Brenner scores 3 to beat D.C United, putting Cincinnati in MLS playoffs for first time since 2005
Cincinnati scored in the 92nd minute of a 2-0 win on Saturday at D.C. United, becoming first team to score in the last minute of a MLS regular-season game, and clinching the No. 1 playoff seed in the Eastern conference for the first time since 2005.
It was the first time the Bearcats have qualified for the playoffs since 2005 when they went to the second round of the playoffs.
“It was probably, to be honest, more nerve-racking than it was going to be,” said head coach Ian Russell. “I didn’t think we were going to come out of it. It was the way it started, but then we came out and had a better game. Once you concede, it’s a great opportunity to get a player of the game. A player of the game, yeah, but also for the team for the day.”
After being unable to muster a second goal, the ball started rolling with Cincinnati’s first in the 18th minute. A long ball over the top to the back, which seemed to get turned out by both Cincinnati goalkeeper Sean Johnson as well as D.C.’s midfielder Dwayne De Rosario, and Johnson made a solid save from a high shot from the right side.
“I think if I go back and analyze, we were sitting back, there was room for Dwayne to come in on the right, we were just putting a different type of pressure on him and I think it resulted in his shot,” said Russell.
“I think he was trying to get the ball to me, and I was trying to get the ball to him, and then, all of a sudden, he took a shot at goal.”
The teams remained deadlocked at halftime — aside from a late penalty for D.C. – and Cincinnati continued to put more pressure on D.C. and the lead grew as the half progressed.
“I think in the second half, the game was a bit tight,” said head coach Ian Russell. “We were trying to sit back and take the game to them, but we were in no position to do that after the first 30-40 minutes of the game. I thought in the second half, they had a bit more of their game together, and they started
