First-place FC Cincinnati handles Richmond

Emmanuel Ledesma came back from an unwanted break and immediately put FC Cincinnati at ease Saturday in what turned out to be the club’s most dominant performance of the season.

Coming back from a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation, the league’s top setup man took matters into his own hands to put FCC on the board in the eighth minute against 14th-place Richmond Kickers SC. Ledesma ended up scoring twice, as the Orange and Blue cruised to a 4-0 win on a hot night in front of a season-high 28,026 fans at Nippert Stadium.

FCC improves to 9-3-3 and pushes its lead on Louisville, which tied Penn FC on Saturday in its 12th league match of the season, to six points for first place in the United Soccer League Eastern Conference.

“It’s not that easy to manage all the different elements of the game, and they managed every element of the game to perfection,” FCC coach Alan Koch said. “They managed how we asked them to play, which was excellent in and out of possession. They managed where Richmond’s strengths and weaknesses were, so they nullified their strengths and capitalized on their weaknesses. They managed the weather, which it’s not that easy going out and playing with that intensity through the course of 90 minutes. And, they managed the location, a great big crowd on a Saturday night in Cincinnati. It was a very good performance tonight.”

Ledesma, who leads the USL East with seven assists, netted his sixth goal of the season on a floater from the left flank after Danni Konig fed him the ball following a throw-in. Ledesma saw Richmond goalkeeper Travis Worra off his line and fired the shot, which might have looked like a cross had any of his teammates been set up inside the 18-yard box.

The Argentina native also scored in the second half and now has had a hand in 13 goals in his last nine games, including all seven of his goals, and FCC is 7-2-1 during that time.

“I’m looking for a watch, so I asked my wife if I could buy one and she said, ‘If you score, you can buy it,’” Ledesma said with a laugh. “So, I’m buying myself a watch for Father’s Day.”

Nazmi Albadawi doubled the lead in the 36th minute, receiving a pass from Michael Lahoud in the center of the field, taking a few touches to his right and then ripping a shot from 25 yards out for his fifth goal. Four of his goals have come in his last six league games.

In the second half, Konig got in on the scoring to add to his club-record career goal total, which now sits at 18. Justin Hoyte sent him through on a long ball into the box for a wide open look as Worra approached. Konig neatly tucked it away to the near post to make it 3-0 in the 60th minute.

Hoyte, who recorded his first career assists with FCC on Saturday, then set up Ledesma for his second goal of the night, a curling shot from the top of the box for the final dagger in the 67th minute. It was Ledesma’s second brace this season, as he tallied his first one May 5 against Atlanta United 2.

Overall it was one of the most complete performances the club has put together. FCC finished with 58.8 percent possession and managed its first clean sheet at home this season with Evan Newton recording three saves.

“Our fullbacks were very active tonight and got rewarded, the attacking players and their movement was very impressive, but everybody was playing with each other, so we feel very comfortable we can score in every game we play,” Koch said. “On the flip side, I’m very happy for the group, and I’m very happy for Evan and the back four, our entire collective group, for getting the clean sheet. It’s not imperative to get a clean sheet, but to get a clean sheet, the guys take a lot of pride in that, and it’s something we can continue to build on.”

Cincinnati gets a well-earned break after totaling 10 points out of 12 possible the last two weeks. The Orange and Blue are off until June 27 when they travel to Toronto FC II for a midweek tilt. They return home June 30 and play three of their four USL games in July at home.

About the Author