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| Junior Moreno, artist's rendering. |
Here I’ve been posting twitter threads that double as game summaries since the pandemic started (at least) and I never thought to just link to the fucking things. In fairness, that’s more color commentary than summary - and the notes come at what I consider appropriate intervals (i.e., I’m very much a one-dude-in-the-broadcast-booth man) - but it flags every goal, notes some broader trends and even mentions the shirtless dude in the crowd with the great state of Ohio tattooed on the skin above his beating heart.
Now, to flesh that out a little…or a lot.
FC Cincinnati started the game as well as Inter Miami CF started it badly. They stopped everything headed toward their goal before it breached their defensive third - if with a massive assist from a globally sloppy Miami team - and piled on pressure with sharp passes and a selection of first touches and shake-‘n’-shimmies that kept the ball rolling toward Miami’s goal. Whether on coach’s orders or from a bout of the jitters, the visitors let Cincy play, only really trying to pressure the ball when it rolled into their defensive third. With the home team more or less camped inside Miami’s half, that proved disastrous: Cincinnati generally only had to go as far back as the impressively effective Yuya Kubo (who added a wrinkle with a shot on goal!) and Cincy’s new stealth-fighter No. 6, Junior Moreno, who would then feed it either to Luciano Acosta, one of the forwards (Brandon Vazquez or Dominique Badji), or Alvas Powell high on the right, or Ronald Matarrita high on the left.
Given how mightily Miami struggles to score - they’ve scored just two goals over four(!?) games, with one coming from the spot (today) - Cincy effectively won the game over the first 25 minutes. Their first goal featured a lot some of the good, good things I noted above - e.g., Badji showing to receive the ball, but instead turning and letting the ball run toward goal, poking it to Acosta, who found a wide-open (this is a theme) Vazquez running up Cincy’s right. With the fullback playing to contain, Vazquez pulled up, stepped inside and scanned for the third pass, who happened to be Matarrita, who passed home the goal from the far post. Miami’s shape was a disaster, both d-mids had stepped to Badji, leaving Acosta free to run with space in front of him and Vazquez all alone.
Cincy’s second goal followed the other half of the script noted above. After making a pinned-in Miami chase around the right for a couple passes, the ball went back to Kubo, who cycled the ball to Tyler Blackett (yeah, yeah, the ball went further back), who found - again, a wide-open Matarrita, who was able to pick out Vazquez as cleanly as the latter had done for the former just six minutes earlier. In short, a low-scoring Inter Miami found themselves down 0-2 by letting too much happen around them. They showed too much respect to one of MLS’s historically bad sides.
The game ultimately ended 3-1, of course, and there was clearly some “the plot sickens” between Cincy’s two opening goals and the final whistle. It started with Matarrita lunging into Miami’s DeAndre Yedlin just as he broke into the box. Everyone agreed it was a penalty, even Matarrita, and Gonzalo Higuain tucked home Miami’s lone goal on the ensuing penalty kick. Things became a little unstuck after that dumb moment, but Cincy managed to regain its shape and get their feet back under till the end of the first half. The second half was a different story, and arguably a worse one.
Now, to flesh that out a little…or a lot.
FC Cincinnati started the game as well as Inter Miami CF started it badly. They stopped everything headed toward their goal before it breached their defensive third - if with a massive assist from a globally sloppy Miami team - and piled on pressure with sharp passes and a selection of first touches and shake-‘n’-shimmies that kept the ball rolling toward Miami’s goal. Whether on coach’s orders or from a bout of the jitters, the visitors let Cincy play, only really trying to pressure the ball when it rolled into their defensive third. With the home team more or less camped inside Miami’s half, that proved disastrous: Cincinnati generally only had to go as far back as the impressively effective Yuya Kubo (who added a wrinkle with a shot on goal!) and Cincy’s new stealth-fighter No. 6, Junior Moreno, who would then feed it either to Luciano Acosta, one of the forwards (Brandon Vazquez or Dominique Badji), or Alvas Powell high on the right, or Ronald Matarrita high on the left.
