Eastern Conference leaders Cincinnati had gone into the game on the back of ten straight home wins but had to fight for a point against Bruce Arena's side.

The home side got off to a positive start with Senegalese forward Dominique Badji providing a clinical finish in the 11th minute from a tight angle after a penetrating low cross from Japanese winger Yuyu Kubo.

It was to be an eventful night for Badji who, four minutes after his goal, put the ball into his own net when a shot from Gustavo Bou was parried out by Roman Celentano and flew in off the leg of the unfortunate Badji.

The impressive Bou then put New England, third in the East, into a 24th-minute 2-1 lead when Cincy defender Raymon Gaddis failed to deal with a cross, missing his header and the Argentine forward made no mistake.

July 2, 2023

Bou then struck the post with a wickedly struck free-kick as New England looked to extend their lead. But Badji levelled the contest ten minutes after the break, collecting a pass from Luciano Acosta in the box and burying the ball in the bottom corner.

Spanish midfielder Carles Gil thought he had claimed a late winner for New England but his effort was ruled out for offside and the points remained shared. Another streak ended when Inter Miami's seven-match losing run was halted by a 1-1 draw at home to Austin.

Newly appointed coach Gerardo Martino, watching from the stands while he awaits his papers, saw his former charge from Atlanta United, Venezuelan striker Josef Martinez put Miami - Lionel Messi's future team - ahead in the 47th minute.

Austin's defending was poor as they allowed Argentine teenager Benjamin Cremaschi space to cross and then failed to attend to Martinez who had time to control and convert in the box.

But the lead lasted just four minutes before Nick Lima levelled with a side-foot finish meaning Miami remain last in the Eastern Conference, ten points off the final playoff spot with 15 games to go.

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Defending champions Los Angeles FC fell to their fifth defeat of the campaign with a 2-0 reverse at FC Dallas. Tanzanian Bernard Kamungo opened the scoring for the Texas team before a brilliant last-minute strike from 20 yards by Sam Junqua condemned LAFC to back-to-back defeats.

St. Louis City moved three points clear of Los Angeles at the top of the Western Conference table with a 2-0 win at home to the Colorado Rapids. Costa Rican Randall Leal struck a brace for Nashville in their 2-0 win over Wayne Rooney's DC United.

New York City ended their 11-game winless streak with a magnificent volley from Argentine Matias Pellegrini earning a 1-0 win at Montreal. Los Angeles Galaxy were held to a 2-2 draw in the 'California Clasico' at the San Jose Earthquakes in front of 42,823 fans at a game moved to Stanford Stadium.

A fine Preston Judd finish put the Galaxy 2-1 up in the 47th minute but San Jose grabbed an equalizer nine minutes from the end through Cristian Espinoza.

The Columbus Crew beat the New York Red Bulls 2-1 thanks to a 62nd-minute volley from Ghanaian Yaw Yeboah, while Uruguayan Facundo Torres scored twice for Orlando City in their 3-1 win over the Chicago Fire.

July 2, 2023

D. Badji

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