The 2024 MLS regular season is ending soon and it has been anything but easy for FC Cincinnati. They began the season at the top of the Supporter’s Shield, a separate competition for the most points secured across the entire league. FC Cincinnati finished at the top of the Supporter’s Shield last season and won their first trophy in club history, a feat that couldn’t be topped. This season however, FCC has struggled to hold their ground in their ground in the Supporter’s Shield race, which eventually led to them finishing 5th, with a possibility of finishing 4th if they win their last regular season match.
On October 5th, FCC hosted Orlando City SC for their last home match of the regular season. Orlando City opened up the scoresheet with a back-post goal in the 10th minute coming from Ramiro Enrique. In the 45th minute, FCC’s Luciano Acosta equalized with a beautiful right-footed shot into the top right corner. The first half finished 1-1 as both teams regrouped back into the locker room. At halftime, FCC decided to sub off their striker, Kevin Kelsey, and replaced him with Yuya Kubo, who has 10 goals this season (the second most on the team). Kelsey hadn’t been performing during the first half of the game with only 23 touches on the ball and one missed shot off-target which warranted his relatively early substitution. The game continued uneventfully until the 65th minute when Ivan Angulo hit a first-time volley into the bottom right corner, sneaking the ball just under Roman Celentano in the net. The final dagger to FC Cincinnati came at the 72nd-minute mark when defender Luca Orellano attempted to pass the ball back to Roman Celentano. Ivan Angulo sprinted past Orellano and tapped the ball to the right of Celentano so that Ramiro Enrique could score his second goal in the match. As time ran out on the clock, FCC attempted to create pressure to get a goal back. They created 11 shots in the second half, 5 being on target. In the end, it wasn’t enough and Orlando City SC was able to walk away with a vital away win against the previous year’s Supporter Shield winners.
What does this game mean to FC Cincinnati? After the loss, Cincinnati lost their chance to place second in the Eastern Conference behind Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami CF. Cincinnati also only has 2 wins within their last 8 MLS Regular season matches, which is not a good sign when the MLS Cup approaches at the end of October.
As the season comes to a close for FC Cincinnati, Luciano Acosta leads the MLS in most goal contributions and is a good candidate for MLS MVP. Acosta won MVP in the 2023 season for his outstanding 17 goals and 14 assists throughout the season. Since his FCC debut in 2021, Acosta has averaged almost 16 assists throughout 4 seasons which is an astounding feat for the 30-year-old midfielder. Can he and FC Cincinnati bounce back after the recently poor form or will they make a quick exit in the MLS Cup playoffs?
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