CINCINNATI – The reigning Supporters' Shield champions flexed their championship-caliber grit in their final Leagues Cup group-stage match on Monday.
Four goals, all from second-half substitutes, turned TQL Stadium into a madhouse as FC Cincinnati stunned New York City FC in a late 4-2 comeback win.
“That was certainly a fun conclusion to the night,” FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said.
Trailing 2-0 in the closing minutes with a heavily rotated squad devoid of stars like reigning Landon Donovan MLS MVP Luciano Acosta, DeAndre Yedlin and Miles Robinson meant someone had to dig deep.
“I had anger inside me and I released it on the pitch,” said midfielder Pavel Bucha. “It went well that I scored and we won.”
Bucha kickstarted the four-goal rally in the 79th minute when the belief, at least to some, was admittedly fleeting. Yamil Asad (82'), Yuya Kubo (86') and Sergio Santos (89') rounded out the late barrage.
“We definitely got to a point in the game where you start to lose a little bit of faith, but we’ve seen games like this before,” striker Corey Baird added.
“Stuff like this makes you really believe any game you go into, no matter how poorly it starts or what's going on, we can find a way.”
The thrills of the comeback could inform Noonan’s thought process in the coming weeks as Cincinnati shift gears to the knockout stage.
“We had a stretch of two or three weeks where a lot of these guys were being asked to play significant minutes, and I thought the level dropped,” said the third-year coach. “... And you start to get to the point of the season [you ask] who we are going to trust down the stretch, and we get some answers tonight.”
Say I do
In the heat of the excitement, there was an extra special moment for Santos.
His goal was followed by a lengthy run to the opposite end of the field where he got on one knee and gestured a proposal to dedicate the goal to his wife.
The story? Santos and his wife Frani have been married since his days with the Philadelphia Union, but never had an official ceremony. That’s all set to change as he re-popped the question earlier in the week and the happy couple are set to finally enjoy their overdue celebration.
Santos Laguna looms
Cincinnati’s win cemented the scenario where they’ll host LIGA MX's Santos Laguna at TQL Stadium on Friday, Aug. 9 (MLS Season Pass).
Santos Laguna qualified for the knockout stage, but have yet to score a goal in regulation time in the tournament. A 3-0 loss to D.C. United and a shootout win following a scoreless draw with Atlanta United did the job.
As for what to expect from Cincinnati, Noonan was non-committal regarding the outlook of the Orange & Blue’s lineup returning to full strength.
“We have guys competing for spots right now. And I think because of the amount of players that have been out with injury, it's opened up, you know, just playing time for guys to see, okay, can you take the jump from a reserved role to a starting role?" said Noonan.
"And look, there are also players that are going to come back into the mix, and because of what they've done and been producing for us previously, be back in the XI. But I think the last couple games give guys a little bit of a longer leash with their minutes and opportunities."
