Konig, who was acquired in a trade with Oklahoma City on May 10, scored two goals in his second game to give FCC to a 2-1 win over Bethlehem Steel FC in front of 18,441 fans at Nippert Stadium. Lightning halted play before the four minutes of stoppage time could be played, but after almost two hours waiting out the storm, the game was called and considered complete.
The win was Cincinnati’s first in three tries against Bethlehem (3-5-0) this season.
“He showed tonight what we know he is capable of doing,” FCC coach Alan Koch said of Konig. “He was rewarded for his efforts. Last weekend was his first game. He had some good moments. It is difficult obviously to go out after you’ve trained for only two games, but we made the decision to put him in and the fact he played last week and we played the same starting 11 again tonight allowed everybody to get on the same page. He obviously fed off some good service but he had the ability and the confidence to bag two goals, so we’re very happy for him. We brought him in to be a big part of our group and he showed that tonight.”
The 30-year-old Konig put FCC ahead 1-0 in the 17th minute on a diving header off Jimmy McLaughlin’s slicing cross to the far post, just beating the approaching Bethlehem goalkeeper Jake McGuire for his first goal of the season. He had a goal waived off just three minutes before that when he headed in a deflected ball but was called for fouling McGuire.
Bethlehem scored the equalizer on a penalty kick in the 32nd minute after Aodhan Quinn gave up a turnover in the box and took down Seku Conneh while trying to get the ball back. However, Konig produced again early in the second half to gain back the lead for FCC (3-4-3).
Kadeem Dacres split two defenders to set up Konig for the second goal after receiving a long ball from Quinn on the other half of the field. Konig cut past his defender at the penalty dot, took one more touch and then chipped in an easy left-footed shot to make it 2-1 in the 53rd minute.
“It’s always nice to have a coach who believes in you and of course you want to repay him and show he made the right decision,” Konig said of Koch’s confidence in bringing him to Cincinnati. “I’m not thinking about it when I’m in the game, but I want to pay him back for the confidence he has in me.”
FCC’s defense struggled with turnovers in the first half and had some breakdowns late in the game, but goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt preserved the win with an outstanding performance.
Hildebrandt made a point-blank save in the 19th minute after the defense lost the ball in the box, and Harrison Delbridge was there for the stop on the rebound shot before FCC finally was able to clear the ball.
At the end of the first half, Matt Bahner, a Lakota West High School graduate, lost another turnover to give Chris Nanco a breakaway but with Quinn closing in from behind, Nanco took too big of a touch on the dribble and Hildebrandt came out to snuff the opportunity.
In the second half, Bethlehem had several other opportunities that Hildebrandt broke up with saves or batting away crosses, including sending a sure goal off a header over the cross bar in the 56th minute. He had five saves going into stoppage time.
“It wasn’t an easy game,” Koch said. “We played very well, but there were a couple moments where Bethlehem was very, very dangerous. We came together defensively. Mitch made some first-class saves, and we created all sorts of opportunities, too, and thankfully Danni bagged two goals tonight.”
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