A crowd of 30,160 turned out to watch FC Cincinnati’s 1-0 upset of the top-flight Columbus Crew on Wednesday night in the fourth round of the US Open Cup.
Djiby Fall’s header in the 64th minute made the difference for the second-year club of the United Soccer League, which shares second-division status with the NASL in the United States pyramid.
“It’s Cincinnati against Columbus,” Cincinnati coach Alan Koch said afterward. “People can [break] it down and say, ‘It’s the first game, so how do you have a rivalry?’ Of course we have a rivalry. This is professional soccer, and when you get to play against teams that are this close geographically, it’s very important for the clubs … and our fans and both of our cities.”
Goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt’s clean sheet preserved the biggest win in the two-year-old club’s brief history against a Crew team that featured nine regular starters.
“This is what makes soccer special,” Crew coach Gregg Berhalter said. “It’s great to give Americans a taste of a real cup atmosphere – that’s exactly what it was. Our fans were amazing, their fans were amazing and it made an atmosphere that was electric.”
FC Cincinnati were one of a dozen teams to submit an application for one of the four slots in Major League Soccer’s next round of expansion, which will be awarded this year. Wednesday’s result and record turnout at Nippert Stadium will no doubt reflect well on their candidacy.
The team’s president and general manager Jeff Berding told the Cincinnati Enquirer that he “hadn’t communicated” with any MLS representatives this week, but added, “I would imagine they were certainly aware of the attendance.”
The result was one of several upsets of MLS clubs on Wednesday in the fourth round of the 103-year-old competition. Miami FC won 3-1 over Orlando City SC, while Sacramento Republic FC prevailed 4-1 over Real Salt Lake.
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