Given how mightily Miami struggles to score - they’ve scored just two goals over four(!?) games, with one coming from the spot (today) - Cincy effectively won the game over the first 25 minutes. Their first goal featured a lot some of the good, good things I noted above - e.g., Badji showing to receive the ball, but instead turning and letting the ball run toward goal, poking it to Acosta, who found a wide-open (this is a theme) Vazquez running up Cincy’s right. With the fullback playing to contain, Vazquez pulled up, stepped inside and scanned for the third pass, who happened to be Matarrita, who passed home the goal from the far post. Miami’s shape was a disaster, both d-mids had stepped to Badji, leaving Acosta free to run with space in front of him and Vazquez all alone.
Cincy’s second goal followed the other half of the script noted above. After making a pinned-in Miami chase around the right for a couple passes, the ball went back to Kubo, who cycled the ball to Tyler Blackett (yeah, yeah, the ball went further back), who found - again, a wide-open Matarrita, who was able to pick out Vazquez as cleanly as the latter had done for the former just six minutes earlier. In short, a low-scoring Inter Miami found themselves down 0-2 by letting too much happen around them. They showed too much respect to one of MLS’s historically bad sides.
The game ultimately ended 3-1, of course, and there was clearly some “the plot sickens” between Cincy’s two opening goals and the final whistle. It started with Matarrita lunging into Miami’s DeAndre Yedlin just as he broke into the box. Everyone agreed it was a penalty, even Matarrita, and Gonzalo Higuain tucked home Miami’s lone goal on the ensuing penalty kick. Things became a little unstuck after that dumb moment, but Cincy managed to regain its shape and get their feet back under till the end of the first half. The second half was a different story, and arguably a worse one.
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| What was once a good idea.... |
Miami changed its posture, for one, mostly by defending higher and more proactively. And, if I have a complaint about a game that doesn’t otherwise deserve one, it comes with how Cincinnati reacted to that - i.e., they tried to force the game. That mostly took the form of trying to play direct passes on the ground to Badji, Vazquez, and Acosta, some of them into space, but most on the ground and with an implied ask that they post up. Given how well all three handled…roughly similar passes in the first half, that wasn’t wild-hair crazy, but that does not mean it worked. It did not. Miami also started moving the ball better over that time, and on a level that achieved halfway to threatening. And, if I have a big, squishy take-away from this game, this is it: Cincinnati came damn close to getting knocked out of its comfort zone, and against a pretty goddamn terrible team. The question of what happens when they slip like that against a better team remains open, so file that anxiety away till that game comes. Moving on…
Things kind of petered out from there, if in the best possible way. If Miami had a second half highlight, that came with Gregore chopping inside Matarrita and firing a shot that Cincy’s Alec Kann kicked away. That only left Miami’s Damien Lowe throttling off what little hope they had left when he clipped Vazquez in the box to return the favor on Matarrita’s moment of idiocy. Acosta insisted on taking the penalty - and hold that thought - only to push his shot wide. Still, that remained the most notable thing Miami would do till the final whistle and that only left an encore from Cincinnati’s dynamic-duo-for-the-day, Matarrita and Vazquez, who combined for an insurance goal. The Orange and Blue put the game to bed with passes from there, like a hypnotist reminding Miami how very sleepy, and defeated, they felt.
It's talking points from here, but I wanted to pass on some thoughts on Miami before picking at Cincy a little more.
Inter Miami CF is bad and, quite possibly demoralized. They have just one point from four games, a 0.5 goals-for average, and a star player who is probably one year from retirement (Higuain), plus a semi-anonymous cast of players (plus Yedlin!) who need to start making their names today before 2022 becomes the season where Cincy hands them the wooden spoon (though other candidates do exist). In all honesty, they remind me of Cincinnati in years past, caught in the impossible either/or of dying on defense when they attack and vice versa. While I can’t say they’ll be the league’s worst team, I know they don’t have a shot in hell at league’s best and I’d demand tall odds before betting on them to make the playoffs.
