August 1, 2024 – Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Cincinnati News Release
With a spot in the knockout stages of Leagues Cup 2024 already up for grabs, FC Cincinnati made quick work of Liga MX side Querétaro FC to win their tournament opening match 1-0. With a goal in the 64 minute, The Orange and Blue held off Los Gallos Blanco (The White Roosters) and earned all three points on the night.
Despite a heavily rotated lineup, flexing the depth of the roster while also rewarding the efforts of some further down on the depth chart, FCC looked the superior side from whistle to whistle. Luciano “Lucho” Acosta was not placed on the match day roster – presumably as a precautionary measure as he had been out with a injured foot – nor was DeAndre Yedlin or Obinna Nwobodo as the Nigerian missed several trainings while he was away to acquire his green card.
With some stars out, others were there for the first time. Chidozie Awaziem, a recent acquisition from Boavista FC, made his debut for the club in the center of the back line, and Yuya Kubo (albeit a regular star) featured in the role of captain of The Orange and Blue for the first time; becoming the 14th captain of FC Cincinnati all-time.
The first break in the game seemed to come before the clock had struck double digits. Gerardo “Dado” Valenzuela appeared to win a challenge in the box, racing forward to win a pass through the box, and was fouled in the process. Initially the ref motioned for a penalty kick in FC Cincinnati’s favor. But after VAR review, the foul was called off as a clean tackle and a drop ball was given to the Queretaro keeper.
From there the FCC attack continued to pepper the Querétaro defense, tallying six shots and owning nearly 63 percent possession through the first half. But the match was undeniably chippy as the visiting Querétaro knew anything shy of a victory meant the end of the tournament for them. With the rain pouring down, the battle on the pitch became more and more like trench warfare as the official avoided a booking for either side despite a combined 13 fouls (seven to the visitors) and countless more that went uncalled.
To account for the pressure FCC was applying, Querétaro switched their formation to five in the back to manage the attack. The change was effective as FCC could not break through, but the performance from FCC only slowed, it didn’t stop. By halftime FCC had outshot their guests nine to two, and held Querétaro to just 0.1xG.
The second half started much the same as…
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