Facing a Charlotte FC side without its leading goal contributor, Pep Biel, FC Cincinnati possessed most of the attacking momentum for most of the match on Aug. 10.
Then, the match took a complete 180.
Charlotte FC defeated FC Cincinnati via a late goal after Orange and Blue midfielder Brian Anunga was sent off with a red card in the 70th minute.
Wilfried Zaha scored the match-winner in the 85th minute after striking a volley past goalkeeper Roman Celentano’s near post.
Anunga was shown a red card after he made contact with Charlotte’s Dijbril Diana while appearing to lunge for the ball in the 70th minute. The officials deemed the lunge a “serious foul play offense” after a VAR review.
The foul occurred moments after the referees appeared to give Anunga an advantage opportunity, which coach Pat Noonan said was a bad decision.
“There’s clearly a defender in the area to prevent us from getting out in transition, so everything’s right, aside from the judgment of the moment,” Noonan said.
In response to a pool report question about the decision, the referees said, “there was no advantage, there was a moment of waiting and seeing, after he did not gain possession, we went back to the original foul.”
Nothing fruitful comes from FC Cincinnati’s early push
Despite producing 1.17 expected goals to Charlotte’s 0.47 xG, according to FotMob, FC Cincinnati left the match pointless.
That difference was especially pronounced in the first half as FC Cincinnati dominated possession, but largely failed to create high-percentage opportunities. On arguably the best look, near the end of the half, Charlotte FC’s Kristijan Kahlina denied forward Gerardo “Dado” Valenzuela on a curling shot.
Noonan said some of the team’s ideas in front of the goal could have been better. He noted that they were too conservative in committing numbers to the take and that they lacked urgency off the ball.
Still, Noonan was proud of how his team pushed in stoppage time despite being a man down.
“We didn’t take advantage of an opportunity tonight, and that’s disappointing, but I don’t think it was a lack of effort,” Noonan said.
Wingback Ender Echenique delivered a spark after replacing Luca Orellano, who exited the match right before halftime with “hamstring tightness,” a club spokesperson announced in the press box. In the 50th minute, he failed at playing a ball to midfielder Evander, but he quickly regained possession in his half before dribbling rapidly to the opponent’s box before firing a point-blank shot on goal to gain a corner kick.
Noonan said Orellano’s injury was muscular, but they do not know the extent of it yet.
“He was lively with his minutes up until the red card, where then he was kind of isolated up there for a while on his own, and tough to have an impact,” Noonan said of Echenique. “But initially, he was dangerous, and getting in behind some good off-the-ball runs, good chance creation.”
Still, Echenique’s momentum only lasted a few minutes before the Orange and Blue picked up the red card.
Late in stoppage time, Evander played a free kick into a box to defender Miles Robinson, who found space in front of goal, but Kahlina shut the attempt down.
“We got into some good spots to get the ball in front of goal, and we just couldn’t put them under enough pressure,” Noonan said. “Our best chance was that set piece at the end.”
The draw doesn’t do FC Cincinnati many favors in a tight Supporters’ Shield race. After entering the second matchweek in that battle, the Orange and Blue dropped to third in the league table.
But forward Kévin Denkey, the team’s second leading scorer, could return to meaningful minutes soon after making his first appearance since early July. He played three minutes against Charlotte.
Noonan said FC Cincinnati has missed Denkey’s goal production and the relationships he built with fellow forwards.
“There was some good partnerships being formed, and you lose a little bit of that (with Denkey out),” Noonan said.
After failing to seize the opportunity to lead the MLS standings, FC Cincinnati will next play the Portland Timbers on Aug. 16 on the road.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati loses to Charlotte FC after controversial red card
Reporting by Kamran Nia, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
