— In the 26th minute of North Carolina FC’s match against the soon-to-be Fußball Club Cincinnati Saturday evening at WakeMed Soccer Park, Cincy forward Emmanuel Ledesma delayed taking a corner kick, complaining about a gaggle of NCFC supporters who gathered along the railing in Ledesma’s vicinity. As Ledesma gesticulated to center referee Mark Allatin, the official issued Ledesma a yellow card for delaying play.

The story behind Ledesma’s booking remained a mystery until after FC Cincinnati’s 2-0 victory over North Carolina FC in Cary.

“I’m disappointed with the result,” said NCFC manager Colin Clarke. “I thought the first 20 minutes we were decent. But their keeper never had a save to make. We created some good opportunities and good chances, but they either blocked them or we missed the target. In games against good teams like that, you gotta take those, you gotta be more clinical in front of their goal.”

Although North Carolina FC controlled the early run of play, FC Cincinnati found the first goal in the 36th minute. Rußell Cicerone unleashed a screamer that NCFC goalkeeper Alex Tambakis swatted into the stratosphere. When the sphere return to earth, Cincy’s Denni König outmuscled defender Connor Tobin to nod in a goal for the 1-0 lead.

“Their first goal was disappointing,” Clarke said. “It was soft, bad defending, a soft goal to give up. And that puts you behind the eight ball. At halftime, if you go in nil-nil, you still feel good and positive.”

North Carolina FC forged ahead in search of an equalizer throughout the second stanza. But, the Orange and Blue were the ones who found the second score in the 87th minute. Tambakis saved an Emery Welshman shot, but the rebound fell to second-half substitute Jimmy McLaughlin, who tucked the ball into the bottom corner of the goal to account for the final 2-0 scoreline.

North Carolina FC outshot FC Cincinnati 20-12, but NCFC only put five on frame.

“I thought second half, we went out and pushed again” Clarke said. “We did some good stuff, passed it and moved it against a good team, opened them up and created chances. In front of goal, we weren’t good enough tonight, and in front of our goal we weren’t good enough in big moments.”

Saturday marked the return of Raleigh native and NC State graduate Nazmi Albadawi, who played the first four years of his professional career with the NCFC, né Carolina RailHawks, before signing with FC Cincinnati last offseason. Cincinnati manager Alan Koch said he was pleased to earn three points away from home.

“Playing on the road is not easy in this league, and North Carolina is a very good team,” Koch said. “They’re a lot better than the league standings show. We knew we were going to come in and concede a bit of possession, like we did tonight. We had to manage some moments, which we did. [FCC goalkeeper] Evan [Newton] made two big saves, and our team defended like you have to on the road to get a result.”

Prior the match, some confusion ensued over whether FCC would start Michael Lahoud or Corben Pone at midfield. Koch ended up going with Lahoud in the XI, and after Saturday’s match he said that was due to an “administrative error” on his team’s part.

“Corbon [Bone] was supposed to start, and the list that was submitted had Michael [Lahoud],” Koch explained. “I asked the officials what we were able to do at that particular time, and the officials and obviously North Carolina were very on top of it. There is a black-and-white in terms of what you can do, and we chose to play Mike, even though he played 120 minutes for us the other tonight.”

Koch said had he started Bone, who was originally listed as a substitute, Lahoud would have been ineligible for the match and FCC would have had only six available substitutes, not seven.

Solving the aforementioned Ledesma situation required a tad more detective work. First up, Clarke pleading ignorance.

“I have no idea what was going on down there,” Clarke said. “There’s always drama around Ledesma no matter where he is.”

Speaking to the media after the match, Koch said he hadn’t yet conferred with Ledesma about the particulars of Saturday’s episode, But, Koch mentioned some context dating back to when Ledesma visited WakeMed Soccer Park in 2017 as a member of the New York Cosmos.

“Apparently something happened here last year,” Koch offered. “When Ledesma played for the Cosmos last year, something happened in the corner … That’s why he was quite frustrated at that particular moment. In the official’s defense, it’s time-wasting and [Ledesma] deserves a yellow card.

“[Ledesma] saw fans who sprinted all the way down to come get under his skin, and that’s part of the game,” Koch continued. “You have to deal with it. Fans pay money to come watch a game or come abuse people. They have the choice, and they chose to abuse him. But we have to deal with it.”

Ultimately, Ledesma offered the final word on the incident. He said his beef was that the North Carolina FC supporters left their seats in the grandstands and ran down to gather along the railing near him during his corner kick, something he considered improper, and something he was successfully able to get the referee to admonish the NCFC supporters over last year.

“I just said to the referee that the fans had to stay behind in the stands, that they couldn’t stand there close to the players,” Ledesma said. “Last year, the referee said yeah, that’s the rule and the put them [back in the stands]. Tonight, I don’t know why, the referee said the other way and gave me a yellow card.”

Ledesma contended that the fans’ proximity constituted an unsafe situation. However, aside from running down to his position in the corner, Ledesma said that the fans Saturday did not committ any other unsporting conduct, such as throwing objects, spitting, or touching him.

“No, no, no, no,” Ledesma responded to the question about additional improper conduct. “It’s just the stands, because fans have to stay in the stands.”

The yellow card was Ledesma’s fifth this season, subjecting him to a one-game suspension.

“It was just for delay,” Ledesma said about the booking. “I said I don’t want to play, and [the referee] said, OK, you don’t want to play you get a yellow card. Next time, I don’t do that again.”

North Carolina FC (3-2-6, 11 pts.) drops their second straight match at home to remain fourteenth in the 16-team USL Eastern Conference. It’s a quick turnaround for NCFC, who hosts the Ottawa Fury next Wednesday, June 13 in Cary.

LINEUPS

NC: Tambakis, Taylor, Tobin, Harrington, Doue, G. Smith, Kandziora (Bekker, 65’), da Luz (Shipalane, 79’), Miller, Ewolo (Lomis, 65’), Rios

CIN: Newton, Hoyte, Barrett, Lasso, B. Smith, Ryan, Lahoud (Bone, 61’), Cicerone (McLaughlin, 74’), Albadawi, Ledesma, König (Welshman, 82’)

GOALS

NC: ---

CIN: König, 36’; McLaughlin, 87’

CAUTIONS

NC: ---

CIN: Ledesma, 26’; König, 53’; Hoyte, 72’

EJECTIONS

NC: ---

CIN: ---

ATTENDANCE: 4,039