West grad Hagglund scores, but FC Cincinnati falls in stadium debut

FCC, which remains winless through four matches, invested $250 million into its 26,000-seat facility and more than $20 million in transfer fees this offseason while trying to rebuild a roster that matches the grandeur of its new home in the West End. In their first match playing in front of their home fans since September 29, 2019, the Orange and Blue still showed the same struggles with breakdowns on defense, causing them to fall behind early, but this time they managed to capitalize on some opportunities that might have escaped them in the past and at least made things interesting late.

Miami sucked the sound out of the stadium in the seventh minute when the visitors intercepted a chested ball to begin a counter attack, capped by a tidy finish by Brek Shea at the far post off Gregore Silva’s cross. With right back Joe Gyau trailing behind, Shea put his shot right past new FCC goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer, who signed less than two weeks ago and started ahead of a healthy Przemyslaw Tyton, and the goal occurred right in front of the rowdy supporters groups in The Bailey, silencing them momentarily.

Then, the Higuain brothers teamed up to double Miami’s lead in the 38th minute when another breakdown on the back line enabled Federico Higuain to flick a headed pass on to Gonzalo Higuain, who sent a left-footed shot past Vermeer from the center of the box.

The visitors had another goal wiped earlier in the first half when Shea sent a shot past Vermeer with a teammate lying in the goal, offside.

Cincinnati responded in the second half, though, when Alvaro Barreal received a diagonal pass from Ronald Matarrita and neatly chipped a shot over Miami goalkeeper John McCarthy to cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 59th minute. The Orange and Blue had given up 12 straight goals before Barreal’s tally.

Hagglund then found the equalizer off a corner kick in the 82nd minute, moments after replacing 21-year-old newcomer Gustavo Vallecilla, who had taken his spot in the starting lineup. It seemed to be a redeeming moment for Hagglund after he had struggled the first three games, but three minutes later, Gonzalo Higuain put Miami back in the lead on a right-footed shot after Hagglund was beat on a quick attack down the middle of the field.

FCC couldn’t find the equalizer again and suffered its third straight loss since opening with a 2-2 draw at Nashville.

The Orange and Blue were playing with a much different lineup than the previous game, a 3-0 loss to Orlando City two weeks ago when attacking midfielder Luciano Acosta missed a second straight match with an elbow injury. Coach Jaap Stam replaced both center backs with newly signed former U.S. men’s national team captain Geoff Cameron stepping in for injured defender Tom Pettersson, rookie Calvin Harris replacing Jurgen Locadia at left wing and Allan Cruz filling in for defensive midfielder Kamohelo Mokotjo, who was a healthy absence from the gameday roster.

Cincinnati returns to action Saturday against CF Montreal at a temporary U.S. home in Florida.