Noonan, Powell shown red cards as Chicago Fire defeat FC Cincinnati
Long gone are the high hopes and good feelings that came from The FC’s 6-1 victory over Inter Miami, as Cincinnati sees a second straight disastrous outing in a 1-0 loss to the Chicago Fire Wednesday night.
While FC Cincinnati often looked sloppy and disorganized, the refereeing in the match is what many will remember from an otherwise forgettable match.
Chicago was called for 18 fouls compared to Cincinnati’s eight but only saw three yellow cards all match. On top of the called fouls was the amount of missed calls, especially in the penalty area, that could have changed the outcome of this match.
It seemed like the referee didn’t want to make any decisions that would affect the outcome of the match in any way, most egregiously when they refused to give a second yellow card to Fabian Herbers, who slid in late on Dado Valenzuela in the first half.
The rough play would continue, with many missed or underplayed calls, until tensions came to a boiling point late in the second half. FC Cincinnati, down 1-0 in the 88’, was on the defensive when Alvas Powell shoved an attacking Fire player out of bounds and into the guardrail on the sideline. Powell immediately saw a yellow card and was surrounded by Chicago players who did not like his aggressiveness. Powell, clearly frustrated, shoved multiple Fire players while trying to jog away from the play and received a second yellow card. An upset Powell screamed in frustration before leaving the pitch.
Soon after Head Coach Pat Noonan would also be sent off, after leaving the coaches box and confronting the head referee in the playing area. Things with the refereeing was so heated that the club decided to cancel the coaches post-game press conference.
The refereeing was bad, but the play on the pitch wasn’t much better. Noonan was without star center back Miles Robinson and MLS MVP Luciano Acosta when he making his lineup, opting to start Kipp Keller in place of Robinson and Valenzuela in place of Acosta. Noonan trotted out the sword formation that they have used over the last few matches, with Yuya Kubo as your starting striker, Valenzuela and Corey Baird in the midfield with Obinna Nwobodo and Pavel Bucha, Luca Orellano and Yamil Asad slotting in at wing back, with Keller, Ian Murphy, and DeAndre Yedlin making the start at center back.
Yedlin was a standout on the back line, all while donning the captain’s armband for the night. The former US Men’s National Team member saved FCC from disaster multiple times early in the match, while also petitioning the referee to do something about the rough play from the Fire players. Valenzuela was electric in the midfield, making several deep runs and clean passes that could have led to scoring opportunities.
Orellano also made several great plays throughout the match, including a moment where he dribbled the ball from the right side of the pitch to the left, and then up several lengths before passing the ball to Valenzuela, who was immediately fouled. Roman Celentano was outstanding in goal, making seven saves on the night and earning himself FCC’s player of the game.
Many of the other players for FC Cincinnati had a tough night. Baird made his first start in almost two months and often looked out of place and unsure where to be. He also didn’t seem comfortable passing the ball up the field much, opting to pass back to the defenders or other midfield players. Noonan would sub him off at halftime.
His replacement, Sergio Santos, would push Kubo into the midfield and take his spot as striker. Santos was able to push the pace of the match in a way that Baird couldn’t, but the striker was often out of position when in an attacking spot. Orellano dribbled up the pitch and passed the ball to Santos, who was in a great spot to shoot and score, but he played the ball off his right foot and lost control, blowing the opportunity to score and put Cincinnati in the lead.
Soon after, Kipp Keller would misplay a header backwards towards the Cincinnati goal. Chicago would take advantage of the one on one against Celentano and find the back of the net. Santos had a clean opportunity to even the match, with little to no opposition from Chicago, but sent the shot wide right of the goal. Not too long later Noonan would sub off Keller, who other than that one moment had a solid outing, for Kevin Kelsy. Five minutes after this, he would bring on Aaron Boupendza for his first appearance since the match with FC Dallas on June 29.
That was all she wrote for the FC, as Powell and Noonan would be sent off and Chicago would walk away the victors. On top of a horrible night for the Orange and Blue, Inter Miami returned to action and defeated Toronto FC 3-1, retaking first place in the Supporter’s Shield race.
The only good news on the night was that Charlotte FC would pull a 1-1 draw with Columbus, keeping the Crew five points behind FCC. Columbus still has two games in hand over Cincinnati, so they could pull ahead if they were to win both matches, meaning FCC would move into third place in the eastern conference.
If the playoffs were to start today, FCC would be facing Orlando City in the first round. In their one match up so far this season, FCC squeezed out a victory in a match that saw both teams receive red cards.
For now though, Cincinnati will turn their attention to the New York Red Bulls, who sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, 10 points behind FCC. An already depleted defense will be without Miles Robinson, who will be joining the USMNT for the Olympics, and now Alvas Powell who will be serving his red card suspension. On top of that, Head Coach Pat Noonan will also have to sit out the match with a suspension of his own. RBNY will be without defender Sean Nealis after he received a red card of his own in a 2-2 tie with Montreal Wednesday. Interestingly, the Red Bulls have not had a decisive game since June 22, with their last four matches all ending in ties.
A tie could be a blessing for an FC Cincinnati club that is reeling from injuries and suspensions. It’s still up in the air whether Acosta will make his return to the pitch Saturday, after suffering an ankle injury in the match with Charlotte last week.
Only time will tell.
