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| FC Cincinnati at home, artist's rendering. |
I get whatever frustration anyone might be wrestling with after FC Cincinnati’s 1-2 home loss to Los Angeles FC. And, yes, it is absolute fucking madness that Cincy have dished out, like, far more points than they’ve earned in the (allegedly) wonderful stadium that…people built with an eye to cementing their status among the best teams in these United States of America (I’ve never been there, and therefore cannot comment, but it does look comely from afar). And, yeah, yeah, I know that rocks and boulders litter the road ahead…and until, like, mid-fucking July, but…
If that wasn’t the best 70 minutes of soccer FC Cincinnati has played in their MLS lives, I don’t remember the other one. I’ll get to what might have irked LAFC in a bit, but Cincy’s lines of defense backed one another up - and, if you need a happy thought to hold on to, Roman Celetano’s very solid outing sent a decently believable symbol that they now have depth at the goalkeeping position like they’ve never had (and I’d call his third save his best, fwiw…wait, no, the 4th ; I’m reviewing in real time with the MLS in 15 edit) - they almost equaled the Supporters’ Shield leaders on, not just shots, but quality shots, and they maintained a pretty effective press throughout - that gave Cincy their one and only goal on the day (and sweet finish, Lucho Acosta!) - and without leaving their pants down at the back.
Again, I appreciate how few times Cincinnati has won at home - not least because I’ve watched damn near all of them - but they punched nearly even with a smattering or rookies and without their leading goal-scorer. For a team that hasn’t so much struggled as limped on two legs for the literal entirety of its MLS existence, this felt result/performance felt promising in a way that finally feels different. It had some warts - e.g., after 67 minutes of suggesting Cincinnati has a bright, young future in central defense, the young rookie Ian Murphy limped off with something I’m sure I’ll read about later - but I don’t see any reason to feel discouraged about…yes, yet another loss at the Big Tickle. I’ll big-picture that shortly, but this game feels worth a walk-through.
First, I thought Alvas Powell got away with a trip on LAFC’s Carlos Vela at the 14th minute; don’t know why the VAR looked past that one, but bless ‘im for it. The way Cincinnati settled into the game from that point forward impressed me as much as anything I’ve seen from them in a while. Better still, they didn’t just settle into the game, they grew into it. LAFC didn’t have their best game, obviously, but Cincy still adjusted to what they did to send and found ways to be dangerous. Dominique Badji did the lion’s share of the best/dirty work - the back-to-goal, hold-up stuff that lets a team move up the field with a minimum of winging it - and he really did have himself a whole damn afternoon, and all the way up to the move that should have landed Cincinnati a…yeah, I’m there, I’d call it a deserved equalizer (this was a late chance, would have equalized, the ball fell to Markanich, who took at least two touches too may to do anything with it). With that, let’s flip to LAFC.
First…or, rather, second, LAFC scored the winner on a goal that set up almost exactly the same way as Cincinnati’s first - e.g., turnover in the middle, three passes up Cincy’s right, goal Danny Musovski (and a nice finish). For anyone who needs to feel aggrieved, LAFC equalized on a deflected Kellyn Acosta shot that looked enough like Alvas Powell’s deflected near-goal to make feeling hard done by make more sense that it usually does for FC Cincy fans. Seriously, but for Diego Palacios. LAFC did some of the good things they usually do this afternoon - e.g., pick the ball off any player who waits for the ball to reach him as opposed making sure he’s the first man to touch it regardless - but the attacking patterns only made cameos, I’ve seen sharper games from Cristian Arango - and Carlos Vela, for that matter - and Yuya Kubo and Junior Moreno punched more or less even with LAFC midfield of rough midfield configuration of Jose Cifuentes (who I’ve seen play better), Acosta and Ilie Sanchez. Playing on the road generally takes some vim out a team, but LAFC - aka, the kind of team you’d expect to put FC Cincy in the (Dirty Dancing) proverbial corner - didn’t look like something out of a better, or just better-paid league. And I’m perfectly happy to read that as a positive for Cincinnati’s pretty-damn tricky road to paradise and/or the 2022 post-season (from April 30 to June 29, @ TFC, v TFC, @ MIN, @ NE, @ CHI, v NE, @ MTL, @ PHI, v ORL, v NYC…and why are six of those fucking things away?), even as some of those rocks look more like boulders…with some damned hard edges.
If that wasn’t the best 70 minutes of soccer FC Cincinnati has played in their MLS lives, I don’t remember the other one. I’ll get to what might have irked LAFC in a bit, but Cincy’s lines of defense backed one another up - and, if you need a happy thought to hold on to, Roman Celetano’s very solid outing sent a decently believable symbol that they now have depth at the goalkeeping position like they’ve never had (and I’d call his third save his best, fwiw…wait, no, the 4th ; I’m reviewing in real time with the MLS in 15 edit) - they almost equaled the Supporters’ Shield leaders on, not just shots, but quality shots, and they maintained a pretty effective press throughout - that gave Cincy their one and only goal on the day (and sweet finish, Lucho Acosta!) - and without leaving their pants down at the back.
