Luciano Acosta scored in the 83rd minute as FC Cincinnati remained undefeated at home in 2023 and extended their club-record winning streak to six games with a 1-0 victory over the visiting Chicago Fire on Saturday night.
Essentially bottled up most of the night, Acosta finally had his moment. The FCC star took a brilliant long ball from Santiago Arias in the box, put a move on Fire defender Kendall Burks in a one-on-one situation and blazed the ball past Chicago goalkeeper, and ex-Cincinnati starter, Spencer Richey to break the scoreless tie.
It was the seventh goal this season for Acosta, who helped league-leading FCC (12-1-3, 39 points) improve to 9-0-0 at home. Cincinnati’s overall win streak started with a 2-1 victory over D.C. United on May 6.
Meanwhile, Chicago (3-5-8, 17 points) had just six total shots, but put forth a valiant defensive effort in dropping to 0-2-3 in its last five MLS matches. The Fire, 1-5-2 on the road, suffered their first defeat in five all-time matches at Cincinnati.
These teams played to a 3-3 draw at Chicago on March 18, but the scoring chances were definitely at a premium in this return match.
After doing a good job of frustrating Cincinnati in the attacking end during the first half, Chicago came out as the offensive aggressor in the second. Georgios Koutsias’ chip at the side of the net put a scare into FCC in the 49th minute, and Chicago continued to pressure, but could not convert.
Following an early feeling-out period, Cincinnati garnered a bulk of the first-half possession. FCC got the first true scoring chance on Yerson Mosquera’s open look in the 17th minute. Mosquera also missed with a header in the 35th. Richey, playing in place of the injured Chris Brady, also thwarted an Acosta bending-corner entry in the first half.
Cincinnati recorded all five overall shots in the first half, though none were on target.
–Field Level Media