September 1, 2024 – Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Cincinnati News Release
Luca Orellano stepped up to an otherwise inconspicuous free kick quietly and casually, and turned it into a roaring moment at TQL Stadium/. A foul had been won in the second half of Saturday night’s match with CF Montréal and the young Argentine had been keeping a watchful eye on the French-Canadian keeper.
“I noticed in the first half the goalkeeper had been playing a little farther out,” Orellano said. “So I knew I just had to wait for the right moment. It’s so quick, you can’t let the goalkeeper see you as you’re looking at the goal, or maybe he’ll go back. So it really is just a moment of taking your opportunity.”
The right moment came and Orellano delivered on his opportunity, putting the perfect bow on a lovely night in the Queen City by scoring another Goal of the Year contender. A wonderstrike from well beyond midfield marked a celebratory moment for The Orange and Blue when they desperately needed one. On an unprecedented four-game losing streak, FCC wasn’t just in need of a win. They were in need of a statement.
The snapping of the four game losing streak was vitally important, independently and when contextualized by the other goals the club has set for themselves. But moreover, the focus was about the performances and getting back to a standard of play they felt met their internal expectations.
“Really pleased with the response from the last performance and just the overall play from our guys,” Head Coach Pat Noonan said in his opening statement from the post game press conference. “I thought on both sides of the ball they were outstanding – maybe a little bit fortunate on some of those goals – but I do think the way that we attacked the goal and the intensity we brought looked like the group we know and so, very pleased with the outcome and how guys stepped up.”
A 4-1 victory is a statement of a kind. The goals scored to make it a 4-1 win were a bit unconventional, but they brought the fans to their feet all the same. That being said, unconventionality all the same, the success of the night was in how the win came, not by how many goals made up the margin.
Hard conversations were had this week, in the hours after the loss to Inter Miami CF, in the days that followed it, and in the build up to this match. But what got through the most, Noonan believes, was simply watching the games back and seeing what they looked like from the outside peering in.
“When you see that again, it…
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