FC Cincinnati loses 11th straight in 2-0 defeat at Philadelphia Union
CHESTER, Pa. – Perhaps the best thing to result from FC Cincinnati's match against Philadelphia Union was that its conclusion meant just one game remained in the 2021 season for Cincinnati.
FC Cincinnati, which was officially eliminated from playoff contention more than a month ago and condemned to a third consecutive last place finish in MLS on Wednesday, lost to Philadelphia, 2-0, Sunday at Subaru Park.
“Keep saying the same thing over and over again but some efforts of – you know, I’m not gonna call out players but it’s not good enough," FC Cincinnati's Geoff Cameron said of the performance. "Watching, not tracking backs and overloads. It’s just, yeah, it’s a frustrating one. It’s a really frustrating one… It’s just basics, honestly. Just basics of guys scrapping for one another, grafting for one another and, you know, some guys have it and some guys don’t. You can see it. It’s there on the pitch.”
The loss brought with it a litany of negative implications for a club attempting to claw back something positive for its players and fans before the final whistle of the campaign.
The loss dropped Cincinnati to 4-21-8 – one defeat shy of matching the 22 it lost in its 2019 expansion season.
It was also FCC's 11th consecutive loss, and it guaranteed the club would finish with fewer points in the standings than it did in 2019.
The Philadelphia goals scored by Daniel Gazdag in the 11th minute and Paxten Aaronson in the 53rd minute also made it 72 goals conceded on the year for Cincinnati. That's just three shy of the league-worst single season record of 75 FCC posted in 2019.
Cincinnati will host Atlanta United at TQL Stadium next Sunday on the final regular-season match day.
“It’s playing for pride," Cincinnati defender Chris Duvall said. "We need to have a chip on our shoulder and show people we shouldn’t be in the basement of this league and that we have something to play for because although the points aren’t going to make a difference, we want to make a difference for the fans.”
On Sunday against Philadelphia (14-8-11), FC Cincinnati was stymied by the 2020 Supporters Shield winners. Not unlike you might expect from a team that moved into joint-second place in the Eastern Conference with the win, the Union held Cincinnati to just two on-target shots in the contest.
Alvaro Barreal was the first FCC player to hit the target, and that didn't arrive until the 63rd minute.
Brandon Vazquez entered the match having scored in a club-record three consecutive matches but was held without many serious threats against Philadelphia's goal.
In being shutout by Philadelphia goalkeeper Andre Blake, Cincinnati saw itself blanked for the 13th time in 2021.
"As the game progressed, we got a little bit more comfortable, possession was more in favor of us, but they had more of the dangerous chances," FC Cincinnati interim head coach Tyrone Marshall said. "The second half was a little bit better. They obviously scored but again we weren’t able to get those attacking moments that we did in the last game against Nashville when we were more aggressive going forward. I thought we had some moments, but we didn’t capitalize on them.”
Now 0-8-0 since taking over interim head coach, Marshall said he wasn't necessarily relieved that the season would conclude in a week.
Instead, he said he wanted to continue fighting.
"I wouldn't say relief, Marshall said. "It’s been a challenging journey for myself, for the coaches who took the baton and stepped up for the club in terms of seeing out the season with the boys that they have here. For me, it’s been a great experience in terms of where I want to be as a head coach moving forward, things I need to get better at. Things I can improve on, so it’s been a learning experience for me that I’ve been appreciative of."