Fall, who has all six of the club’s tallies this season, gave an electric crowd plenty to cheer about, as FC Cincinnati (2-2-0) broke the United Soccer League’s home opener attendance record with 23,144 tickets sold.
“Congrats to the team, congrats to Djiby,” FC Cincinnati coach Alan Koch said. “I think he would even say, the service into him was very good. … He looked dangerous, and we created a lot of opportunities. It was great to see it come together like that.”
FC Cincinnati’s offense had struggled through its first three games, scoring two goals and coming off a shutout loss last week at Bethlehem Steel FC.
The Orange and Blue got off to a slow start Saturday, too, seeming out of sync as a more attacking lineup — featuring three up top, rather than just Fall as in previous games — had few chances through the first 30 minutes. Even while dominating possession, the defense and midfield couldn’t find players to feet in the offensive third and sent too many unreachable through balls that ended up sailing over the touch line or scooped up by a St. Louis defender.
FCC began to settle in with a few close chances around the 32-minute mark, and shortly after that, Lakota West High School graduate Matt Bahner found Fall far post on a cross and the 6-foot Senegal native headed it in past an oncoming defender whose clear attempt was too late.
Fall made it 2-0 just before halftime with his first goal of the season by foot, finishing off a quick pass from Harrison Delbridge.
St. Louis simply couldn't find a way to stop FCC after that, as the passes became crisper and Fall kept finishing them off. His third completed a nice combination with Tyler Polak in the 47th minute, and the fourth was off a service from Kenney Walker from the right flank in the 62nd minute.
“It feels good, but I have to thank my teammates because I couldn’t do it without them,” Fall said, noting he had never scored four goals in a game before.
While St. Louis goalkeeper Devala Gorrick couldn’t catch a break, FC Cincinnati made things fairly easy for Mitch Hildenbrandt, who didn’t need a single save to preserve his second shutout. FCC held St. Louis to seven shots, all off target.
The Orange and Blue look to carry the momentum into Wednesday’s game – the second in a three-game home stand – against Tampa Bay Rowdies (3-1-0), who entered Saturday in second place in the conference but dropped with their first loss.
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