Even after recapturing some of their form over the past couple of matches, the Loons knew Wednesday night at Allianz Field would be a battle against top Eastern Conference contenders, FC Cincinnati. If the boys hoped to come out victorious, they knew they had to contain one of Major League Soccer’s elite playmakers, Cincy’s Lucho Acosta. Early on, it appeared they might succeed, as the Loons' attack produced some promising runs in the opening stages of the first half.
However, their fiery start soon fizzled as the defending Supporters' Shield champions began imposing their will, breaking through the Loons’ defensive third and creating a first-half deficit too deep to overcome.
The Loons' defensive missteps showed in the 34th minute when defender Micky Tapías allowed Cincy forward Yuya Kubo to slip behind him and score the opener. A visibly frustrated Dayne St. Clair found more angst as halftime approached. This time, it was Cincy midfielder Luca Orellano who got the best of Loons captain Michael Boxall, weaving through traffic at the top of the box to score a minute into stoppage time, leaving Minnesota United down 2-0 at the break.
Clearly hoping for more from his starting XI on the attacking end, Coach Eric Ramsay made a rare triple substitution to start the second half, subbing Bongi Hlongwane, Joaquín Pereyra, and Carlos Harvey to bring on Tani Oluwaseyi, Sang-Bin Jeong, and Wil Trapp. The bold move injected some much-needed momentum into the Loons' attack, as they began to pester Cincinnati’s defensive third. Their pressure paid off in the 54th minute when a yellow card on Orellano in the box set up a penalty kick. Striker Kelvin Yeboah continued his remarkable start to life with the Loons, using his trademark stutter-step to send Cincy keeper Roman Celentano diving right, while calmly slotting the ball into the opposite corner. 2-1, Cincinnati.
The Loons kept up the fight throughout the second half and created several quality chances. The closest opportunity came in the 88th minute, when Teemu Pukki curled a beautiful shot from the right edge of the box, only to see it ricochet off the post and out of bounds. The final minutes were filled with drama as the crowd erupted in fury over what appeared to be a Cincinnati handball in their own box, but the referee waved play on. Time ran out on the Loons' comeback attempt, and they fell 2-1 to FC Cincinnati.
However, there's little time to dwell on the tough loss, as the Loons will look to bounce back against Sporting Kansas City on the road on Saturday night.
