FC Cincinnati is set to play again less than 72 hours after a tough loss. They will host CF Montreal, who has two games left on a six-match road trip to start the season.
Cincinnati (1-3-0, 3 points) faced a heavy 5-1 defeat to Tigres UANL in Mexico on Thursday, which ended their run in the Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16. They lost the series 5-4 on aggregate. If Fernando Gorriaran hadn’t scored late in the second half, Cincinnati would have advanced on away goals.
“We can fight and fight, but we looked scared to play, and that hurts,” said Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan. “There was a lot of talk before, but we didn’t play with confidence, and I take responsibility for that.”
Cincinnati won the first leg 3-0, but they have been outscored 11-2 in their last two matches across all competitions, including a 6-1 loss to New England last Sunday.
The only standout player might be striker Kevin Denkey, who scored three goals in the Concacaf series. Meanwhile, Gerardo Valenzuela will be unavailable due to a red card received in the match against the Revolution.
Montreal (1-3-0, 3 points) had a full week to prepare after a 2-1 loss at Orlando City on March 14. In that match, they had multiple chances to equalize and held about two-thirds of the possession.
Despite the loss, head coach Marco Donadel felt this match showed improvement following a strong 3-0 win against New York Red Bulls on March 8.
“We played a balanced game, but made a few costly mistakes and didn’t capitalize on our opponents’ errors,” Donadel said in French. “We need to take advantage of our opportunities, which was a challenge for us last season.”
Prince Owusu scored his second goal of the season in the loss, tying him for the team lead with Wikelman “Wiki” Carmona, who provided the assist in the match.
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