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FC Cincinnati

FC Cincinnati remain unbeaten at Nippert Stadium

September 23, 2020 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Cincinnati News Release


CINCINNATI - For a fourth consecutive home match, FC Cincinnati registered a shutout and played the Philadelphia Union to a scoreless draw at Nippert Stadium on Wednesday night. The Orange and Blue have now recorded seven clean sheets and have played 215 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal.

Following a scoreless first half, FC Cincinnati (3-6-4, 13 pts.) nearly opened the scoring when Joseph-Claude Gyau sent a cross to Jurgen Locadia inside the six-yard box, however, the striker's shot went just wide of the target. The Philadelphia Union (7-2-4, 25 pts.) were held without a shot on goal for the first time this season.

Spencer Richey recorded a second consecutive shutout for the Orange and Blue in tonight's contest.

FC Cincinnati will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 26, when they will play New York City FC at Red Bull Arena. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised on WSTR 64, carried on the radio on WDJO (99.5 FM, 107.9 FM and 1480 AM), streamed regionally on fccincinnati.com/stream, out of market on ESPN+, while an audio stream will be available at TuneIn (WDJO) and fccincinnati.com.

For up-to-the-minute information about FC Cincinnati, visit the team's official website at fccincinnati.com, or follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FCCincinnati. Additionally, fans are encouraged to download the team's official mobile app on the Apple App Store or Google Play for instant access to mobile tickets, team content and match notifications.

Information about seating options at the club's state-of-the-art West End Stadium - which will open in Spring 2021 - is now available at westendstadium.com. Season ticket deposits are now being accepted for traditional reserved seating and The Bailey. For more information about 2021 season memberships, visit westendstadium.com or the stadium's social properties on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at @WestEndStadium, or by calling the team's sales and service staff at 513-977-5425.

FC Cincinnati 0, Philadelphia Union 0

Nippert Stadium | Cincinnati, Ohio

September 23, 2020

SCORING SUMMARY

None

FC Cincinnati: Spencer Richey, Nick Hagglund (Mathieu Deplagne 80'), Kendall Waston ©, Tom Pettersson, Andrew Gutman, Joseph-Claude Gyau, Frankie Amaya, Haris Medunjanin, Allan Cruz (Caleb Stanko 90'+2'), Jürgen Locadia, Brandon Vazquez (Yuya Kubo 68')

Bench: Bobby Edwards, Zico Bailey, Greg Garza, Maikel van der Werff,

Stats: Shots 7, Shots on goal 1, Saves 0, Corner kicks 5, Offsides 2, Fouls 20, Possession 43.3%, Passes 371 (79%)

Philadelphia Union: Andre Blake, Mark McKenzie, Jakob Glesnes, Olivier Mbaizo, Raymon Gaddis (Matthew Real 56'), Jose Martinez, Jamiro Monteiro, Alejandro Bedoya ©, Brenden Aaronson (Sergio Santos 72'), Andrew Wooten (Ilsinho 57'), Kacper Przybyłko

Bench: Joe Bendik, Warren Creavalle, Cole Turner, Jack De Vries, Anthony Fontana, Aurelien Collin

Stats: Shots 6, Shots on goal 0, Saves 1, Corner kicks 3, Offsides 0, Fouls 14, Possession 56.7%, Passes 496 (78.8%)

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY

CIN - Joseph-Claude Gyau (caution) 19'

CIN - Kendall Waston (caution) 47'

PHI - Alejandro Bedoya (caution) 59'

CIN - Haris Medunjanin (caution) 63'

PHI - Kacper Przybyłko (caution) 79'

CIN - Frankie Amaya (caution) 90'+3'

Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr

Assistant Referees: Cory Richardson, Peter Balciunas

4th Official: Natalie Simon

VAR: Chico Grajeda

AVAR: Craig Lowry

Weather: 70 degrees and cloudy

Attendance: N/A

GAME NOTES

With tonight's draw the Orange and Blue are now 3-6-4 through 13 MLS matches ... FCC are now 0-0-4 in matches played in Nippert Stadium ... FC Cincinnati's all-time, all-competition record against Philadelphia Union moves to 0-2-1 ... The Orange and Blue are now 3-6-4 against Eastern Conference opponents this season

The Orange and Blue have now played four consecutive scoreless draws at Nippert Stadium ... FC Cincinnati only played to a scoreless draw once at home during the 2019 season, Sept. 21, 2019 against Chicago Fire

FC Cincinnati held the Philadelphia Union without a shot on goal in tonight's match ... it is the first time this season that Philadelphia has not had a shot on goal in a match ... prior to tonight's match, the Union had been held to three shots on goal on just two other occasions this season

Head coach Jaap Stam made one change to the starting lineup from the club's most recent match against New York Red Bulls on Sept. 19 ... Allan Cruz replaced Yuya Kubo

Przemysław Tytoń was unavailable for selection for tonight's match in accordance with MLS health and safety protocols ... earlier this week, the goalkeeper traveled to Poland for personal reasons and is now quarantined back in Cincinnati ... he will be available for selection once he has cleared MLS health and safety protocols

Saad Abdul-Salaam, Siem de Jong and Jimmy McLaughlin were excluded from the matchday roster because of injuries

POSTGAME QUOTES

FC Cincinnati head coach Jaap Stam

On tonight's result

"An important point, you can say. We would have loved to have three. I think we deserved to have three as well. If you look at the opportunities that we had, that we created... but the important thing still is that you need to finish, and you need to score. The most important thing for us is that we tried to be very positive in our approach, we tried to press up the pitch - sometimes we succeeded in doing that, so that was very good. Sometimes it's a bit more difficult, but you're also playing against a team that can play very good football. Not giving away a lot of opportunities, especially the first half. Second half, they had one opportunity, a shot which went an inch from the goal. But we created a couple very close opportunities in front of their goal, from close range. Unfortunately, we missed and that's a shame because it's a game that you can win or maybe you need to win, but we didn't. I'm so very proud in the team and how they responded after last week's game. It's not easy to play a lot of games in a short period, especially of a good size.. We need to have a lot of energy and intensity in every game that we play, and that's tiring at times. So, sometimes that makes it difficult to show the quality every game. It's the same with every team, and it's normal in soccer. I'm very happy in how we defended, I'm very happy in how we went forward, and also in the chances that we created. Unfortunately, we didn't have the three points. We deserved that, but that's how it goes in sports, we all know that."

