Red Bulls down FC Cincinnati prior to Supporters Shield celebration | Replay
FC Cincinnati lost but for perhaps the first time in the club's history, the defeat was a secondary concern.
A New York Red Bulls side in playoff-desperation mode came into TQL Stadium on Wednesday and scored two early goals against an FC Cincinnati team resting several key players. The Red Bulls held on for a 2-1 victory to keep their playoffs hopes alive with two matches to go in the regular season.
FC Cincinnati always seemed more focus on what was to come after the game, which was the tightly-choreographed presentation of the Supporters' Shield. A celebration marking the organization's first-ever major trophy and regular-season title commenced shortly after the game.
FC Cincinnati clinches: What is the MLS Supporters Shield?
The 35-pound Supporters Shield trophy was passed off from some high-ranking members of FC Cincinnati's recognized supporters groups before team captain Luciano Acosta held the Shield aloft on a night when FCC drew 25,513 to TQL Stadium.
Fireworks sprayed into the West End night above the venue and the trophy was eventually paraded around the field. It also joined in many celebratory photographs taken by members of the ownership group, club staffers and others who weren't present Saturday when FC Cincinnati first celebrating clinching the Shield.
"To be honest, I don’t want to talk too much about the game despite the frustrations. I want turn the focus to the players and the club, the fans so we can enjoy a really special evening," FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said afterward. "That’s one of the objectives and this a big part of why I do this – moments like this. There’s a lot of things that go into this job and how fortunate I am and we are to be in this position but the moment that we get to enjoy tonight where everyone who’s put in a lot of work with the fans, the club, who have obviously suffered, these are the pinnacle moments. These are the memories you have forever and you talk about. I’m really pleased to be a part of it and the club that we can all share this."
Players trickled into the locker room after the celebration having lifted the trophy after falling to 19-5-8 in 2023, and 13-2-1 at TQL Stadium. The disappointment of the outcome was softened by the trophy, along with the fact there was little remaining for FCC to accomplish this regular-season anyway.
An assortment of beer and liquor was available to players near their locker room stalls, although most seemed to pass on the drinks after Saturday's champagne-soaked celebration in Toronto.
Cincinnati clinched the Supporters Shield last weekend at Toronto FC, which gave the club lineup flexibility for the RBNY match.
Two matches remain in the regular season for Cincinnati and it has already secured home field advantage all the way to the MLS Cup final, the league's postseason championship match, should it advance that far.
The Red Bulls scored twice in the opening 17 minutes. The first of those came from former top-overall draft pick Frankie Amaya, who didn’t celebrate his score in an apparent show of respect for his old club.
In the 68th minute, Luciano Acosta scored a Major League Soccer-leading 16th goal of the year. The goal figured to strengthen his status as the presumed favorite for the 2023 Landon Donovan Most Valuable Player award.
However, no equalizer arrived over the duration of the contest, which included 10 minutes of extra-time after the initial 90 minutes.
"It’s a disappointing result going into a special moment and celebration, so I think that’s the tough part of how it led into the post-game but we put ourselves in a little bit of a hole in terms of the game," Noonan said. "We go down a couple goals. We had our chances early on to get the lead and they converted. They were better in the boxes."
The only conceivable consequence of losing to New York was that FC Cincinnati lost out on its bid to break the MLS regular-season points record – 2021 New England Revolution had 73 points. The feat would have required wins against RBNY in its final two matches.
On Saturday after clinching the Shield, players and staff that made the trip to Toronto celebration by popping champagne corks at BMO Field. Later, they gathered with fans at Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport to continue the party.
Wednesday’s gathering allowed a significantly larger cross section of the FC Cincinnati community to gather to mark the club’s first major trophy in MLS.
"For me, it’s amazing," FC Cincinnati defender and two-time Shield winner Ray Gaddis said. "To do it with two clubs (including Philadelphia) who never had a trophy before and to be a part of them and create definitely a lifelong memory, especially in Cincinnati, knowing the state that they were in. I mean, it’s just amazing. I think the fans deserve it."
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The second TQL Stadium loss of '23
RBNY takes all three points at TQL Stadium. This is only the second time that's happened in FCC's barn this year.
Alvas Powell sees red (88')
Alvas Powell received two yellow cards and in one of the least-productive developments of the night, will be suspended for Saturday's match at Miami.
VAR, Lucho Acosta to the rescue? (68')
In a possible game-deciding sequence, referee Chris Penso waved "no" to a possible handball by an RBNY defender, and New York went back down to the other end of the field and scored for 3-0. But a video-assistant referee (VAR) field-side review overturned all of it. Penso called the RBNY goal off and awarded the penalty kick to FC Cincinnati, which Luciano Acosta buried to cut his side's deficit in half at 2-1. For the time being, Acosta is the MLS goal-scoring leader with 16 scores.
FC Cincinnati trailing at home (halftime)
It's an uncommon sight but it's the reality FC Cincinnati's heavily-rotated team (as well as its loaded bench) will have to work back from in order to salvage a result.
RBNY doubles up (17')
Elias Manoel increased the visitors' lead to 2-0. Yes, FC Cincinnati has rotated its starting lineup significantly, which suggests a few things about their intent tonight but they still can make good use of the match, which is third-to-last before the postseason. So far, that hasn't happened enough to make the game competitive.
A goal from a familiar face ('12)
Frankie Amaya, who requested a trade out of FC Cincinnati prior to the 2021 MLS season, scored from long range against his former club. For as much grief as he gets from FCC fans, he didn't celebrate the goal against his former club. But FCC still trails, 1-0.
Underway at TQL Stadium (1')
The Supporters Shield celebration is coming, but Cincinnati has to deal with RBNY first.
FC Cincinnati, New York Red Bulls starters
FC Cincinnati starting XI: Alec Kann (GK), Alvas Powell, Nick Hagglund, Yerson Mosquera, Matt Miazga (captain), Ray Gaddis, Obinna Nwobodo, Yuya Kubo, Marco Angulo, Aaron Boupendza, Dominique Badji.
Cincinnati bench: Luciano Acosta, Santiago Arias, Sergio Santos, Roman Celentano, Brandon Vazquez, Malik Pinto, Alvaro Barreal, Ian Murphy, Junior Moreno.
New York Red Bulls starting XI: Carlos Coronel (GK), Andres Reyes, Kyle Duncan, Sean Nealis (captain), John Tolkin, Frankie Amaya, Cameron Harper, Daniel Edelman, Elias Manoel, Tom Barlow, Luquinhas.
Red Bulls bench: Peter Stroud, Cory Burke, Jorge Cabezas, Dylan Nealis, Dru Yearwood, Ryan Meara (GK), Wikelman Carmona, Omir Fernandez, Julian Hall.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati falls to New York Red Bulls at TQL Stadium
