Keys to victory: 3 reasons FC Cincy beat Indy Eleven
Photo credit: Chrissy Johnston/Soc Takes
CINCINNATI — In front of a record-setting USL regular-season crowd of 31,478 at Nippert Stadium, FC Cincinnati rolled the Indy Eleven 3-0 on Saturday night.
Here are three factors that contributed to the final scoreline:
WIDE PLAY
Left winger Jimmy McLaughlin regularly shredded Indy’s defense on his side of the pitch. On the other flank, Matt Bahner and Russell Cicerone linked up often as well to cause the visitors perpetual headaches.
With the Eleven lined up in their new 3-5-2 setup, it afforded space up the touchlines for FC Cincinnati to attack toward the corner flags. FC Cincy attackers often got in behind the defense from wide positions at will and served in dangerous crosses from the end line or went at goal.
McLaughlin’s showing made him a clear-cut choice for man of the match; the damage he did out wide broke the game open and kept the visitors on their heels all evening. A few Indy defenders likely held ice packs to their ankles after Saturday’s contest.
QUALITY OVER QUANTITY? EH, MORE SO FINISHING
Looking at the numbers, the Indy Eleven actually seemed to have accounted themselves fairly well in the loss, despite the lopsided scoreline. However, the eye test told a different story — that Indy wasn’t really in the game from about the 20-25th minute on.
Indy held 59.5 percent of the possession and out shot FC Cincy 20-9. Indy also completed 141 more passes. Both clubs put five shots on goal.
The difference was in quality — well, sort of. Not necessarily the quality of the chances, but the quality of the finishing. The Eleven’s finishing left much to be desired.
Both teams earned quality opportunities. In fact, reddit user TheChosenJuan99’s xG model (left) valued several of Indy’s chances. It even would’ve fancied the visitors to win on most occasions with similar results.
Of each team’s five attempts on target though, FC Cincy definitely got the most bang for its buck. FCC goalkeeper Evan Newton was scarcely truly tested beyond one or two modestly difficult calls to action. Indy ‘keeper Owain Fon Williams simply had his hands fuller than Newton despite facing the same number of shots on net and more than double in total.
Go figure. Who knew that soccer was more than just creating chances and taking shots? What, you actually have to convert them?
TALENT DISPARITY
By no means is this a knock on the Eleven, but MLS-bound FC Cincy already has a freakin’ DP for crying out loud. Beyond Fanendo Adi, the rest of its roster is insanely talented as well with guys like Emmanuel Ledesma, Fatai Alashe, Nazmi Albadawi, Kenney Walker, Paddy Barrett, Richie Ryan, Emery Welshman and Forrest Lasso, to name a few. Nary a one of those guys — save for Adi — took the pitch Saturday. Indy got lucky in that regard. With the hosts having already clinched homefield throughout the playoffs, they opted to rest a few studs.
But their roster is so deep that there isn’t much drop off when they feature a reserve-laden lineup. The steadying presence of Sierra Leone international Michael Lahoud in the center of the park helped keep the hosts organized. And an in-sync Adi and McLaughlin were still enough firepower for FC Cincy to push its winning streak to 10.
But fret not, Indy. FCC hasn’t lost a USL match since May 26. No team in the USL stacks up to FC Cincinnati talent-wise, especially after its midseason acquisitions. Many sides would’ve shown way worse in a 3-nil defeat.
Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KJboxing.
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