FC Cincinnati came from behind late in the game to earn points for the third time in their last four matches April 18 at TQL Stadium.
Cincinnati drew with Chicago Fire FC 3-3 in front of a sellout crowd of 25,513, their second draw in as many matches. Cincinnati is 2-4-2 for 8 points, and Chicago, which was in second place in the Eastern Conference entering the day, is 4-2-2 for 14 points.
Cincinnati scored twice from the 79th minute on after trailing 3-1. Evander set up both goals. Cincy scored in stoppage time to draw Toronto 1-1 last week, then scored in stoppage time to beat Montreal 4-3 after tying the game in the 80th minute.
“We find ourselves in too many holes that we try to take ourselves out of to get the win,” said FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan. “But the fight’s cool. We’ve seen that, but we need to start games and not find ourselves chasing the game. But we found two goals against a good team, and in the second half, I liked the way we pushed the game.”
“Obviously, at home, you’re expecting to win, and when you’re done, (a draw is) not going to be the greatest feeling afterwards,” said keeper Roman Celentano. “But we’ve had a couple of games where we find ourselves down and we somehow find a way back into the game and give the fans something to cheer about. Obviously, we’ll look at it and figure out what we can do to not be down in the position we were in, but I feel like it’s just credit for the guys. Their mindset, sticking in there, and finding a way to get a point out of it.”
Evander scored his first of the year on a penalty kick. He set up the play with a pass into the goal box to Gerardo Valenzuela, who was pulled down by Mbekezeli Mbozaki as he broke free for the ball.
“I understand when he has the ball because I play the ‘10’ position,” Valenzuela said. “So I know when he wants to play that ball over the top and when to make the run. I saw the ball. I saw the guy wasn’t looking at me, so I ran in front of him, and he clipped me.”
In the 87th minute, Evander took a free kick from outside the box to the goal line. The ball deflected off the leg of Chicago’s Dje D’Avilla and into the net for an own-goal. Cincinnati striker Ayoub Jabbari was pressuring D’Avilla in the sequence.
“I’ve been challenging myself to get back to helping the team,” Evander said. “Hopefully right now it opens up for a lot of goals this season. I had a couple chances that I could of scored. It’s hard not to get a little bit anxious, and sometimes I just need to be calm.”
The equalizer negated a standout game from Chicago Fire FC star striker Hugo Cuypers, who was playing his first game in a month.
Cuypers, a 29-year old Belgian forward, scored two goals on difficult volleys in the goal box, and drew a foul inside the box to give Chicago a penalty kick.
He had missed three games with a head injury, but now has six goals for the season.
First-half highlights between FC Cincinnati and Chicago Fire FC
Chicago struck first on a goal by Cuypers in the 36th minute. Cuypers skillfully collected a long pass from Philip Zinckernagel at top of the 18 and volleyed it into the near post to give Chicago a 1-0 lead
Cincy got its best early chance soon after that, when Ender Echenique got around the defense and lofted a great pass to Miles Robinson, whose header was saved by Chicago keeper Chris Brady.
Evander had a couple of good looks at the goal but both shots were well high.
Cincinnati tied the game 1-1 in the 42nd minute. Tom Barlow tapped in a rebound from right in front of the end line after Brady couldn’t control a hard shot from Bryan Ramirez on the wing. The play unfolded in transition with Ramirez making a good run.
It was Barlow’s second goal of the MLS season, fifth counting three in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
“We went down a couple goals and that was tough, but credit to the team,” Barlow said. “We knew we would fight back. We had a chance to put it away at the end there. We got to put away a few more chances, and we gave up a couple of tough goals. But it was important to fight back and get the point. And a lot of credit to the fans who push us over the line there and especially the guys that came on (in the second half) and made a big impact.”
Chicago took a 2-1 lead in stoppage time on a penalty kick by Zinckernagel. Cuypers broke free in the middle of the 18, and Sami Gidi ran into him from behind near the 6-yard line, knocking him down. Zinckernagel fired a laser past Roman Celentano to the left post on that the Cincy keeper guessed right on but just missed saving.
“Sami being in the position to foul, there are so many things that happen prior to that that are so poor where he’s the one that you look at trying to bail people out,” Noonan said.
Chicago had 15 shots to 10 for Cincy in the first half, but Cincy had 7 on target to 4 for the Fire. Chicago had 2.1 expected goals to 1.8 for Cincy.
Second-half highlights between FC Cincinnati and Chicago Fire FC
Chicago scored less than three minutes into the second half to lead, 3-1.
Cuypers was completely unmarked and made a nice shot on a volley to the far post after a cross deflected off a Cincinnati player, which the ball popping up to Cuypers. Celentano said it was a tricky play for him to judge.
“I think Cuypers is one of the best in the league at using defenders as mannequins, almost, to guide the ball around him and obstruct (my) views,” Celentano said. “So I feel like the way he plays a game, it’s very smart.
“I feel like I can do better on the first one for sure. And the second one, he has a good hit. He’ crafty, and he’s a really good forward. I just feel like we’ve got to do better, just not let him get in dangerous positions like that, because he’s an elite player in the league.”
In the 52nd, Brady made a diving save on a hard shot by Echenique from the top of the 18.
Lineup notes
Cincinnati was without Matt Miazga and Obinna Nwobodo due to injury, and Kevin Denkey due to red card suspension.
Miles Robinson came off in the 64th minute and appeared to be getting treatment on an ankle. But Noonan said it was maintenance and doesn’t affect his long-term availability.
Final stats
Cincinnati ended with 3.1 expected goals to 2.3 for the Fire. Cincinnati outshot Chicago for the game, with 23, 10 on target, to 18 and 6 for Chicago.
What’s next for FC Cincinnati
Cincinnati will play at New York City Football Club 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 22. That game will be played at Yankee Stadium.
NYCFC lost 2-1 at home to Charlotte April 18 and is 3-3-2 for 11 points.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati rallies late from two down to draw Chicago Fire
Reporting by James Weber, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