Again, I appreciate how few times Cincinnati has won at home - not least because I’ve watched damn near all of them - but they punched nearly even with a smattering or rookies and without their leading goal-scorer. For a team that hasn’t so much struggled as limped on two legs for the literal entirety of its MLS existence, this felt result/performance felt promising in a way that finally feels different. It had some warts - e.g., after 67 minutes of suggesting Cincinnati has a bright, young future in central defense, the young rookie Ian Murphy limped off with something I’m sure I’ll read about later - but I don’t see any reason to feel discouraged about…yes, yet another loss at the Big Tickle. I’ll big-picture that shortly, but this game feels worth a walk-through.
First, I thought Alvas Powell got away with a trip on LAFC’s Carlos Vela at the 14th minute; don’t know why the VAR looked past that one, but bless ‘im for it. The way Cincinnati settled into the game from that point forward impressed me as much as anything I’ve seen from them in a while. Better still, they didn’t just settle into the game, they grew into it. LAFC didn’t have their best game, obviously, but Cincy still adjusted to what they did to send and found ways to be dangerous. Dominique Badji did the lion’s share of the best/dirty work - the back-to-goal, hold-up stuff that lets a team move up the field with a minimum of winging it - and he really did have himself a whole damn afternoon, and all the way up to the move that should have landed Cincinnati a…yeah, I’m there, I’d call it a deserved equalizer (this was a late chance, would have equalized, the ball fell to Markanich, who took at least two touches too may to do anything with it). With that, let’s flip to LAFC.
First…or, rather, second, LAFC scored the winner on a goal that set up almost exactly the same way as Cincinnati’s first - e.g., turnover in the middle, three passes up Cincy’s right, goal Danny Musovski (and a nice finish). For anyone who needs to feel aggrieved, LAFC equalized on a deflected Kellyn Acosta shot that looked enough like Alvas Powell’s deflected near-goal to make feeling hard done by make more sense that it usually does for FC Cincy fans. Seriously, but for Diego Palacios. LAFC did some of the good things they usually do this afternoon - e.g., pick the ball off any player who waits for the ball to reach him as opposed making sure he’s the first man to touch it regardless - but the attacking patterns only made cameos, I’ve seen sharper games from Cristian Arango - and Carlos Vela, for that matter - and Yuya Kubo and Junior Moreno punched more or less even with LAFC midfield of rough midfield configuration of Jose Cifuentes (who I’ve seen play better), Acosta and Ilie Sanchez. Playing on the road generally takes some vim out a team, but LAFC - aka, the kind of team you’d expect to put FC Cincy in the (Dirty Dancing) proverbial corner - didn’t look like something out of a better, or just better-paid league. And I’m perfectly happy to read that as a positive for Cincinnati’s pretty-damn tricky road to paradise and/or the 2022 post-season (from April 30 to June 29, @ TFC, v TFC, @ MIN, @ NE, @ CHI, v NE, @ MTL, @ PHI, v ORL, v NYC…and why are six of those fucking things away?), even as some of those rocks look more like boulders…with some damned hard edges.
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| I'll only feel beautiful, not bad... |
Now, some talking points…
1) My Happiest Talking Point
I buried the lede a little on this, and mostly because it’s subtle/speculative/arguably wish-casting, the reason I liked this result so much was the way it hinted at a “Pat Noonan System.” The players called on to start in the stead of starters - e.g., Celetano, Murphy, Calvin Harris, and (from Dallas, right?), John Nelson - all looked both competent and comfortable. Slips I don’t recall notwithstanding, all of those players looked connected to both team and scheme and that sends a reasonable signal that the depth is current and ready to step into any breach left by a regular. (Related, can anyone tell me where the “seven missing starters” conversation came from? Honestly, I’m counting five and one of them (Geoff Cameron) came on as a sub, so….).
Basically, the Noonan/Albright/Dom Kinnear brain-trust, into which all FC Cincinnati fans had no choice but to deposit faith, hope and funds into, might actually know what they’re doing. That’s big.
2) Help Him Forget the Price-Tag
Brenner Souza da Silva has not had a great start to 2022. Brenner never truly has come good, at least not according to the $13-million-plus price tag he arrived under, aka, “you make us better on your own” money. To riff on some Stu Holden commentary during the game, Brenner has no responsibility whatsoever for the price FC Cincinnati paid for his rights; they bought those rights on some combination of video, scouting, a hunch, a bidding war, and FC Cincinnati’s front office trying to show fans they cared the same way most wealthy, detached parents do - i.e., by buying something they think you want.
