, Wyatt Omsburg, Jonathan Dean, Chase Gaspar
Discipline:
Shin – Obinna Nwobodo 43'
blood – Kellyn Acosta 55 minutes
blood – Fabian Herbers 66'
Shin – Pavel Bucha 81'
blood – Brian Gutierrez 90'+4
next:
vs. CF Monterrey, Thursday, March 7, 7:00 p.m., TQL Stadium (Cincinnati, Ohio)
1 Comment
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