Atlanta United FC vs FC Cincinnati
Kyra Campbell
FC Cincinnati (17-3-6) has clinched a playoff spot with its 2-1 victory over Atlanta United on Wednesday.
The Orange and Blue are 10 points ahead of second place St. Louis (15-9-2) in the Supporters’ Shield standing and 11 points ahead of New England (13-5-7) in the East.
Cincinnati rolled out a bit of a rotated lineup, due to injuries and fixture congestion over the past few weeks since the restart.
Roman Celentano, who recently signed a contract extension keeping him with the club through 2027, got the start in goal.
Ian Murphy, Matt Miazga, and Nick Hagglund made up the defense, while Alvaro Barreal and Bret Halsey started at wingback. The midfield consisted of Luciano Acosta, Obinna Nwobodo, and Yuya Kubo. Sergio Santos and Brandon Vazquez started at striker.
It took FCC a bit to get used to the turf, and that slow start cost them in the 10th minute, when Atlanta’s Edwin Mosquera put the home side up 1-0.
Later in the half, once they had settled in, FCC looked dangerous, but was unable to finish any of its chances.
Nwobodo, once again, received a questionable yellow card in the 41st minute, and the half ended without much excitement after that.
The two halftime substitutions of Santiago Arias for Halsey and Junior Moreno for Santos allowed FCC to hold onto the ball more in the midfield and look more threatening on offense. The 71st minute substitution of Marco Angulo for Kubo helped with this as well.
Four minutes later, in the 75th minute, Lucho found the equalizer for FCC, thanks to a fantastic give-and-go assist from Moreno.
Finally level, FCC’s attack didn’t stop there as they looked to get the winning goal, which would come just five minutes later in the 80th minute, when Vazquez connected on a cross from Barreal.
Cincinnati made one final substitution in the 90th minute, where Malik Pinto came on for Lucho, and FCC was able to see the 2-1 win out.
FC Cincinnati are back home on Saturday as Orlando City (12-6-8) comes to town for the second meeting of the year between these two teams. The previous meeting back in March resulted in a 0-0 draw.
The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. and fans can watch the game for free on the MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.
