New York City FC got a pair of unanswered goals from Keaton Parks and Valentin Castellanos on their way to a 2-1 victory over nine-man FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium on Saturday night.
Brenner scored an early goal to give Cincinnati a first-half lead, but the hosts couldn't hold it as a first-half leveler from Parks and a second-half winner from Castellanos proved to be enough to deliver the Cityzens the road victory.
Brenner got Cincinnati off to a dream start just four minutes into the contest, cashing home the opener after a mishit clearance by Maxime Chanot popped free in front of goal. The Brazilian pounced for the finish, coolly slotting his shot past NYCFC goalkeeper Sean Johnson and into the net at the far post.
Cincinnati would only hold that lead until the 37th minute when Parks struck for the equalizer. The 24-year-old rose up to meet a cross from Gudmundur Thórarinsson and put a perfectly-placed flicked header past the outstretched arms of diving goalkeeper Przemyslaw Tyton.
Cincy thought they had their second in the 54th minute off a rebound finish that would have given Brenner a brace, but Alvaro Barreal was ruled offside in the build-up leading up to his initial shot and the goal was disallowed.
NYCFC then found their go-ahead goal right on the hour mark, via a penalty kick from Castellanos. The standout Argentine won a foul on Geoff Cameron in the Cincinnati area, then smashed home his spot-kick right down the middle.
The hosts had several good looks at the leveler, but nothing materialized. The first came on 70 minutes when Luciano Acosta sent in a free kick that prompted Brandon Vazquez's free header in front of goal, only to see it flash wide. The next came eight minutes later through Brenner again, but the forward's shot from a difficult angle down the right side glanced off Johnson and the near post.
Matters only got worse for Cincinnati, as Barreal and Isaac Atanga were each issued straight red cards by referee Ted Unkel in the final five minutes, extinguishing whatever hopes the Orange & Blue had of taking any points from the contest.
Goals
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: The final result got a bit overshadowed by the pair of late red cards and subsequent theatrics, but with the dust settled, it's an important road win for NYCFC, who have struggled to find consistent away form in 2021. For Cincy, it was the latest in a lengthy list of defensive miscues and self-inflicted errors that leave them deep outside the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs line in the Eastern Conference.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: The match was decided on this second-half spot-kick from Castellanos that gave the Cityzens a lead they would never relinquish.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Castellanos continued his recent red-hot form with the game-winning goal that also saw him make a savvy play to draw the PK call on Cameron. The 22-year-old is well on pace for a 10-10 season, with 12 goals and seven assists in 23 games.
Next Up
- CIN: Saturday, September 25 at D.C. United | 7:30 pm ET (MLS LIVE on ESPN+) | MLS regular season
- NYC: Wednesday, September 22 at New York Red Bulls | 8 pm ET (MLS LIVE on ESPN+) | MLS regular season