During one of Cincinnati’s better sequences tonight, Badji found a seam across the top of the 18 where he feinted and hunted to find a clear shot; Brenner stepped into a pocket to Badji’s right, one made legal (i.e., onside) by an LAFC center-back staggered back a step, but Badji missed that and flailed to goal. At the end of that play, Brenner flailed his arms at Badji in frustration, quite clearly chastising him for missing the better option than the one Badji ultimately took - aka, one of those slow-pitch wind-ups that let a defender step cleanly and crisply in front of it, i.e., more potential embarrassment than potential.
To be clear, I have no goddamn idea what FC Cincy sees in Brenner at this point. Depreciating, yet real asset? Project? Prodigy searching for his métier? For what it’s worth, I see him as all of those things, and maybe more. I don’t know about you, but I still don’t think I know what Brenner is actually good at, not just as a forward, but as a player. For what it’s worth, I think Cincy has assigned him a role and sent him out to fill it, but I’m not at all sure if they’ve put nearly as much thought in to Brenner’s real-world skill-set as they have into the scheme. And that strikes me as a recipe for frustration all 'round.
Again, and all in all, I really was encouraged by all that. And I'm going to hold onto that like Linus loves his snotty, vile blanket through the next 10 weeks of F Cincinnati's schedule, a period where I expect them to run headlong into any and all the obstacles they can’t find a way around or over. And for the 10th time this season, I’m not saying Cincinnati can’t get points out of that stretch, so much as I’m saying they probably won’t. They look better for it after today - to me, at least - but I'm setting expectations under 10 points. On the plus side, I'm also pulling for them not being in last place. That's well-reasoned optimism in my book.
Till the next one…
1) My Happiest Talking Point
I buried the lede a little on this, and mostly because it’s subtle/speculative/arguably wish-casting, the reason I liked this result so much was the way it hinted at a “Pat Noonan System.” The players called on to start in the stead of starters - e.g., Celetano, Murphy, Calvin Harris, and (from Dallas, right?), John Nelson - all looked both competent and comfortable. Slips I don’t recall notwithstanding, all of those players looked connected to both team and scheme and that sends a reasonable signal that the depth is current and ready to step into any breach left by a regular. (Related, can anyone tell me where the “seven missing starters” conversation came from? Honestly, I’m counting five and one of them (Geoff Cameron) came on as a sub, so….).
Basically, the Noonan/Albright/Dom Kinnear brain-trust, into which all FC Cincinnati fans had no choice but to deposit faith, hope and funds into, might actually know what they’re doing. That’s big.
2) Help Him Forget the Price-Tag
Brenner Souza da Silva has not had a great start to 2022. Brenner never truly has come good, at least not according to the $13-million-plus price tag he arrived under, aka, “you make us better on your own” money. To riff on some Stu Holden commentary during the game, Brenner has no responsibility whatsoever for the price FC Cincinnati paid for his rights; they bought those rights on some combination of video, scouting, a hunch, a bidding war, and FC Cincinnati’s front office trying to show fans they cared the same way most wealthy, detached parents do - i.e., by buying something they think you want.
During one of Cincinnati’s better sequences tonight, Badji found a seam across the top of the 18 where he feinted and hunted to find a clear shot; Brenner stepped into a pocket to Badji’s right, one made legal (i.e., onside) by an LAFC center-back staggered back a step, but Badji missed that and flailed to goal. At the end of that play, Brenner flailed his arms at Badji in frustration, quite clearly chastising him for missing the better option than the one Badji ultimately took - aka, one of those slow-pitch wind-ups that let a defender step cleanly and crisply in front of it, i.e., more potential embarrassment than potential.
To be clear, I have no goddamn idea what FC Cincy sees in Brenner at this point. Depreciating, yet real asset? Project? Prodigy searching for his métier? For what it’s worth, I see him as all of those things, and maybe more. I don’t know about you, but I still don’t think I know what Brenner is actually good at, not just as a forward, but as a player. For what it’s worth, I think Cincy has assigned him a role and sent him out to fill it, but I’m not at all sure if they’ve put nearly as much thought in to Brenner’s real-world skill-set as they have into the scheme. And that strikes me as a recipe for frustration all 'round.
Again, and all in all, I really was encouraged by all that. And I'm going to hold onto that like Linus loves his snotty, vile blanket through the next 10 weeks of F Cincinnati's schedule, a period where I expect them to run headlong into any and all the obstacles they can’t find a way around or over. And for the 10th time this season, I’m not saying Cincinnati can’t get points out of that stretch, so much as I’m saying they probably won’t. They look better for it after today - to me, at least - but I'm setting expectations under 10 points. On the plus side, I'm also pulling for them not being in last place. That's well-reasoned optimism in my book.
Till the next one…
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