FC Cincinnati’s chase for a first ever Supporters’ Shield in the club’s fifth season will continue Wednesday with a visit to New York City FC.
FC Cincinnati seeks a fifth straight win and takes a six-game unbeaten streak (5-0-1) into the matchup with slumping NYCFC at Yankee Stadium.
FC Cincinnati (10-1-3, 33 points) are the only 10-win club in MLS while holding a five-point lead over Nashville SC in the Eastern Conference. Cincinnati has scored nine goals during its four-game winning streak and 12 goals in six games since its 5-1 loss at St. Louis on April 15.
Cincinnati kept its run going by earning a 1-0 victory at Colorado on Saturday for its second road win of the season (2-1-3). Dominique Badji scored in the 33rd minute, his first goal in two seasons with the team, and Roman Celentano made three saves for his seventh shutout while Cincinnati’s offense attempted a season-best 16 shots.
The victory came after Cincinnati clinched a berth in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals after outlasting the New York Red Bulls in penalty kicks on May 23.
“Just a hard-fought win,” Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan said after beating the Rapids. “Certainly, (it) wasn’t the prettiest, but we were able to win the goal and I thought in some ways (we were) fortunate not to concede, but you need some luck sometimes in games on the road.”
NYCFC (4-6-4, 16 points) absorbed a 1-0 loss to FC Cincinnati in the Round of 32 of the U.S. Open Cup on May 10 and recent results in MLS play have not been much better. Since a 3-1 home win over FC Dallas on April 22, NYCFC has scored only four times during a five-game winless skid (0-4-1).
NYCFC allowed the final three goals of a 3-1 home loss to the Philadelphia Union on Saturday. Gabriel Pereira scored in the 30th minute, but NYCFC allowed two goals in first-half stoppage time and another on a penalty kick early in the second half.
“We want to get back to winning ways,” NYCFC coach Nick Cushing said. “We felt we played well in the first 40 minutes. We lost the game in a small space of time.”
–Field Level Media
