 |
| This with a couple turds scattered on the floor. |
About the Game
Due to the way my day shook out (Mickey 17 was pretty good, fwiw), I watched the first half live but wouldn’t see how the game ended until last night. I did, however, know the final score before wrapping up; as such, I spent the final 15 minutes wondering how the hell Atlanta United FC tied FC Cincinnati at 2-2 by the final whistle. Can’t say I cared for the reveal, but, to start at the beginning…
Not much to report from that first half besides a lot of running, kicking, and a couple of yellow cards (who knew Yuya Kubo could tackle like that?). Both teams had players missing – Miguel Almiron (mainly) for Atlanta, versus about 90% of the regular starting center backs, plus Kevin Denkey for Cincinnati (thus answering the question of who had more arms tied behind their backs) – and that created more unfinished thoughts than chances on goal through most of the first half. Atlanta found more chances over the opening 45, and probably the best one, but Cincy forced more saves out of Brad Guzan (e.g., Nick Hagglund's header that got his arms flapping). Most of Atlanta’s pressure came with overlapping runs into their right channel, but Cincinnati’s back 3-5 cobbled together a defensive line and held it together well enough, cleaning up whatever Lucas Engel let through, with a likely assist from the 45 minutes Pat Noonan got out of Hagglund. If forced to name the big moment of the first half, I’d go Tristan Muyumba getting stretchered off around the 40th minute after doing an unnatural thing to his ankle. And yet, Cincy tinkered and toiled until they finally got a hold of the game a little before Muyumba's departure - Pavel Bucha gets my man of that moment for all the times he held the ball and kept them moving forward – and they carried that momentum into the second half. It didn't save them from giving up the first goal, sadly. Thanks to some collective switching off and a stolen thrown-in, Atlanta opened the scoring in the middle of all that with a run up (again) their right and a smart finish by Emanuel Latte Lath. The shock of falling behind appeared to hit Evander, in particular, personally, so he took over the game as only he can: tempting defenders into fouls in dangerous places and orchestrating runs up Atlanta’s gut, respectively. Cincy’s equalizer came from a 70th-minute free kick earned and scored by Evander (and assisted by a deflection), while their go-ahead goal came as a bow at the end of a waltz in the space between Atlanta’s midfield and defense. And, for the next 15 minutes, the Brazilian’s clever shot against the grain looked to have settled affairs between the two teams…but then Atlanta got to pillaging up their right again and Alvas Powell couldn’t stretch far enough to keep out yet another cross from Saba Lobjanidze. One own goal, two points lost. C’est la vie and at least Cincy scored three...
 |
| Saba Lobjanidze off the pitch. |
Cincy handled them well enough, maybe even better than I expected, and that makes for good framing. Atlanta has real talent – e.g., Lath looks like a good finisher and defends to boot, Miranchuk has a big bag of tricks, even if he keeps pulling out the wrong one (not so on that looper to Roman Celentano's crossbar), Brooks Lennon gives them a strong right-side option, and Lobjanidze the Relentless can terrorize either side from the flanks – but the overall system needs tightening. The shots/shots-on-goal numbers that Atlanta posted at Cincy are consistent with their average for (most of) the season and that, paired with a general…going with softness looks likely to leave them short of achiever status until such time as they can sort out that softness. Atlanta fans may or may not bristle at that theory, but the results speak for themselves to some extent.
Bottom line: File this one under a draw that feels like a loss, and cross-tabbing it as a blown opportunity for cheap points. I’m encouraged at the way Cincinnati kept their eyes on the prize after Atlanta scored, while fretting a little over how much they relied on magic tricks from Evander to seize it. I spent the last year and a half watching that movie. It’s not so bad, but you never really feel entirely comfortable at the end of every game.
Talking Points
1) Evander Moves In
If last weekend’s loss at Charlotte fully introduced Evander to his new team, yesterday’s game saw him charming your parents and getting them to agree to co-sign on that new starter home. When Evander is good, he is very good. He routinely loses 30-40 minutes of a game figuring out where to find his spot, but he can carry a team when he does. There may be no better soloist in MLS right now, but, suffice to say, the Evander Experience comes with vivid upsides and subtler drawbacks and days will come when that individual brilliance transmutes into an Achilles heel. Speaking for myself, I'll never feel entirely confident about Cincinnati's attack until they get someone, or something, else going. Still, some manner of heroics will be needed, because…
 |
| Also, can Miazga chill out a bit? |
Gilberto Flores will be back next week, both Miles Robinson and Teenage Habede should be back any day (right?), and Matt Miazga’s return shouldn’t be that far off, but yesterday’s defensive problems should be treated as a blip. The gang will all be there, at some point, which makes the defense less a problem to solve than one to wait out. The stand-ins deserve credit for stepping up well enough, except in one area: playing the ball out of the back. The passing and movement across the back line looked nervier and balls into midfield less crisp and assured yesterday and I suspect that slowed things down a bit over the opening 30-40 and time wasted may very well have become time lost in this one. At any rate, and regardless of who comes back when, this isn’t Cincinnati’s regular defense and, with respect to the stand-ins, that’s almost certainly for the best.
3) Captain, My Captain
The cut and trim of the sleeves on FC Cincinnati’s uniforms makes it look like everyone is the captain of the team, but I think the honor fell to DeAndre Yedlin yesterday. If it didn’t, it should have and, in my mind, Yedlin should be the captain for this team until such time as he proves unfit. Just has the right presence and temperament for the calling.
4) Losing a Wild Card
At this point, I’d prefer to see other players start over him, but Kubo will and should have some role to play in every FC Cincinnati game. His versatility and work-rate alone recommend as much. Having a player who can credibly fill in at two-thirds of field positions gives Noonan a wild card to play when making subs, a low-key force multiplier when he needs to change the game – e.g., he can drop Kubo back to a wing/fullback and sub in Corey Baird without giving away much on the attacking or defending side of it. Even though Kubo hasn’t had strongest start to 2025, seeing him pull up on a non-contact injury at the 81st minute felt like another jinx in a season that has already seen too many.
A better result was out there, even if Cincinnati didn't get it this time. Sadly, that makes next weekend away to Nashville SC loom a little larger in the imagination. I’ll post a scouting report on them later this week. Till then…
No comments:
Post a Comment