Inter Miami CF downs FC Cincinnati in Open Cup semifinal PK shootout | Replay
Lionel Messi will prove to be mortal on the North American continent. One day, he and the resurgent Inter Miami CF squad he joined in July will lose, as most teams do. For now, though, Miami’s unbeaten run with Messi remained intact.
FC Cincinnati was the latest club to falter in their presence.
FC Cincinnati opened up a 2-0 lead against Miami in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinal at TQL Stadium on Wednesday only to squander its advantage and fall behind in extra time. FCC clawed back to level the game at 3-3 but Miami prevailed in penalty kicks to advance.
Messi was held to just a single shot but assisted twice to help Miami knot the match at two, and force extra-time where it had Cincinnati playing catch-up. Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender saved a Nick Hagglund penalty-kick, and Benjamin Cremaschi scored on FCC goalkeeper Alec Kann to secure the visitors' progression in the tournament.
Miami converted all five of its spot-kicks in the shootout to Cincinnati's four converted takes.
A crowd of 25,513 attended the match, which was thought by many to be the most consequential in FC Cincinnati history.
For Miami, its torrid unbeaten run stretched to eight matches. After claiming the Leagues Cup championship on Saturday, it will now turn to the Major League Soccer regular season before playing in the Sept. 27 Open Cup championship match.
For Cincinnati, the match produced the kind of pain that will take time, and perhaps some silverware, to heal.
“They’re gutted. They put a lot into it and, again, we were in a position to advance to a final and came up short," FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said of his players' performance. "Guys are struggling with this one, as they should… We’ve got to dig deep in moments like this. It’s two losses (in two games), but it’s two important losses and so, how we come out of this is up to us.”
Cincinnati’s Luciano Acosta opened the scoring in the 18th minute, forcing a dribbler of a shot past Callender. The score was his 14th of 2023 across all competitions. Brandon Vazquez doubled FC Cincinnati’s advantage in the 58th minute when a counterattack resulted in him slamming home his 16th goal of 2023 across all competitions for club and country.
Then, Miami started to gradually creep back in. In the 68th minute, Leonardo Campana headed home off a set-piece delivery from Messi. Cincinnati then stiffened its defensive posture and survived to the 90th minute with its lead intact, but the fourth official standing between the benches indicated eight minutes would be tacked on.
Messi struck again in the 97th minute, serving up a ball that Campana headed home for 2-2 with just seconds remaining.
“When you concede the second goal it’s tough because you lose all your steam," Noonan said. "You can see we lost some confidence that cost us in the early stages of extra time, but credit to Campana who makes good runs and finishes the play off. It’s one or two moments and that’s the difference. I thought the guys did a lot of good things tonight and that’s why it’s tough."
A third unanswered goal in Miami’s onslaught came via Josef Martinez, a notorious FC Cincinnati killer from his days with Atlanta United. He curled around the edge of the FCC defense and slid the ball past Kann in front of The Bailey supporters section.
Cincinnati suddenly found itself trailing, and Vazquez and Acosta had been substituted off with defending in mind as FCC hoped to close out the match after 90-plus minutes. Noonan said cramping on the hot, muggy night played a factor in some of his substitutions.
Yuya Kubo, a second-half substitute, came to Cincinnati’s rescue in the 113th minute, though. His goal for 3-3 forced the shootout. Afterward, Kubo indicated Cincinnati would rue its missed chances throughout the game.
"We should have finished this game in 90 minutes," Kubo said. "We’re disappointed. We missed opportunities a lot. Penalties are 50-50 always, so you don't know. Before, we should have scored... It's so bad but, yeah, what can I say? Just disappointed now but, still, we are top of the table."
FC Cincinnati had two goals called back for infractions. Aaron Boupendza beat Callender in the first half but was ruled offside. Shortly after Miami's opening goal, Cincinnati had a goal waived off for a handball infraction in the 72nd minute.
FC Cincinnati wingback Alvaro Barreal said he achieved a dream in playing against Messi, but felt the disappointment of the night, too.
"Sad. Very sad. We have the chance to move on. We should have moved on. We didn't," Barreal said.
A message from Carl Lindner III
Coaches and players stepped in front of media members to take the heat after Wednesday's result. In a rare showing, FC Cincinnati managing owner Carl Lindner III addressed media members, too.
Following Noonan's post-match remarks, Lindner entered the field-level interview room and acknowledged the disappointment of the evening but expressed his pride in Cincinnati and in FCC.
Lindner also stated the club would focus its efforts going forward on the race for the Supporters Shield in the MLS regular season.
"Tough night and exciting night. Can't help but be disappointed (but) so proud of our team and the heart that they showed on the field tonight, particularly when they were down near the end of the game and how they managed to equalize again, and show the heart and the desire" Lindner said. "I can't be prouder of our coaching staff and the players and what they've accomplished year. Big turnaround from (the Columbus match). That shows the determination and heart against, clearly, one of the best teams out there today with one of the best players in the world.
"Just disappointed but congratulations to Inter Miami. They showed a lot of heart, too. I think we outplayed them the whole game except for just a matter of moments and maybe that's something that we need to manage closer moving forward. Thankful to God, thankful for our supporters. I think a lot of the world was viewing the game tonight and I think they saw what a fantastic environment our stadium, and what's going on here, is, on the world's soccer stage."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Inter Miami downs FC Cincinnati in Open Cup semifinal PK shootout
