Minnesota United FC 7-1 FC Cincinnati: Knocked on Their Heels, Then Their Asses

Moving on to Ulloa, I'm not sold...

When it comes to choosing between the defining moments of FC Cincinnati’s disastrous, season-worst performance in a season presently collecting them like a wildly indiscriminate philatelist, I have a wide selection from which to choose. Was it when Justin Hoyte slammed the ground in frustration after Emmanuel Ledesma’s “defending” on Cincinnati’s right let Minnesota United FC’s Chase Gasper run into a pasture with time to write a novel about what he would do next? Was it Frankie Amaya standing six feet away from…honestly, does it matter? Anyway, Amaya stood, calling/gesturing for the ball and with no apparent sense of what he’d do with it, he just wanted the ball. Or was it that one time when, with Minnesota ceding ground and FC Cincy plainly bereft of ideas and/or willingness to move, that (probably) Ledesma dished the ball sideways for Victor Ulloa to strike hopelessly toward goal from (at least) 25 yards out?

Describing everything that went wrong in this game would take as long as picking one card from a 52-card deck that someone fanned in front of you and discussing each card at length after flipping it over. Hell, even the one clear bright spot Cincinnati can claim from the afternoon – Ledesma’s goal – probably shouldn’t have gone in. The fact that the “Amaya Moment” described above happened immediately before that goal just underlines how unlikely that goal really was.

By my personal account, Cincinnati enjoyed a decent stretch of soccer, one that lasted from around the 30th minute of their home loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy through the first 20 minutes of this game. They passed the ball fairly well over that period and several players seemed to have some idea as to how to make things happen on the field. Hell, there was even a moment tonight when Rashawn Dally looked like he had some ideas. That was his last one, sadly, and Cincinnati ceded the game onepainfulfuck up at a time until it ended in a crushing [rubbing my eyes] 1-7 loss for FC Cincinnati.

There is literally nothing to analyze about this game (and yet...). Anything Minnesota did right must necessarily be measured against Cincinnati’s sheer, gutted awfulness. Cincy simply didn’t have players with the quality of, to name some examples, Ike Opara, Osvaldo Alonso, or Darwin Quintero. They might make up the first and last with the return of Kendall Waston and (bigger maybe) Roland Lamah, but nothing I’ve seen makes a plausible case that FC Cincy is the equal of Minnesota – a middling Western Conference team at best, btw – even with all present and accounted for. Worse, the game swallowed up Amaya, the one young player on Cincinnati’s roster with any kind of upside. Without dipping too deeply into naked, “what-about-the-children” panic, how will a season or two of effective helplessness shape the kid’s self-belief?

With the same rough thought in mind, I hereby encourage Cincinnati’s coaching staff to do everything in its power to sell the team on the idea that things will improve once the starters return, whether from injury or international duty. I’d remind Amaya (especially) that, 1) he’s still learning, and 2) that’s why he does better coordinating with Leonardo Bertone, and when he has Lamah to play to. In a situation where excuses are very much needed, run with better players make everyone around them better and hope to hell it sticks.

Before tapering off into a couple specifics, I want to highlight the most disturbing thing about this result and the inspiration for this post’s sub-title. Minnesota’s first, mildly fluky goal came very much against the run of play; up to that point, Cincinnati had generally controlled possession and sent traffic to where they wanted it to go. For all the work Dally had to do to create that shot for himself, Cincy had the better of minutes 3-18, no question. That straight-up evaporated after Minnesota scored its first goal. The smart movement and crisp passing that allowed the Orange and Blue to play even through that early period devolved into too many players returning passes played to them before any real pressure arrived, and too many players checking back for the ball instead of trying to stretch the field vertically, or even make space for another player to receive the ball. By the end of the game, most Cincinnati players would claim a spot on the field, then proceed to stare at the guy on the ball; no one moved to give him, or anyone else a fresh set of options. That was the whole ball-game, by my count: if just about every player on FC Cincinnati’s roster didn’t silently surrender after that first goal, the rest would give up by Minnesota’s (great) second and (pretty sloppy) third goal.

That was a live demonstration of reactive soccer: they stopped playing to win it, while also failing to commit to not giving up more goals. At one point in the second half, and with the rout (probably) five goals deep, I watched Cincinnati set up an eternally-melting line of defense that started at the top of Minnesota’s defensive third. The problem was, they didn’t engage them at that line of confrontation: Minnesota either dribbled or passed past one point, then another; Cincinnati kept dropping regardless. When I talk about not committing to stop giving up goals, that’s what I mean; so long as the proverbial “line in the grass” winds up on your own goal-line, pushing players to a line of engagement you have no intention of holding just gives your opponent more vertical space to pass through – exactly what Minnesota did on their many, many goals tonight.

People talk about a team needing an “identity” all the time. If you can land one – and, to give a familiar example, I think the Portland Timbers have – go for it. A team needs an “identity” during a game just as much. After the Loons’ first goal, most Cincinnati players just sort of meandered around the field and hung out. They took prescribed positions and passed the ball around until one of them found enough space for a hopeless cross, or to tee up a shot into traffic from range. It’s possible, maybe even probable, that Minnesota sorted out how Cincinnati attacks, and then proceeded to stuff one tackle/interception after another back down Cincy’s throat. This game was over the second Minnesota got hold of it; the score-line flattered FC Cincinnati.

To close with some stray thoughts…

- I am anxious to know what people think about Nick Hagglund, and I mean in sum. This will be a poll…

- I’m back to thinking Ledesma has a useful role in this team. As I’m reconstructing this team, I’m not quite building around Ledesma; it’s more like referencing him.

- Kekuta Manneh holds the ball too damn long and too often. Cincy used that release too often and, once they caught on to it, Minnesota knew where to swarm. A long diagonal to Manneh is a nice tool to have, but it can’t be the only one.

- There’s some guy who seems in anguish every time Cincinnati starts Eric Alexander, and I wish I could remember who he is, because I think (vaguely) of him every time Alexander starts. I get why Alexander gets the call – I’ve seen him play very effectively in a possession-based game – but that was four teams and more years ago. If he’s starting for your team today, you’re reaching for mid-table at best, not the stars…

- …and how many guys like that does Cincinnati have on its roster?

I’ve followed my share of mediocre teams in soccer, but I’ve never followed a team that would get relegated in most leagues around the world. This team is in a death spiral. They’re uncertain to the point of paralysis. They show flashes of competence working the ball around – as they did for most the game against LA, and for 15 minutes today against Minnesota – but, because FC Cincy can’t sustain them, they need to score on every possible opportunity. Then again, with Cincinnati bleeding goals every game (just 19 in their past five games!), does that even matter?

The deeper, harder question is whether or not you believe that getting back all the big guns will make this team competitive again. Their inter-play is improving, if only in places, and I think there’s something to build on. But I don’t see Allan Cruz, Bertone, Adi, Lamah and Mattocks leading this team to the post-season. I hope I’m wrong, but every indicator I can think of tells me I’m about to witness a truly terrible season.