Kubo, Orellano propel Cincinnati to victory over Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Yuya Kubo and Luca Orellano scored first-half goals and FC Cincinnati held off Minnesota United 2-1 on Wednesday night.

Kubo, making his club-record 150th appearance for Cincinnati (17-8-4) across all competitions, found the net in the 34th minute for a 1-0 lead. It was his 10th goal of the season. Defender Chidozie Awaziem picked up his second assist in his fourth career appearance, all starts.

Orellano used assists from Kubo and defender Ian Murphy to score in the first minute of stoppage time for a 2-0 lead at the half. It was the eighth goal for Orellano in his first season. Kubo picked up his second helper of the campaign and Murphy pegged the first of his three-year career.

Minnesota United (11-12-6) pulled within 2-1 in the 54th minute on a penalty-kick goal by Kelvin Yeboah. Yeboah's fourth goal in his fourth career appearance — all starts — came after Jeong Sang-Bin drew a foul on Orellano following a video review.

Roman Celentano turned away four shots in goal for Cincinnati, which became the fourth team in league history to win 10 times on the road in a single season (excluding the shootout era).

Dayne St. Clair had three saves for Minnesota United.

Cincinnati improves to 14-4-5 in Wednesday matches under Pat Noonan. The club is 5-2-0 in midweek matches this season.

Cincinnati beat Minnesota United 1-0 on a second-half stoppage time goal the last time the club came to town in 2021.

Cincinnati stays on the road to play Nashville SC on Saturday. Minnesota United travels to play Sporting Kansas City on Saturday.

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AP MLS: https://apnews.com/hub/major-league-soccer