Substitute Tom Barlow scored in the 80th minute, Kevin Denkey followed in second-half stoppage time and 10-man FC Cincinnati rallied to a 4-3 victory over visiting CF Montreal on Sunday.
Barlow scored his first goal for his new club three minutes after his entrance, and 20 minutes after Miles Robinson’s ejection.
Denkey’s second league goal completed the comeback less than 72 hours after Cincinnati (2-3-0, 6 points) lost 5-1 to Tigres UANL in Mexico City, dropping their CONCACAF Champions Cup series 5-4 on aggregate goals.
Ender Echenique scored Cincy’s first goal and assisted its second from Ayoub Jabbari.
Prince Owusu scored his third and fourth goals of the season for Montreal (1-4-0, 3 points) as well as his second from the penalty spot, and added an assist.
Wiki Carmona added his third goal of the campaign and an assist, but Montreal again struggled up a man. The French Canadians have been outscored 4-1 when playing 11-on-10.
Both late Cincinnati goals came via uncontrolled touches from Montreal defenders.
First, Barlow reacted smartly when Samuel Piette poked the ball away from Denkey, arriving first to it in the penalty area and driving a low finish past Thomas Gillier.
Then on Cincinnati’s long throw-in from the left, a Montreal defender reached the ball first, but only sent his header bounding toward the back post. Denkey was the first man there, poking it over the line and then pulling his shirt off in celebration of what could be a pivotal moment in Cincinnati’s season.
Robinson was sent off in the 60th minute when referee Filip Dujic ruled he had hauled down Owusu trying to reach the rebound of Brayan Vera’s shot, denying a goal-scoring opportunity without trying to play the ball.
Owusu stepped up and converted the ensuing penalty inside the right post, hesitating slightly to send goalkeeper Even Lauro lunging in the opposite direction before striking his shot.
Carmona’s effort from distance opened the scoring in the fourth moment, and after Echinique leveled in the 40th, Owusu gave Montreal the lead again in the 45th. Jabbari made it 2-2 in the 52nd.
–Field Level Media
