Minnesota United FC Falls into Early Hole in 2-1 Loss to FC Cincinnati

Loons Drop Fourth Straight Match on the Road

Cincinnati Strikes Twice in First 15 Minutes

Minnesota United FC suffered its fourth straight loss on the road Saturday night, falling 2-1 to FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium.

The Loons fell behind early, conceding two goals in the first 15 minutes of the match. Brandon Vazquez opened the scoring for Cincinnati in the 6th minute, and Luciano Acosta doubled the lead in the 14th minute.

Minnesota pulled one back in the 36th minute through Robin Lod, but it wasn't enough to earn a point on the night.

Slow Start Dooms Loons

The Loons' slow start proved costly on Saturday night. Cincinnati took advantage of Minnesota's defensive miscues to score two early goals and take control of the match.

Coach Adrian Heath was critical of his team's performance in the first half.

"We were poor in the first half," Heath said. "We gave up two soft goals and we didn't create any chances of our own. We were lucky to be only 2-0 down at halftime."

Lod Provides Spark, but Not Enough

Robin Lod provided a spark for the Loons in the second half, scoring a goal and creating several other chances.

But the Finnish midfielder couldn't do it all on his own. Minnesota struggled to create clear-cut chances throughout the match, and Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano made several big saves to keep the Loons at bay.

Another Road Loss

The loss to Cincinnati was Minnesota's fourth straight on the road. The Loons are now 0-4-2 away from Allianz Field this season.

Heath is hoping his team can turn things around on the road, but he knows it will take a lot of hard work.

"We need to be better on the road," Heath said. "We need to be more organized and we need to be more clinical in front of goal. We have a lot of work to do, but we're confident that we can turn things around."