Wild finish caps F.C. Cincinnati upset of New York City FC in Suncoast Pro Classic action

BRADENTON -- Two of the Big Three were on the pitch.

And as quick as lightning, the lead vanished.

Undeterred, Harrison Delbridge zapped life back into F.C. Cincinnati in Wednesday's IMG Suncoast Pro Classic at IMG Academy.

The United Soccer League club, which is in its inaugural season, peeled off a 2-1 victory against Major League Soccer's New York City F.C. through Delbridge's match-winner in the waning seconds.

"I peeled to the back post on our corner kicks and the ball just kind of fell to me," said Delbridge, a defender. "I just got lucky. Right place at the right time. The guys put in 90 minutes of really hard work against an awesome team."

A stalemate preceded a frantic finish that saw three goals in the final three minutes.

International superstars David Villa and Andrea Pirlo, who along with Englishman Frank Lampard represent three big stars on the NYC FC side, were substituted deep into the second half for NYC FC, but it was Cincinnati that snatched a 1-0 lead in the 90th minute.

Luke Spencer put Cincinnati on top, before Thomas McNamara whistled a shot past Mitch Hildebrandt's fingertips a minute later.

"The bench guys said to me, 'We didn't even get done celebrating; we turned around and you guys gave up a goal,'" Delbridge said. "So I was like, yeah, great. Not the best turnaround after our goal, but, still, we were excited. It was a crazy game."

The victory sent F.C. Cincinnati to the top of the event's table with four points. NYC FC has three points. The second match Wednesday saw HB Koge (Denmark) score on Kristian Andersen's volley in the 90th minute to turn away KR Reykjavik (Iceland).

Koge is tied with NYC FC for second place with three points.

"(Wednesday), we got a really big teaching moment," F.C. Cincinnati head coach John Harkes said. "Don't switch off. Don't stay in the celebration zone. Can't afford to do that. It was a well-taken goal by them. Excellent strike and our goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt gets a fingertip on it, and that's a tough one. But we responded well."

For both Cincinnati and NYC FC, Wednesday was the second preseason game in the Suncoast Pro Classic and both sides gained something different.

"They interpret space so well," Harkes said of Wednesday's opposition. "And so for us, it was not only from the physical side of it, it was a challenge but also mentally. I am very happy to say that our guys stayed in the

game very well. And they took their chances."

Meanwhile, NYC FC is trying a new formation with two holding midfielders, and Wednesday was a way to test the system that was installed over the past few days.

"This is a system we use during the season," NYC FC head coach Patrick Vieira said. "Because what we want to do is control the game, control the tempo."

Vieira, a legendary midfielder during his playing career with Arsenal and the French national team, will take aim at the event title in Saturday's finale against KR Reykjavik at 7:30 p.m. But NYC FC will need help from HB Koge against F.C. Cincinnati, who battle in the 5 p.m. match Saturday to kick off the last day of the tournament.

Jason Dill, sports reporter, can be reached at 745-7017. Follow him on Twitter @Jason__Dill and like his Facebook page at Jason Dill Bradenton Herald.

This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Wild finish caps F.C. Cincinnati upset of New York City FC in Suncoast Pro Classic action ."