CINCINNATI – FC Cincinnati and the Charlotte Independence each tallied first-half goals for a 1-1 draw in the first match of this year’s Queen City Cup Challenge on Saturday in front of 21,115 at Nippert Stadium. Charlotte’s Alex Martinez opened the scoring in the 19th minute and Cincinnati outside back Justin Hoyte found a late first-half equalizer. The match ended on a sour note from Charlotte's standpoint as Enzo Martinez picked up a second yellow card for dissent and was subsequently ejected. FCC moves to 4-5-4 (16 points) overall and 3-1-3 at home. Charlotte is now 3-3-4 (13 points) overall and 2-2-2 on the road. Charlotte hosts Cincinnati on Sept. 29 at the Sportsplex at Matthews to cap off this season’s Queen City Cup Challenge. Cincinnati won last year’s Queen City Cup based on away goals.

Scoring:
19’ – CLT – Alex Martinez (Jorge Herrera)
45’ – CIN – Justin Hoyte

• #CINvCLT: Full match and Opta box score

Three Things That Mattered:

• 1. Englishman Justin Hoyte made just his second start with FC Cincinnati, and on Saturday he cashed in with a first-half equalizer before the halftime break. The veteran left back, whose career has spanned clubs such as Middlesbrough, Arsenal and a loan stint with Sunderland, found the score sheet for FCC. Hoyte chested a cross to Corben Bone. Bone’s redirect deflected off of Charlotte’s defense and Hoyte was able to jump on the delivery and he placed his right-footed shot inside the far right post to tie the score at 1-1. 

• 2. The opening 20 minutes belonged to Charlotte, who forced Cincinnati goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt into a number of saves, including a massive fingertip stop on Enzo Martinez’s 10th-minute shot from outside the box. Eventually, the Independence broke through in the 19th minute. Jorge Herrera dished to Alex Martinez on the left side of the box, and with Hildebrandt looking into the sun, Martinez had enough space to sneak his shot inside the near left post for a 1-0 lead.

• 3. Independence Head Coach Mike Jeffries has had to adjust his club’s starting back line on more than a few occasions, and Saturday against Cincinnati was no exception. Austin Yearwood made his first regular-season appearance for Charlotte at right back; he had featured during the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, but had yet to appear in USL action. The Independence were without defender Ashani Fairclough. Fairclough signed with Charlotte earlier this month, made his debut on Wednesday but was sent off after picking up two yellow cards during the Independence’s 1-0 loss to Louisville City FC. Joel Johnson returned from a yellow card accumulation suspension and started at left back.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match:
Justin Hoyte, FC Cincinnati – Hoyte’s equalizer was indicative of a strong turnaround by FCC after the club had endured a high-energy Charlotte attack in the opening 20 minutes.

Upcoming Games:
FC Cincinnati vs. Charleston Battery – June 17, 7 p.m. ET, Nippert Stadium
Charlotte Independence vs. Harrisburg City Islanders – June 17, 7 p.m. ET, Sportsplex at Matthews