On the defensive performance

"I think we've done well. I think we, at times, pressed high up the pitch, which was very good against teams like this, and it is no shame. It happens, and we've seen it with them as well. You need to need to drop in at times as well and be compact, not give things away. I think they only had one chance in the second half. A shot that missed its target. I think we missed quite a few opportunities. Even that coach (Jim Curtin) is saying we deserve the win. That is how I think about it as well. We played well at times. Sometimes it can be a little bit better, but we need to understand as well we are playing this amount of games and playing against very good teams as well. The intensity the players need to give is not always easy. We've had a good game. I am very happy about our defensive part. I am also very happy about going forward at times and creating very good opportunities. Unfortunately, we couldn't score, which doesn't give us the three points we deserve."

On not letting the Philadelphia Union settle into the game

"Yeah, I think they sometimes they got a little bit more possession, but we know that is because of their quality. They found it hard to create opportunities. We know, and we spoke about it, that we defend with our heart. We give everything. We don't want to concede. We've had several clean sheets already. We also know that we play against a very good side, but we showed quality on the ball, that we can go forward to create opportunities. Which we did. Looking at this particular game, we created more than they did, very clear opportunities as well. So, we should have scored, but we didn't. That is part of the game. We all know that. It is a very good team that we faced today. I am proud of the process that we are at. I am proud of the team as well."

FC Cincinnati defender Tom Pettersson

On Philadelphia's attack

"I mean you can tell they have a lot of good players with the ball. At the same time it felt pretty good for us in the back, especially for me. It never really felt dangerous. They had the ball in the midfield sometimes and played good soccer, but they didn't create a lot of chances. So it never bothered me too much. At the same time, we did not create a lot of good opportunities, but we had a few and we should have scored. I haven't even played against most teams in this league, but I heard they are one of the best teams and I think we can compete with them in a good way. We have to take that with us to the next game and if we bring a little more quality on the ball. We were a little sloppy at times, but we have good players with good qualities up front, so I am sure it will come, but we have to be a little bit sharper on the ball."

On the the team's defensive recoveries

"There will always be moments when you lose the ball in a soccer game. No one wants to miss a pass on purpose. It will happen. It's not a problem, but the attitude was great. It's been great and was great last game. It gave a lot of confidence to get three points in New York, last game, and we brought that with us tonight and the attitude has been better. We are pressing more, we're not just sitting back and we're more aggressive and winning a few more balls up the pitch. It is also making us more confident and gives us more confidence when we win balls. The effort was great and we know if we lose the ball we have to sprint back and win it back and we did that. We did everything we could, even though it was sloppy a couple times. We have to bring more quality to get three points, that's never easy to win games in this league. We just bring more quality on the ball and the same attitude when we don't have it will improve a lot."

On the backline pairing with Kendall Waston and Nick Hagglund

"I was here this whole season, so you practice with different partners. Not a lot with Kendall (Watson) and Nick (Hagglund), but you solve a lot with communication and talking and they are smart defenders, it's easy to play if you talk a lot and if you do the same things. I don't think it's been problem playing with new defenders on both sides. The more you play with someone next to you the better it will be. I think it's been quite easy."

On the artificial crowd noise

"I heard it. I prefer it when it is quiet because I can talk with my teammates. It was the first game we had it here and we had it for a few away games. I prefer when it's quiet. If the crowd is not here, it is better quite so we can talk. That's my opinion."

FC Cincinnati midfielder Haris Medunjanin

On tonight's match

"Yeah, it was nice to see my old teammates, coach and all of that. I have a relationship with everyone over there. In the beginning, I knew they'd want to press me when I got the ball. In the beginning, I was searching for the right moment, but in the end, I thought we had control over the game. As always in soccer, if you don't finish your chance you cannot win. I think we had the better chances today, and I think we were the better team today. I think we showed we were fighting, showing heart on the field, we were pressing, and we created a lot of chances, but the chances need to go in if we want to win."

On his discussion with Jaap Stam after the final whistle

"Like I said before, if you don't score, you don't win. We had good chances today, and like I always say, I'm happy when we create chances, but if you want to win games, you need to finish them. That's what we were talking about, and I think we were both agreeing in the first half. Like I said before, we were searching for the right moment, because the plan was to get me on the ball, but Philly knows that and they're going to put pressure on me. I think after 15, 20 minutes we had figured it out and we came out a lot of times and we had good possibilities. It was also unlucky for him because he saw everybody giving all the best of what they had, so it was unlucky that we didn't come off the field with three points."

On his feelings playing against his former team

"Yeah, of course. I had a good time over there, and last year we had the best season of Philly history, so it was nice to be part of that. But, you know, now I play in Cincinnati and I want to beat them. I think we had the chance today to do that, but okay - 0-0 - 1 point, we took one point, but we were a little disappointed it wasn't three points because I think we had better chances and we had good soccer in some parts through the night."

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