What we learned from FC Cincinnati's tie at Charlotte FC
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina − The Bank of America Stadium scoreboard indicated a 2-2 tie, but FC Cincinnati was clearly on the preferable end of the final score against Charlotte FC.
FC Cincinnati on Saturday produced a fight not often seen in club history as it fought back from Karol Swiderski's two first-half goals to silence a Bank of America Stadium crowd of 43,613 with the 2-2 draw.
The match marked the first time FC Cincinnati earned a tie after trailing by two or more goals at halftime. FCC also saw out the final 15-plus minutes with just 10 players after Ian Murphy received a second yellow card in the contest.
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FC Cincinnati pulled even on strikes by Luciano Acosta and Alvaro Barreal in the 52nd and 68th minutes, respectively.
Barreal first drew the foul in Charlotte’s penalty area that allowed Acosta to score from the penalty spot. The goal was Acosta’s 10th of 2023, matching an MLS career high he'd previously posted in 2018 and 2022. Barreal then danced on the ball and manufactured a stylish finish from close range to knot the match at two. The goal was Barreal’s third of the season, with Acosta providing his seventh assist.
The draw was an important one relative to the standings as FC Cincinnati (15-2-6, 45 points) moved to winless in three consecutive games − its longest such period of the 2023 season − but still gave itself added cushion atop the Major League Soccer Supporters Shield standings.
"It's just how these guys are capable of responding when things aren't going their way. And you know, the last two weeks, we've found ourselves in different positions in the game, in terms of trailing, needing to find our way back into games, you know, losing rhythm, and not always looking like ourselves," FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said. "But the fight's always there. And when the fight's always there, and you have a group as talented as this, when you get it right, it'll look like it did for the stretch that put us in this position to begin the year.
"We're being challenged in different ways. And the guys are finding ways to get solutions to some of the challenges that they're facing, and it's not going to get any easier, I've said that multiple times, you know, we're at the top and teams ... they want to be in that position. And everybody at this point, regardless of who you're playing, is in a position to challenge for the playoffs. That's the reality, you go on a couple game winning streak, everybody has momentum, and everybody is recognizing that. And so no game is going to be easy. We know that. But again, to get a point on the road against a team that, you know, is strong in a lot of different ways and causes problem a lot of different ways, it's still good to find a point."
We explain why Saturday's result was viewed a favorable one within the FC Cincinnati locker room in our latest edition of match-day takeaways:
The lows, and the added value of the draw
Swiderski dug most of the early hole for FC Cincinnati but the visitors helped him shovel, too.
The Swiderski goals, scored for Charlotte in the 14th and 24th minutes, were good ones taken by a highly-technical player. What he did Saturday to FCC is what good designated-player strikers in MLS are supposed to do. But as center back Nick Hagglund attested afterward, he also needed to defend Swiderski better.
"There's things that we can do better before the goals happen," Hagglund said. "I, obviously, can do a better job of getting closer to him and not letting him − I should know that he's the guy who is probably going to score for them, so I need to get tighter to him rather than trying to protect space in other directions. We'll look back at them and have them be a learning thing."
Swiderski's goals were jarring. Two-loss FC Cincinnati hadn't often found itself in that position this season, and therein lies the perception of the draw as a good outcome on the night. But even though FC Cincinnati's recover produced a favorable outcome, Noonan conceded the course-correction was flawed.
In the 66th minute, Swiderski broke in on goal one-versus-one and FCC goalkeeper Roman Celentano was required to make a stop to prevent a 3-1 deficit. Swiderski then hit the post in the 81st minute. Charlotte had numerous opportunities to extend its lead. After Barreal's goal, it almost retook it. Other players beyond Swiderski had chances, too.
"It was too easy for those two goals to be scored on us in what I think were pretty preventable moments," Noonan said. "They still were looking to attack ... We still gave up a couple chances. That's always gonna be the case when (we're) on the road and teams are pushing for three points, but how they unfolded is something that we'll look at because I think the chances were more clear than we've conceded on a consistent basis."
FC Cincinnati's resolve to stop the bleeding at 2-0 proved to be utilitarian, albeit unsightly at times. And its resolve to pull even at 2-2 is the variety of result that begets bigger accomplishments that will be possible down the road.
