Andrew Gutman’s winless run with FC Cincinnati stretched to 10 games after they lost to New York Red Bulls in their MLS opener.
Gutman is on loan with Cincinnati until the end of the season as he looks to get regular first-team football. With Greg Taylor, Boli Bolingoli, and Jonny Hayes in the Celtic squad, it was always going to be difficult for Gutman to break through.
His MLS campaign started yesterday, but he found himself on the bench to start off with. The American was substituted on after 82 minutes with his side 3-1 down in New York. A Jurgen Locadia goal reduced the deficit just minutes from full-time, but there was to be no comeback.
Disappointingly for Gutman, that now stretches his winless run on the pitch for Cincinnati to 10. In each of the nine games he played last season, he failed to bag a win. So far, his record sits at seven defeats and three draws.
Cincinnati have won once during his time there. However, it was a 1-0 victory at Montreal Impact where Gutman didn’t even come off the bench.
Gutman has a big battle on his hands for first-team football
It looks as though Gutman is going to be playing second-fiddle this season to Greg Garza, the former Atlanta United left-back. That could be a problem for us in terms of getting him the minutes he needs to develop.
Garza didn’t cover himself in glory against New York, but none of the Cincinnati defence did. It’s unlikely to lead coach Ron Jans to make sweeping changes to his starting line-up. He’ll know losing 3-2 in New York is nothing to be ashamed of.
But this is a frustrating run that Gutman is on. 10 games without a win doesn’t read well, and he’ll be itching to get the monkey off his back as soon as possible.
This is a huge season for him too. At 23 years of age, it’s time for him to start breaking out. He’s older than Taylor and only one year younger than Boli. It’s not as if Gutman is a young 18-year-old looking to make his way in the game. We would hope to start seeing his potential in the very near future.
It’s a long season of course and squad rotation will be crucial for Cincinnati and any success they achieve. Gutman will be desperate to ensure that the season isn’t as fruitless as the last one. Cincinnati finished bottom of the Eastern Conference last year by an incredible 13 points. They only accumulated six wins our of 34 all season too.
Hopefully, their spirited showing in New York is a sign of things to come. We could certainly do with Gutman having a more positive campaign this time around.
What have you seen of Andrew Gutman and do you think he still has a big chance to make it at Celtic? Let us know in the discussion forum below.
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