Now, some talking points on FC Cincinnati:
1) Acosta's Hero Ball...Issue
I was struggling to phrase a tweet when Acosta demanded to take the PK, so don’t know exactly what happened before his miss, but that demand rhymed with his game as a whole. After finding some success evading tackles and unbalancing Miami’s defense by cutting inside, Acosta kept trying to pull it off against diminishing returns. He made that choice over and over, spurning even easy passes that would let everyone around him work less. The man wouldn’t even let the ball do the work and, as I see it, that let Miami off the hook more than a half dozen times.
2) The Two Forward Set-Up and Getting the Most Out of It
Badji, in particular, killed Miami over those first, glorious 25 minutes by taking his first touch where Miami’s midfielders didn’t expect him to. Vazquez had moments of his own, but not as many, while Acosta seemed to thrive by having two players in front of him, if and (less frequently) when he slipped past a defender or two and could get his head up. Broadly, I see this as a good system, but Pat Noonan & Sons (or Fathers, in Dom Kinnear’s case) need to think harder about how to get the most out of it - e.g., maybe play the ball into space for Vazquez, instead of having him post-up or try to knock down a ball for someone else. And yet that leads to another question…
3) And When the Expensive Guest Returns?
With how well Badji and Vazquez have played together over the past three games, what happens when the very expensive Brenner unlocks full fitness? Can Brenner play as a foil off either or both players? For what it’s worth, I’ve been asking to see Brenner play with a second forward since seeing him wither from lack of service - through 2021, especially - but I’m having some trouble seeing it now. He’s been a bit of an enigma since coming in, Brenner, though that’s not so odd for a young player - and he surprised Drake Callender (brilliant soap opera name!) with a tricky, challenging shot today, but the question of how Cincy gets the most out of its $13-million-man remains.
4) The Man I Expected in 2019
When Alvas Powell left the Timbers for Cincinnati for the inaugural season, I told the few Cincinnati fans who asked that they got a good player. They did not, not in 2019, but the way he played today was what I expected from him back then. He even exceeded my expectations on the attacking side with a couple runs inside that visibly panicked Miami’s already rattled defense. Powell does tend to get a little dizzy the closer he gets toward goal - e.g., see his unproductive first-time flail on a great and wise pass from Matarrita in the second - but he showed his defensive upside today on a way he hasn’t since he wore Timbers green and gold: great recovery speed, sound strength and aggressiveness in standing a player up and winning the moment, and, no, he’s not afraid to dump an attacking player on his can. Good day for less-young Alvas.
5) My Happy Place Remains Where It Always Has Been
All the above, even the best of it, takes a back seat to the comfort I feel now that Cincinnati has a midfield pairing that goes both ways and well. Kubo has made literally incredible strides, but I have to put a fair amount of his improvement down to having Moreno for a partner. If FC Cincy has solved its biggest problem - and it's too early to really tell - that would be massive. Maybe even a big deal.
That’s it for this one. And, for anyone wondering, this is the sixth back-to-back win in FC Cincinnati history. I looked it up. Till the next one…
Things kind of petered out from there, if in the best possible way. If Miami had a second half highlight, that came with Gregore chopping inside Matarrita and firing a shot that Cincy’s Alec Kann kicked away. That only left Miami’s Damien Lowe throttling off what little hope they had left when he clipped Vazquez in the box to return the favor on Matarrita’s moment of idiocy. Acosta insisted on taking the penalty - and hold that thought - only to push his shot wide. Still, that remained the most notable thing Miami would do till the final whistle and that only left an encore from Cincinnati’s dynamic-duo-for-the-day, Matarrita and Vazquez, who combined for an insurance goal. The Orange and Blue put the game to bed with passes from there, like a hypnotist reminding Miami how very sleepy, and defeated, they felt.
