FC Cincinnati was dead in the water, and about 15 minutes from being entered into the most treacherous quadrant of the Leagues Cup knockout round bracket.
NYCFC opened up a 2-0 lead in 61st minute and looked primed to close out Monday's group-stage finale against FC Cincinnati without any fuss at TQL Stadium. But from seemingly nowhere, FC Cincinnati exploded back into the match, scoring four goals over 10 minutes to tie, overtake and overwhelm NYCFC in what turned out to be a 4-2 FCC victory.
Pavel Bucha (79th minute), Yamil Asad (82'), Yuya Kubo (85') and Sergio Santos (89'), all of whom were second-half substitutes, scored to crush NYCFC's hopes.
Both clubs entered the match with the reassurance of knowing they'd progress to the Round of 32 in the Leagues Cup regardless of the outcome, but the win meant that FC Cincinnati dodged a nasty area of the bracket that included Liga MX giants, plus MLS title-holders Columbus Crew and Inter Miami CF.
Now, as the East 1 group winner, FCC will host Mexico's Santos Laguna on Friday, and likely be heavily favored against a team that entered Leagues Cup winless in four regular-season matches.
Paul Walters, 20, made his first-team debut for FC Cincinnati and starred in the win, making eight saves − a career-best since turning professional with FC Cincinnati − in front of about a dozen family members.
A crowd of 22,098 attended the contest.
"That was certainly a fun conclusion to the night," FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said. "We had a very strong, whatever that was, 20 minutes (late), and that's the difference. I thought the reason we're sitting here at the top of the game was the guys that came into the game and certainly had a huge impact."
A new-look FC Cincinnati team with several second-rung players started bossed the match early. Cincinnati had good chances, most of the possession, and threatening set-piece opportunities. But when FCC missed its chances to jump on a strong NYCFC lineup, the visitors made the hosts pay.
Santiago Rodriguez scored in the 25th minute, which was a deflating moment after all of Cincinnati's dominance.
Still, FCC managed to get the match to halftime down just 1-0.
But when Walters appeared to be screened on a shot he saved in the 61st minute, the rebound fell to Jovan Mijatovic, who roofed his shot into the net from close range to make it 2-0.
Cincinnati looked ready to go quietly, but Noonan had already been installing the substitute players into the match that would decide the outcome.
Bucha scored first. Then Asad went on a slaloming run and took on NYCFC by himself to knot the match at two.
Kubo scored the eventual game-winner, and Santos iced the match before sprinting almost the length of the entire field to celebrate.
All the while, Walters was tidy in closing out the game.
"I was pleased for him to get a win tonight in his first game for the first team," Noonan said. "I thought it was a good opportunity. You know, we don't talk about him a lot because of how strong our goalkeeping group is, and it wasn't an easy conversation to talk to somebody like Evan (Louro) and say, 'we've got to see what this kid's about.' And he has a very bright future, Paul does, and this was an opportunity where we thought it made sense.
"And so, on one end, it's tough conversation. On the other end, this kid gets his chance, and I thought his shot-stopping was strong, certainly in that first half. Maybe he can do better on the second goal, I'll have to look at it.... I don't know if he was screened. I don't know, it's easy for me to say, look I don't know if he could have done better with the initial shot... But for the first game, for it to look like that, shows you what he's capable of. So, bright future for the kid."
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Welcome to Cincinnati.com's live coverage of FC Cincinnati versus New York City FC in Leagues Cup. Refresh this page throughout the match for live updates and analysis.
Sergio Santos clinches the win (89')
FC Cincinnati is going to win this group, and in style.
Yuya Kubo really rescued FC Cincinnati (85')
FC Cincinnati has come all the way back and leads NYCFC, 3-2.
Yamil Asad rescues FC Cincinnati (82')
Yamil Asad went on a slaloming solo run to tie this game up. We could be looking at penalties to decide the top spot in Leagues Cup group "East 1."
FC Cincinnati isn't finished yet (79')
Pavel Bucha scored on a cutback to halve FCC's deficit.
NYCFC doubles its lead
Paul Walters made a save through a screen by an NYCFC player, but spilled the rebound. Jovan Mijatovic was there to clean up the ball. He roofed his shot for 2-0.
FC Cincinnati survived to halftime
Paul Walters stole the show for FC Cincinnati in the first half with four saves, and they were all impressive. But FC Cincinnati still allowed an NYCFC goal against the run of play and finds itself trailing.
NYCFC scores first (25')
Against the run of play, NYCFC jumped in front on a goal by Santiago Rodriguez. That's a blow to the efforts of a Cincinnati team that has looked very strong.
FC Cincinnati dominating against NYCFC (15')
FC Cincinnati has three very threatening shots, three corner kicks early, and all the possession early. You wouldn't know this was such a young and inexperienced team FCC had fielded against what is generally a first-choice NYCFC lineup.
Live score updates for FC Cincinnati vs NYCFC at TQL Stadium (1')
The heat is oppressive but another good crowd has turned out for the game.
Big changes for FC Cincinnati's lineup
- FC Cincinnati starting XI: Paul Walters (GK), Ian Murphy, Malik Pinto, Luca Orellano, Gerardo Valenzuela, Kevin Kelsy, Alvas Powell, Obinna Nwobodo (captain), Corey Baird, Kipp Keller, Bret Halsey.
- Cincinnati bench: Chidozie Awaziem, Yuya Kubo, Miles Robinson, Sergio Santos, Roman Celentano (GK), Pavel Bucha, Yamil Asad, London Aghedo, Evan Louro (GK), Stiven Jimenez, Moises Tablante.
- New York City FC starting XI: Luis Barraza, Rosa Birk, James Sands, Santiago Rodriguez, Julian Fernandez, Thiago Martins (captain), Christian McFarlane, Trayvon Gray, Maxi Moralez, Justin Haas.
- NYCFC bench: Rio Hope-Gund, Mounsef Bakrar, Strahinja Tanasijevic, Adrian Martinez, Hannes Wolf, Kevin O'Toole, Axel Ojeda, Maximo Carrizo, Tomas Romero (GK), Mitja Ilenic, Matt Freese (GK), Keaton Parks.
