Cincinnati needed some heroic performances to cap off their shining performance in the Leagues Cup. After securing their spot in the Round of 32 in a win over Queretaro from Liga MX, Cincinnati continued to build on their pace as they pulled off a promising come-from-behind victory over New York City FC to earn a massive 4-2 win when it mattered most.

Winning goals in the second half of the game proved to be crucial in helping Cincinnati make their climb from a 0-2 deficit in the clash. Their MLS counterparts entered the game with superb confidence and nearly secured a promising victory, but Cincinnati made sure that they will not go down without a fight.

Alas, the team went on to pull off a monumental comeback. At one point, it looked like New York would be able to salvage their chances, and just a few minutes later, Cincinnati was already tied for a draw before the team would go on to cap off a solid victory that many fans did not expect to unfold considering the fact that they were way behind in the game.

A Comeback to Remember

Santiago Rodriguez drilled the goal to draw first blood for New York in the 25th minute behind an assist from Maximiliano Moralez. After a long scoring drought, New York would go on to cap off their rally with a self-goal from Jovan Mijatovic in the 61st minute to make it a 2-0 lead for the team.

After a brief struggle in the next 10 minutes, Cincinnati would gather its wits and later managed to conjure a run of their own – which would set the stage for the comeback. Pavel Bucha found his way near the net behind an assist from Gerardo Valenzuela in the 79th minute to cut the lead to 2-1. Yamil Asad would later score the equalizer thanks to a promising pass from Obinna Nwobodo in the 82nd minute.

Cincinnati stole momentum in the game at that point. Yuya Kubo would then score the goal to take the lead for Cincinnati in the 86th minute, and it was followed by a quick goal by Sergio Santos just three minutes later to cap off the run and seal the deal as New York failed to answer back in the showdown.

By the Numbers

Initially, New York City was able to come up with a promising lead in the stat sheet as they clearly dominated the game in the first part. However, it cannot be denied that the numbers shifted as soon as Cincinnati flipped the script in a snap.

Cincinnati held the ball for 49.5% of the game, just a meager number behind New York City’s 50.5%. The winning team also had 20 shots with eight of those on target. They also had three blocked shots and even made 391 of their passes with an accuracy of 84.1%. On the other side, New York attempted a total of 15 shots but was held to just nine shots on target.

They did have 447 passes, but none of those were seen well in the second half of the game as Cincinnati’s defense hardened later on. The defense was the key to the win by Cincinnati, and New York had no answer to those stifling defensive lines as they failed to hold on to their 2-0 lead and were definitely outclassed and outwitted to finish the game.