FC Cincinnati snaps losing streak in 2-1 win at Atlanta United: Replay

ATLANTA - FC Cincinnati might have been on its first regular-season losing streak in years, but it hadn't forgotten how to fight.

A 59th-minute rocket off the foot of Argentine phenom and Atlanta United playmaker Thiago Almada had FC Cincinnati staring down the possibility of a third straight loss Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Then the survival instincts of the defending Supporters' Shield winners kicked in, and FC Cincinnati overtook the match within six minutes of going behind.

Luca Orellano scored his first-ever goal for the Orange and Blue in the 62nd minute, restoring order in a match where it could be argued Cincinnati didn't deserve to be trailing. Three minutes after that, reigning Major League Soccer Most Valuable Player, Luciano Acosta, dumped in his third goal of the season to stun an announced crowd of 42,600.

With former Atlanta United and current FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Alec Kann making three vital saves to record his first victory in a regular-season match since early in the 2022 season, FCC held on for a 2-1 win to snap its rare losing skid.

"Certainly pleased for the group that they get to enjoy a win tonight," FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said afterward. "I thought there were a lot of good things that contributed to the win but certainly it wasn't easy. A very talented Atlanta team that caused us a lot of problems in breaking us down, especially in the first half.

"Then, a late push there at the end where a lot of (our) guys were in survival mode physically, but it was good to see them enjoy a win against a good team in a tough atmosphere after, you know, a couple of poor performances and results. Credit to these guys for really grinding in a lot of ways."

The win saw FC Cincinnati improve to 4-2-3 and 15 points in the Eastern Conference standings. By Sunday morning, that was good enough for third place in the east.

Atlanta United, which coughed up a lead at home for the second time in as many weeks, dropped to 3-3-2.

"It's huge. It's huge," said FC Cincinnati right back, DeAndre Yedlin. "We know we have a standard for ourselves and the fans expect the best out of us. The ways the team's performed the last couple years has set that standard. When we lose two in a row, in a sense, there's kind of alarm bells around everywhere. That's a good thing. That's how it should be. To come here, away in a really tough place to play . . . to get that result, especially coming back from down 1-0, it shows a lot. It shows the character of the team."

Boupendza on the bench

To start the match, FC Cincinnati had designated player and forward Aaron Boupendza on the bench. Corey Baird, who more often than not started up top alongside Boupendza this season, instead started alongside Yuya Kubo.

This wasn't a total shocker. FC Cincinnati had juggled its starting lineup in recent weeks at multiple positions, and it was all in the name of getting the best out of the team. But obviously, a designated-player on a larger salary, and one who is paid to score goals but has been stuck on two scores for weeks, commands more attention than most players. Naturally, Boupendza's absence from the starting lineup caused a social-media stir prior to kickoff.

But FC Cincinnati opened the game well without Boupendza. They dictated the tempo on Atlanta's newly-installed artificial surface. Eventually, their two goals came without him on the field. And by game's end, after Boupendza had been inserted into the match as a substitute, he'd conjured up some threatening moments, too.

Noonan explained the decision to leave Boupendza on the bench to begin the match, saying it was one of several tough decisions the club had made on the personnel front recently.

"The group that was out on the field did a lot of good things," Noonan said. "I thought Corey had a really good game tonight. Like Luca, who got his goal, you're just waiting for the moment for Corey to find his goal because he's searching hard for it... Look, these aren't easy decisions, going back to the Aaron question. The same way we worked with Aaron and Yuya (last week), we tried Corey and Yuya tonight just because we're obviously searching for more consistency in our chance creation and our final product.

"Sometimes, you make difficult decisions because you have a goal-scorer (Boupendza) that's a proven goal-scorer on the bench. Again, I'm happy for the guys that were out there . . . When you're searching for consistency and you're searching for results, sometimes you make some decisions to try to shake things up and, you know, it's not easy but it's part of the job and I'm happy that all these guys get to enjoy a win tonight."

Luca Orellano's opener

Snake-bit. Unlucky. Can't buy a goal. These aren't popular words and phrases in the FC Cincinnati fan base. That's mostly because they're cliched. But also, in the view of some, these monikers are too often applied to FCC players. But sometimes, that's simply how it is. There's an element of luck in every sport.

Orellano had been one of the unlucky few to start 2024. He had plenty of company in that regard, and the absence of goals from him was probably less egregious than in the case of some of his teammates. But he's an attack-minded player in any event. He was long past due for his first FCC score.

