Preseason action is always hard to gauge in terms of outcomes, and even more so for the first friendly of the year. There is a certain “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” element to it all, where context is so key to any evaluation.
There’s the fact that it’s the first game of the season and the team, new players and all, is playing an opponent for the first time in a long time. There are relaxed rules on timekeeping and substitutions, and opponents are in their own unique situations, making it difficult to evaluate.
FC Cincinnati come into this preseason in a good way, with plenty of continuity and stability to open camp. That context is key to understanding how The Orange and Blue came away from this game and the evaluation Head Coach Pat Noonan had of the team in its aftermath.
“The first 45 (minutes) was poor. I think we struggled to break their pressure with just the movement ahead of the ball. I think we made too many individual mistakes, and sure, it's the first game of preseason, but I think there was more expectation for this game,” Noonan said on a Zoom call with Cincinnati media from Clearwater, Florida, on Friday. “We didn't see that enough, I would say. But you get answers from the games, and we know that wasn't the standard that we're looking for.”
In a 105-minute match with the New England Revolution at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, FC Cincinnati played to a 1-1 draw to open the 2026 preseason friendly calendar. The game, like many preseason games, operated on a non-traditional clock: the two sides played an opening 45-minute half, followed by two 30-minute periods. FCC fielded an opening XI for about 52 minutes of the 105 before making a full lineup change, bringing on a second group for the final 50 or so minutes.
Kévin Denkey scored the opener for FC Cincinnati just before the groups changed over, slotting a shot past the keeper to the far post after Pavel Bucha feathered in a pass to Denkey in the box. New England equalized just before 90 minutes when a poor clearance gave the Revolution striker a clean look from the middle of the box.
Both sides had multiple other chances – newcomer Tom Barlow and Ayoub Jabbari each had near goals saved by excellent goalkeeping, and FCC goalkeeper Evan Louro had a couple of spectacular diving saves late to keep the game level. But after the final whistle, the first friendly ended in a draw.
In preseason, though, performances are far more important than results. And coaches' evaluations are graded on a curve. What good is winning a preseason friendly if you didn’t do what you set out to do? These games are scheduled to prepare teams for the season, which is what’s most important.
It is for this reason that understanding Pat Noonan and his coaching staff’s approach and goals for this game may explain their disappointment. Which is something Noonan acknowledged in his review.
To many viewers (or really any viewer, considering that no one can know exactly what the staff is looking for except them and their players), this first game in preseason action could be seen as a very clear improvement on the past and one to be really pleased about. Even as I live-blogged this match pitchside, I commented as such and described to a reading audience some of the stronger elements of play. It’s the first preseason game, so some warts were expected, but it seemed solid and stronger than previous years' first games. I stand by that observation.
But new information brings clarity. The standard isn’t the one Pat Noonan had for the team entering the game. He has a higher standard in mind, and for good reason.
“There's always a few new faces in there, or new ideas that you try to implement early on ... (but) it's a lot of our group that finished off the season, and so that's why I would have expected more to start off,” Noonan explained as to his evaluation of the team. “With this game, with just more chemistry, we didn't see that enough.
“We know that wasn't the standard that we're looking for. And so I think the guys at halftime maybe got that message a little bit.”
A huge talking point for Noonan this preseason thus far has been that having the full group in training this early, with the built-in continuity of last season's team still very much in place, has led to massive improvements on the training pitch and in the overall preseason progression. He reiterated, even in the aftermath of the game and despite how poor it was, that these last couple of weeks have been as strong a start to the year as ever before because of those factors. Noonan highlighted how they’ve been able to implement new ideas, try new things, push guys physically, all while keeping things fresh at least in part because of the continuity.
So when you have really strong weeks of training, with all the positives you want, the expectation is, of course, going to be higher than just surpassing whatever happened last year. They want to be better than last year, start stronger than last year, and that begins by setting a high bar for yourself.
Friday in Florida wasn’t good enough for Pat Noonan, which helps set the tone for the future. This was the first preseason game of the season, and it was going to be a measuring stick of sorts, no matter what. This game will be recontextualized by the second game, and the second game by the third and so on until the team kicks off competitive play in just less than a month's time.
“The most important thing certainly is the guys going and performing,” Noonan said as to what they look to going forward. “And certainly a lot to improve upon.”
FC Cincinnati will get their next chance to show improvement next Wednesday when they travel to Al Lang Stadium in St. Pete, Florida, to face the Houston Dynamo. Until then, they are back to the training pitch.
