September 24, 2023 (Cincinnati, OH) – FC Cincinnati’s commanding win on Saturday puts them right back on track for the Supporters’ Shield, after only earning 2 points in their last 3 matches.
There’s a lot to unpack from yesterday’s match. Let’s start by looking at the man between the sticks – Roman Celentano.
Celentano had what I’d consider to be a forgettable match midweek in Montreal, where he was late to react on the lone shot on goal. His lone punch wasn’t necessarily great either, but he came back Saturday and seemed much more composed.
Celentano wasn’t truly tested, a credit to the ten outfield players in front of him, as Charlotte failed to record a shot on target all match. Nonetheless, he recorded his eleventh clean sheet, but his distribution numbers (13/28, 46% pass accuracy) leave a little bit more to be desired. It’s hard to give a goalkeeper flack for recording a clean sheet, and Celentano did that without his main central center back in Matt Miazga. The backline was organized, defended crosses and set pieces incredibly well – and Celentano should at least receive partial credit for that success.
On the backline, Yerson Mosquera came back from his suspension he served against Montreal, and slotted in centrally with Ian Murphy on his left and Nick Hagglund on his right. As mentioned yesterday in the recap, this trio hadn’t really produced the best of results defensively in previous matches. Yesterday, in Pat Noonan’s words, “the three of them were outstanding.”
It certainly didn’t feel this way, but Charlotte dominated the possession game, with 60.4% of possession going their way yesterday. They took nine shots, eight inside the Cincinnati box. So why so high on the backline? None of the chances (aside from a 81st minute header by Derrick Jones) were impressive chances. Charlotte were held to a 0.53 xG on their nine shots, three of which were blocked. The trio committed two fouls through the entire match, and were able to clear their lines effectively to create chances for the attacking players to do their thing.
Similarly, the double pivot of Obinna Nwobodo and Junior Moreno impressed again. Obinna, in particular, recorded 15 recoveries on Saturday. FIFTEEN. Oh, and he had a beautiful assist on Lucho’s goal!
The wingbacks. Santiago Arias, consistently the choice now at RWB, has been great. He won the most duels and had the most tackles out of anyone on the pitch yesterday, and he still created great chances down the right wing. And of course, there’s the one and only Álvaro Barreal. Barreal’s free kick goal was nothing short of a beauty, and would easily be the goal of the match if a different Argentine hadn’t dribbled through an entire defense. That goal was his first in a while, and he spoke after the match about how that was something he knew.
We’ll skip the 10, for now, and focus on the two strikers – Aaron Boupendza and Brandon Vazquez. Vazquez had a solid match, good hold up play as he drew three fouls, but also a really good defensive work rate, winning 9 duels (6/8 ground duels) on Saturday. Unfortunately, Vazquez wasn’t able to convert on his chances in front of goal, but the other things he did well. Boupendza scored another goal on Saturday, making it 4 goals in 7 matches for the Gabon international. It seems like his partnership with Vazquez and Acosta has continued to develop and blossom, as the three seem more and more cohesive with every match. He’s still being caught offside more than you’d like to see (2 tonight, 11 in his 578 minutes across all competitions), but Boupendza has certainly been better and has produced goals even while trying to adjust to a new league and new team.
Finally. Luciano Acosta. At this point of the season, I’ve run out of superlatives to use to describe the season Lucho’s had for FC Cincinnati. Yesterday’s goal… was really just the icing on the cake for the season he’s had, for the player he’s been, for his MVP campaign. From creating a turnover that led to Boupendza’s goal, to dribbling through the entire Charlotte backline and producing one of the most jaw-dropping goals ever scored at TQL Stadium (yes, the stadium that’s hosted a Puskas short list goal)… just give Acosta the MVP. In the locker room after yesterday’s match, Acosta was laughing, joking around, even joking about how his hand hurt from signing so many autographs. That’s the winning vibe that’s been missing from the team for a few matches, the vibe we’ve come to expect from this FC Cincinnati team that’s now so close to winning the Supporters’ Shield and bringing home their first ever trophy since joining Major League Soccer in 2019.
After a 1-1 draw between Orlando City SC and Inter Miami CF tonight, FC Cincinnati’s magic number for the Supporters’ Shield is down to 3 – meaning a win in their next match, in Toronto, clinches the Orange and Blue’s first trophy since joining MLS in 2019.
And, of course, the REAL reason you clicked on this article – we’ve got a photo gallery from the fantastic Anders Saling. Check the photos out, relive the memories.