It's talking points from here, but I wanted to pass on some thoughts on Miami before picking at Cincy a little more.
Inter Miami CF is bad and, quite possibly demoralized. They have just one point from four games, a 0.5 goals-for average, and a star player who is probably one year from retirement (Higuain), plus a semi-anonymous cast of players (plus Yedlin!) who need to start making their names today before 2022 becomes the season where Cincy hands them the wooden spoon (though other candidates do exist). In all honesty, they remind me of Cincinnati in years past, caught in the impossible either/or of dying on defense when they attack and vice versa. While I can’t say they’ll be the league’s worst team, I know they don’t have a shot in hell at league’s best and I’d demand tall odds before betting on them to make the playoffs.
Now, some talking points on FC Cincinnati:
1) Acosta's Hero Ball...Issue
I was struggling to phrase a tweet when Acosta demanded to take the PK, so don’t know exactly what happened before his miss, but that demand rhymed with his game as a whole. After finding some success evading tackles and unbalancing Miami’s defense by cutting inside, Acosta kept trying to pull it off against diminishing returns. He made that choice over and over, spurning even easy passes that would let everyone around him work less. The man wouldn’t even let the ball do the work and, as I see it, that let Miami off the hook more than a half dozen times.
2) The Two Forward Set-Up and Getting the Most Out of It
Badji, in particular, killed Miami over those first, glorious 25 minutes by taking his first touch where Miami’s midfielders didn’t expect him to. Vazquez had moments of his own, but not as many, while Acosta seemed to thrive by having two players in front of him, if and (less frequently) when he slipped past a defender or two and could get his head up. Broadly, I see this as a good system, but Pat Noonan & Sons (or Fathers, in Dom Kinnear’s case) need to think harder about how to get the most out of it - e.g., maybe play the ball into space for Vazquez, instead of having him post-up or try to knock down a ball for someone else. And yet that leads to another question…
3) And When the Expensive Guest Returns?
With how well Badji and Vazquez have played together over the past three games, what happens when the very expensive Brenner unlocks full fitness? Can Brenner play as a foil off either or both players? For what it’s worth, I’ve been asking to see Brenner play with a second forward since seeing him wither from lack of service - through 2021, especially - but I’m having some trouble seeing it now. He’s been a bit of an enigma since coming in, Brenner, though that’s not so odd for a young player - and he surprised Drake Callender (brilliant soap opera name!) with a tricky, challenging shot today, but the question of how Cincy gets the most out of its $13-million-man remains.
4) The Man I Expected in 2019
When Alvas Powell left the Timbers for Cincinnati for the inaugural season, I told the few Cincinnati fans who asked that they got a good player. They did not, not in 2019, but the way he played today was what I expected from him back then. He even exceeded my expectations on the attacking side with a couple runs inside that visibly panicked Miami’s already rattled defense. Powell does tend to get a little dizzy the closer he gets toward goal - e.g., see his unproductive first-time flail on a great and wise pass from Matarrita in the second - but he showed his defensive upside today on a way he hasn’t since he wore Timbers green and gold: great recovery speed, sound strength and aggressiveness in standing a player up and winning the moment, and, no, he’s not afraid to dump an attacking player on his can. Good day for less-young Alvas.
5) My Happy Place Remains Where It Always Has Been
All the above, even the best of it, takes a back seat to the comfort I feel now that Cincinnati has a midfield pairing that goes both ways and well. Kubo has made literally incredible strides, but I have to put a fair amount of his improvement down to having Moreno for a partner. If FC Cincy has solved its biggest problem - and it's too early to really tell - that would be massive. Maybe even a big deal.
That’s it for this one. And, for anyone wondering, this is the sixth back-to-back win in FC Cincinnati history. I looked it up. Till the next one…
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