On Short Rest and with Depth Tested, FC Cincinnati Thrive in Performance to Remember

May 19, 2024 – Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Cincinnati News Release

Everyone on the field was facing the same circumstances. It was the third game in eight days, and the players were battered and bruised from the midweek match. They were looking to get out of the Saturday night matchup healthy and (ideally) three points richer.

FC Cincinnati had the advantage, playing at home both times this week and never leaving the state of Ohio in this three-match week. Still, both clubs had changes to the lineup. Miles Robinson sat out for the first time this season, Corey Baird, Alvas Powell and DeAndre Yedlin remained out with injuries, and with the short week, some roster flexibility was needed to keep everyone healthy as Bret Halsey and Dado Valenzuela made the start to add significant youth to the XI.

But despite that rotation and fatigue that the last week had inflicted, FCC dominated play in all three phases to win their MLS club-record sixth straight victory in imposing fashion. The Orange and Blue scored three times for the first time in 2024 league play. Luciano Acosta dazzled, scoring the opening goal and then providing the assists on the final two goals. Yuya Kubo scored his fourth goal of the season while announcing he and Mrs. Kubo were expecting, and Nick Hagglund played his first full 90-minute match in over six months.

It was, in short, a joyous night at TQL Stadium for FC Cincinnati.

“I really don’t want to because I think these guys were really, really good tonight,” FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said when asked if there were any negatives to nitpick about the game. “It’s been a challenging week, and St. Louis had the same challenging week, so it’s not like we had less rest. But I just think the way we played tonight, with the ball, you know, how quick we were moving it, how we were able to play out of pressure and attack, I was really pleased with that against a team that certainly knows how to defend against the ball.”

“For us to come out and play that way, I was really, really pleased with the performance and outcome, because I thought that was well deserved. And now we get to enjoy a couple of days to recover.”

In a complete performance by all, there were plenty of candidates for man of the match, but the 2023 MLS MVP took home the honor. Acosta once again brought the magic needed to open the scoring but did so by frustrating St. Louis CITY SC midfielder Celio Pompeau into a foul in the box, which awarded FCC its first PK chance of…