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| This came up in a search for "early onset nostalgia." For real. |
Take your hat off to Toronto FC for playing with more ability, and even pride, than they’ve managed through their long, dreary and biting 2023 regular season. Seriously, the only thing that saved them from playing like shit in their win over the Philadelphia Union was Philly playing even worse. Toronto played a strong one last night: their passing was clean, they stayed organized defensively and, for all the (many) shots FC Cincinnati fired, they by and large kept the visitors in front of them. Even the numbers show that the worst team in Major League Soccer played its best one pretty even.
The fact Toronto had to rally out of a two-goal deficit only makes that doubly-impressive. The outlines of another painful rout took shape early, when Cincy fired one shot after another toward TFC’s goal starting around the 20th minute – and too many from inside the box. All that knocking finally opened the door when Brandon Vazquez fired home from a couple steps in from the spot. Cincy doubled its lead eight just eight minutes later when Alvaro Barreal and Aaron Boupendza played in-out-and-back-in Toronto’s right side to create the shot that led to the deflection that (again) Vazquez put away.
Still, Toronto had laid the foundation; they only needed someone to build something on top of it. The sometimes-maligned Federico Bernardeschi set to work on that, taking charge of Toronto’s attack and doing to Cincinnati’s left what Cincy had just done to their right. He took the first ball inside, past first Vazquez then Junior Moreno and drove a shot at Roman Celentano...who, in a moment that probably still haunts the young ‘keeper, let it squirt from out between his legs. Jonathan Osorio spotted the loose ball before anyone else and poked it home to make it a 1-2 game. Bernardeschi struck again minutes later, this time cutting toward the end-line and around Cincy’s defense; his cross left Celentano flapping and Osorio, again, the first player to the ball. And could anything be more fitting than seeing local legend Jonathan Osorio score both of those goals?
Sadly (for them), the universe still works according to certain rules, one of them being that we all wake from our dreams. As everyone knows by now, FC Cincinnati walked off the field as the 2023 Supporters’ Shield winners last night. Toronto threw all the rocks they could into their path and Cincinnati stumbled over a few of them – e.g., momentum killing slop on the left from Barreal throughout the second half, uncharacteristically loose touches from Obinna Nwobodo; Vazequez and Boupendza hitting good clean looks to Toronto ‘keeper Luka Gavran as if the man had a magnet stitched into his chest – but the chances still piled on (most of the cleanest made the highlights), as did the pressure.
The undeniable break finally came when Boupendza and Luciano Acosta got isolated on (again) Toronto’s right against a single back-pedaling defender and his help coming too late. He put up all the resistance he could, but, not unlike Toronto, he got beat for the game/Shield-winner. Cincinnati came within an offside call of padding their lead, but they mostly just saw out the game from there. Again, credit to Toronto for making it interesting, but a team simply can’t win the Shield without having the kind of season where they overcome every team they don’t outplay. Cincinnati has had that kind of season and there simply isn’t much to add to that.
This is my first time following and writing about a team having a Shield-winning season, so I didn’t know what to expect. As it turns out, running out of things to say is one part of the experience. Some part of me wishes I could say I came along for the entire ride, but anyone capable of scrolling down can see I checked out on Cincinnati for a while this season. In my defense, thatgoodgreat form makes it hella hard to find fresh and creative ways to stretch “it’s working” into 1,000 words or more. Going the other way, that is literally the only problem with a team playing really good soccer.
I don’t have anything to add beyond congratulations to all the FC Cincinnati fans out there. Between the post-season and, ideally, a run at MLS Cup, the team has plenty left to play for and games to fret over, but I’d still recommend doing yourself the favor of just marinating in what an amazing season this has been for this team. Seriously, set aside the next week for a while and spend this one reveling in early-onset nostalgia.
The fact Toronto had to rally out of a two-goal deficit only makes that doubly-impressive. The outlines of another painful rout took shape early, when Cincy fired one shot after another toward TFC’s goal starting around the 20th minute – and too many from inside the box. All that knocking finally opened the door when Brandon Vazquez fired home from a couple steps in from the spot. Cincy doubled its lead eight just eight minutes later when Alvaro Barreal and Aaron Boupendza played in-out-and-back-in Toronto’s right side to create the shot that led to the deflection that (again) Vazquez put away.
Still, Toronto had laid the foundation; they only needed someone to build something on top of it. The sometimes-maligned Federico Bernardeschi set to work on that, taking charge of Toronto’s attack and doing to Cincinnati’s left what Cincy had just done to their right. He took the first ball inside, past first Vazquez then Junior Moreno and drove a shot at Roman Celentano...who, in a moment that probably still haunts the young ‘keeper, let it squirt from out between his legs. Jonathan Osorio spotted the loose ball before anyone else and poked it home to make it a 1-2 game. Bernardeschi struck again minutes later, this time cutting toward the end-line and around Cincy’s defense; his cross left Celentano flapping and Osorio, again, the first player to the ball. And could anything be more fitting than seeing local legend Jonathan Osorio score both of those goals?
Sadly (for them), the universe still works according to certain rules, one of them being that we all wake from our dreams. As everyone knows by now, FC Cincinnati walked off the field as the 2023 Supporters’ Shield winners last night. Toronto threw all the rocks they could into their path and Cincinnati stumbled over a few of them – e.g., momentum killing slop on the left from Barreal throughout the second half, uncharacteristically loose touches from Obinna Nwobodo; Vazequez and Boupendza hitting good clean looks to Toronto ‘keeper Luka Gavran as if the man had a magnet stitched into his chest – but the chances still piled on (most of the cleanest made the highlights), as did the pressure.
The undeniable break finally came when Boupendza and Luciano Acosta got isolated on (again) Toronto’s right against a single back-pedaling defender and his help coming too late. He put up all the resistance he could, but, not unlike Toronto, he got beat for the game/Shield-winner. Cincinnati came within an offside call of padding their lead, but they mostly just saw out the game from there. Again, credit to Toronto for making it interesting, but a team simply can’t win the Shield without having the kind of season where they overcome every team they don’t outplay. Cincinnati has had that kind of season and there simply isn’t much to add to that.
This is my first time following and writing about a team having a Shield-winning season, so I didn’t know what to expect. As it turns out, running out of things to say is one part of the experience. Some part of me wishes I could say I came along for the entire ride, but anyone capable of scrolling down can see I checked out on Cincinnati for a while this season. In my defense, that
I don’t have anything to add beyond congratulations to all the FC Cincinnati fans out there. Between the post-season and, ideally, a run at MLS Cup, the team has plenty left to play for and games to fret over, but I’d still recommend doing yourself the favor of just marinating in what an amazing season this has been for this team. Seriously, set aside the next week for a while and spend this one reveling in early-onset nostalgia.
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