Orellano's breakthrough finally arrived Saturday. It came three minutes after Almada's curling goal created defining noise − even with the stadium's retractable roof open.

"I think him getting his first goal is massive," Baird said of his teammate. "We know how good Luca is. We know how well he's been playing, so for him to just keep growing, it's massive for him and I hope he just continues in that form."

FC Cincinnati's scoring woes seemed to confound many in the noisy corners of the club's social media fan forums. But if Orellano and other players stuck in scoring droughts break out of their respective slumps even a little, FCC has the defense to make the goals really count. That's what happened Saturday.

No one is saying players like Orellano and Baird need to be leading the league's Golden Boot race. A goal here and there from those players will go a long way, though.

Nick Hagglund injury scare

Nick Hagglund received the starting nod as one of FCC's three center backs on Saturday, but he exited the match just prior to the end of the first half, much sooner than anyone had planned.

It was a startling scene because Hagglund was clearly injured and he walked straight back to FC Cincinnati's locker room after coming off the field. It was also disconcerting because Hagglund in recent weeks made a full return from his recovery for an offseason surgery on a torn hamstring tendon.

Fortunately for Hagglund and the club, the early test results indicated the injury was only a bone bruise, Noonan said afterward. It is likely more tests will be conducted, though.

"It didn't seem too serious, but every step he was taking in the aftermath, I think he jarred his knee into the ground on that play right before, he just felt like in the moment there might have been something more than," Noonan said. "And when you're dealing with the knee, I think there was maybe some hesitation to continue on. But it sounds like he's passed all the major tests and hopefully it's just a bone bruise and something that has him back on the field pretty quickly."

Triumphant returns for former Atlanta players

During warm-ups, a camera fixed its view on Miles Robinson as he was shown on the Mercedes-Benz Stadium video board. Remarks were read aloud over the speaker system, and Robinson was roundly applauded and welcomed upon returning to Atlanta, the club he'd called from from 2017 until last season.

The gesture from Atlanta United was classy, and Robinson said afterward he appreciated it.

FC Cincinnati's borrowed plenty of talent from Atlanta as it has risen to MLS prominence. In 2019, Greg Garza was warmly received by the fans he had one year earlier won an MLS Cup with. Later, Brandon Vazquez and Kann also made their returns to Atlanta. All were received well by United's sharp fan base, and Robinson is also now a member of that club.

For Kann, it was his second start against his former club. The last, on April 16, 2022, saw him provide some heroics as he saved a penalty to preserve a scoreless draw. But Kann was also injured in that match. It ultimately opened the door for Roman Celentano to overtake him for the starting job at FCC, so Kann's last Atlanta start was a bittersweet one.

Saturday was all sweet, though. With Celentano set to return to training from an ankle injury and Kann looking to make a case to stay in the starting job, he put on another show against his former club on Saturday − and he avoided injury.

"I mean, the highlight is the (first-half) save he makes, which you just don't expect," Noonan said. "So, an incredible save on his on his part. And you know, aside from that, I'm trying to think of some of like the clear chances, he had a couple I think that were, you know, maybe right at him, again, just based on him not having to go to the ground on a couple of their looks.

"But he makes the big play, like I said, to keep things level. You know, outside of that, I thought overall his performance was solid. I had the perfect angle of the (Atlanta) goal and not many keepers are going to save that, it was certainly well struck, you know, he starts it outside the post and brings it in. So, there were things leading up to that we could have done better, but not much Alec can do. And outside of that, you know, good composure, I thought the kicking, there was a couple moments where, you know, he's put on his right foot. But you know, even when he misses with those, I think it's calculated misses of knowing what's not going to put our team under immediate pressure. So, you know, that's where I think his experience comes into play. So it was nice to see him, you know, do it on a field that he's been a part of and a team that he's been a part of for many years. So he was he was a key part of our win tonight."

Up next: FC Cincinnati hosts Colorado Rapids

After two weeks on the road, and it's been a busy period of travel in the early days of 2024 for FC Cincinnati, the club returns to TQL Stadium Saturday for a home game against Colorado Rapids.

The Rapids loaded up in the transfer market during the offseason and it is paying off early as they're 4-2-3 on the young season. Colorado is in the midst of a four-game unbeaten run (3-0-1), and the only draw during that period was a 2-2 slug fest against MLS-leading Inter Miami CF.

This will be the fourth-ever meeting between FC Cincinnati and Colorado, and just the second game at TQL Stadium.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati snaps losing streak in 2-1 win at Atlanta United: Replay