FC Cincinnati sweeps D.C. United with vital victory

In a battle of one of Major League Soccer’s worst defenses and one of the league’s worst offenses, FC Cincinnati’s defense won the day for the second time this week.

Cincinnati shut out D.C. United 2-0 Oct. 24 in Audi Field. Playing in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol building and the Washington Monument on the Potomac River, Cincinnati’s much-maligned defense put on a capital performance and picked up a monumental three points to bolster its playoff hopes.

Cincinnati beat D.C. for the second time in four days after a 2-1 win over TQL Stadium Oct. 21, putting serious damage on the home team’s playoff hopes. Evander and Tom Barlow scored the goals for Cincinnati.

“It’s great to regain the confidence,” Evander said. “It gives us more confidence for the following games. We needed that. Everybody defended how we need to defend.”

Cincinnati posted only its third clean sheet of the MLS, first since April 25, a 2-0 win over Red Bull New York, and only the second since a season-opening 2-0 win over Atlanta in February. Cincy also picked up only its third road win of the season, but second in a row after winning in Atlanta Oct. 10.

“Hopefully it’s something to build on,” said FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan. “That’s a lot of the ups and downs of our year. That’s too long ago to have a clean sheet. Hopefully we’re finding it at the right time.

“A lot of similarities to the last game, the difficulties that we faced with set pieces, crosses, some direct play when we were stepping up our pressure. The guys defended those moments really well and had some strong transition play that led to the second goal. It’s nice to keep a clean sheet and we keep going.”

Cincinnati limited the home team to nine shots, three on target and an expected-goal mark of 1.0. Roman Celentano had to make only one save.

Cincy had 13 shots, two on goal, and an XG of 0.7. But the defensive stand made it count.

“They need points,” Noonan said. “They’re throwing a lot at us. Our guys stepped up and we defended deeper for longer stretches. We defended for longer stretches in a really controlled way. We eliminated a lot of danger in their chance creation.”

FC Cincinnati lineup notes

Julian Malatini, Tyrell Malacia, Miles Robinson and Ender Echenique missed the game with injuries.

Cincinnati made only one change from the starting lineup from the first game, as Bryan Ramirez took over for Malacia, who was injured Wednesday night. Teenage Hadebe, Nick Hagglund and Kyle Smith manned the back line to start. Sami Gidi replaced Smith in the 60th minute. Hagglund and Hadebe played all 90. David Doudera had cramping late in the second half and was replaced by Alvas Powell.

Gerardo Valenzuela came on in the 85th minute, replacing Pavel Bucha. He made his 100th career appearance for Cincinnati, becoming the first homegrown player from the club academy to play that many. Noonan pointed out that milestone at the beginning of his press conference.

How FC Cincinnati scored its goals

Evander struck first with the game’s first goal. He took the ball from Pavel Bucha, who found him in space, and fired a spectacular rocket from about 27 yards that completely crossed up keeper Sean Johnson. Tom Barlow was also given an assist on the play.

It was Evander’s first goal in eight matches since Aug. 22, when he scored in a 1-1 draw against Seattle.

“I knew I was going to score again at some point,” he said. “I’ve been pushing myself to be on the scoresheet and more than that, push the team to win the games. It came at a special moment. A win on the road is really special.”

Barlow made it 2-0 in the 52nd minute. Cincinnati executed in transition. Evander found him with a diagonal pass in the 18 and Barlow chipped the ball over Johnson for his 10th goal of the season. Bucha was given an assist on that one as well.

“He was in a good spot,” Evander said. “What made Tom wide open was the run from Bryan (Ramirez). He made a really good run and made their center back decide who to defend, and created space for Tom. I made a simple pass.”

Evander ended the night with 14 goals and 14 assists. Barlow has 10 goals and four assists. Bucha now has 10 assists, second to Evander, to go with his six goals.

Major League Soccer Eastern Conference standings update

Cincinnati’s three points were vital as there were two games Saturday between teams they are battling with for playoff spots. Columbus kept rolling with a 4-2 win over Toronto. Red Bull New York upset Miami 2-0. Orlando and New York City drew 2-2 after NYC scored at the death to get a point and steal two from Orlando.

Cincinnati and Orlando are tied for seventh with 42 points. Orlando has the tiebreaker with one more win, 12 to 11.

The Red Bulls are ninth with 39 points. Columbus has 38, Toronto 36 and New York City 35. D.C. remains with 33, in 13th place.

“I think we understand the situation we’re in right now,” Evander said. “We cannot lose games anymore. We have to win. We understood the urgency we needed to play with. It’s not enough. We still got three games left. We have to enjoy it because we played a tough opponent.”

What’s next for FC Cincinnati?

FC Cincinnati travels to Florida to face Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28 at Miami’s brand new stadium, called Nu Stadium.

The teams played May 14 at TQL Stadium. Miami scored three times late in the second half to beat the Orange and Blue 5-3.

Miami lost 2-0 to Red Bull New York earlier today. Messi didn’t start but came on early in the second half. The team is third with 55 points (15-6-10), tied with New England for second but the Revolution have the tiebreaker.

Nashville clinched the Supporters’ Shield title with a 2-0 win over Montreal and will have the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati sweeps D.C. United with vital victory