FC Cincinnati is the hunted club in MLS and winning anything meaningful this season is only going to get harder. Clubs will collectively stiffen up their resistance as FCC moves closer to the Supporters Shield and other honors, and Cincinnati will need more showings like the one at Charlotte.
"Earlier in the year it was like battening down the hatches for a 1-0 win," Hagglund said. "Now, we're coming back and getting points where, in the past, maybe we wouldn't have gotten those points. We're gonna see a lot of different things in the playoffs and we need to be able to show different sides of our team."
The big picture: FC Cincinnati made gains on the night
FC Cincinnati's draw was an emotional rollercoaster, and supporters reacted on social media as you'd expect to every twist, downturn and ascent. But for as emotionally taxing as the match was, and for all the criticism the club's first-half performance will get, FCC still increased its lead atop the Eastern Conference and Major League Soccer.
FCC's six-point lead swelled to seven by virtue of the 2-2 draw combined with losses by Nashville SC and New England Revolution, which still occupy second and third placse in the conference, respectively.
St. Louis CITY SC moved into second place in the Supporters Shield race on tiebreakers with Nashville after its 1-0 victory at Toronto FC. St. Louis is also seven points back of FC Cincinnati.
FCC has to deal with Nashville head-on at TQL Stadium next Saturday, so there's more movement to come in the standings this week potentially. But with a seven point lead, FCC is guaranteed to go into the month-long regular-season hiatus for the Leagues Cup on top of MLS, and that will be a very good perch to be on when league play resumes in August.
Alvaro Barreal marks 100 appearances in style
Barreal's career took an unexpected turn at Bank of America Stadium on March 26, 2022. Against Charlotte that day, he made his first-ever start at left wing-back and suffice it to say it was not his greatest afternoon in Orange and Blue. But his return and start against Charlotte at the same venue 469 says later might have been his best day in FC Cincinnati's colors.
If nothing else, it was a full-circle moment for a player likely destined for Europe in the not-too-distant future, and the moment came as he marked his 100th appearances for Cincinnati.
Barreal's movement in the CLTFC penalty area in the 50th minute was deft, and referee Ted Unkel correctly awarded a penalty kick for the foul committed on Barreal. Then, in the 68th-minute, Barreal's game-tying goal was all class ashe danced on the ball, sent his defender sliding out of the proverbial camera frame and calmly slotted the ball home for 2-2.
Barreal had two other threatening looks at goal, too. He was hardly satisfied with the draw.
"The game did not start well for us. We were not comfortable in that first half," Barreal said via a team interpreter. "We came out in the second half with a different mentality, didn't make those same errors, and we still wanted the three points. We needed them, but happy to get a goal and to get the point."
Barreal downplayed his personal achievement of 100 appearances but Noonan lauded his performance. The fact that Barreal produced what he did back at Bank of America Stadium wasn't lost on Noonan either.
"Watching him push himself the way he did in this game, it was fun," Noonan said. "We haven't really spoken about it but if you go back to this game last year, it was the first time we played him as a left wing-back, and it was a tough match for him. We had some hard conversations after that about what it was gonna take for him to consistently be on the field. Fast-forward to tonight, the effort that he put in on a night when it's hot and humid and he's going up and down, up and down and you think maybe the legs aren't there, but he makes an impact on both goals.
"Just him being in the box leads to a moment where, yeah, he draws a penalty. So that stuff matters. But the individual effort on the second goal − we talk all the time about him being, at times, more selfish because he's always looking for the cross or the pass in the box. 'Well, take guys on. You have that ability.' And he's shown that, so to play a role in both goals on top of the overall output is a sign of a strong player that's got a bright future ahead of him."
(Also: Barreal entered the match one yellow card away from a one-match suspension for accumulating yellows but had one subtracted from his total toward suspension for good on-field behavior).
Up next
The road ahead doesn't offer any easy opportunities for FC Cincinnati. Prior to facing Nashville SC at TQL Stadium, FCC will travel to Red Bull Arena for its first league match against New York Red Bulls.
Cincinnati on May 24 defeated the Red Bulls in penalty-kicks at Red Bull Arena in the U.S. Open Cup to advance to the quarterfinals.
Red Bull Arena is also the site of FCC's first-ever MLS Cup playoff victory, which it claimed on Oct. 15.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: MLS takeaways: Analysis of FC Cincinnati's tie at Charlotte
