CINCINNATI – A year ago in the MLS Cup Playoffs, Kévin Denkey sat in TQL Stadium and watched as FC Cincinnati – his soon to be signed for new club – was eliminated from the tournament. He watched as the game went nil-nil and FC Cincinnati went home early in a deciding penalty shootout because they were unable to score, and he wasn’t keen on allowing that to happen again.
So, in the 78’ minute of the opening match of this year's MLS Cup Playoffs, Denkey delivered the game winning moment and helped give his team a 1-0 victory and a 1-0 lead in Round One Best-of-3 series. Denkey’s goal was the only score for either side, but it was all The Orange and Blue needed on the beautiful Monday night in Cincinnati as FC Cincinnati turned in a full team performance to neutralize their neighborhood rivals and earn the clean sheet.
FC Cincinnati outshot Columbus Crew 12-6 and until the very late stages of the match won the possession battle against the league leaders in that stat. They defined the game by forcing the Columbus Crew to play on their terms and stayed together as a unit through all phases of the game. When Columbus did have opportunities, they rallied together and fought out from the pressure, and when the time was there to strike they pushed the defensive line high on Columbus to keep the Hell Is Real heat on and make their visitors off balance.
It was, in effect, a full performance from the group to stay connected and make each other better.
“A really strong performance. Very pleased with the chance creation, how we moved the ball,” FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said to open his postgame press conference on Monday night fresh off the victory “Defensively, I thought we were really strong. It's certainly a hard team to play against. The guys got their positioning right most of the time and when we didn't, Roman (Celentano) came up with a couple big plays for us, which he needed in those moments at this stage. It was just a good team performance and we will go again on Sunday.”
From kickoff to the final whistle, FC Cincinnati played with a composure that reflected who the higher seed was. But they also played with an energy that they said was fueled by their home crowd. FCC had worked all year to earn the right to play at home to open the playoffs, and even if they maybe hadn’t always looked their best at home this season, that was all in the past. FC Cincinnati had the home field and the Cincinnati faithful provided the advantage.
“The energy was incredible. It's what I said to the guys before (the game), you sacrifice a lot to get to this point – on the field and off the field. How can we not find joy and be the bravest version of ourselves in this moment, in front of our fans, and go after it in a strong way?” Noonan said postgame of the environment they got to play in. “They did that tonight. They stepped out there against a strong opponent and in the right way.
“To see our fans go home happy is important, but just the energy, when (the fans) recognize the effort of the play. Not just the chance creation, but the defensive recoveries, being able to play out of pressure and tackle. You could just feel the energy the whole night. It was a fun environment to be a part of.”
“I want to thank them. Thank them all for what they did tonight for us,” midfielder Pavel Bucha added after the match. “It was an amazing atmosphere, they kept us pushing and working hard for them.”
This game, like most playoff games, was going to be one decided in the small moments and FCC got those small moments right tonight and kept the Crew to very limited opportunities throughout the night. The defense only allowed three shots on target in the 90 minutes and when they came Roman Celentano was there to get big and keep the ball out of the net. On the offensive side of the ball, FCC multiple times were inches away from getting their opening goal but it wasn’t until late when Denkey finally put it away.
The scoring play developed after Alvas Powell was brought into the match and was assigned the left wingback spot, a role on the opposite side from where he usually features. With Ender Echenique streaking up the right side and Evander finding him in the box, Echenique sent a centering pass into the box that was just beyond Denkey’s reach. But the Jamaican defender was crashing the back post and forced the Crew defenders to cover him. When that coverage left a rebounded ball back in front of the net, Denkey was there to clean it up and put away his 18th goal of the season across all competitions and his first in MLS Cup Playoffs play.
“Alvas (Powell) attacked the back post to help us find Kévin in the middle. Even though I think it was a little bit of a deflection – I didn't watch it back that closely, how we got the ball in front of goal,” Noonan said of what stood out to him in the lead up to the goal. “We talked about our wing back positioning to help us create, and that was Alvas, usually on the right, playing on the left. Just the positioning of him…Kevin in front of goal, the wing back in front of goal. I like that.”
FC Cincinnati had other opportunities throughout the night, with both Brenner and Evander having looks turned away. But by the end of the night FC Cincinnati had the one goal they needed to win, and the defense locked it down from there.
There has been no better team in MLS over the last three seasons at winning one goal games, but those experiences haven’t always been easy. Tonight though, it looked like a well honed skill that this team not only had experience with but knew how to execute because the alternative was unacceptable.
“We can draw confidence from what we've done in the past but we also have blew some of those one goal leads and there's moments where you can learn from in the past throughout the season, and I think through the ups and downs of the season, we definitely have grown to get into this spot where we are today,” Robinson explained postgame. “Communicating throughout all the actions, all the moments throughout the game. Rome came out big for us once or twice, but I think in reality, all of us had a great performance, from Kévin up top to Rome in the back.”
“We felt the atmosphere from the beginning, but we’ve learned also, we’ve learned from before in those games against Orlando where we had a difficult last minute,” Kévin Denkey said of the need to play defense as a full 11. “This helped us now, today, to know that if we are leading, how to behave, if we are, up one goal, if we are behind the goal, how to chase everything. We’ve learned more as a team, and everybody wanted to protect these three points. It’s why I am happy. I'm happy with my goal, but I think the collective made it for us to win this game.”
FC Cincinnati now, for the third year in a row, head into Game 2 of the MLS Cup Playoffs with a lead in the series. In 2023, they went to Red Bull Arena and secured their advancement in a shootout, in 2024 they went to Citi Field and lost to NYCFC before coming back to TQL Stadium and falling in that aforementioned PK shootout. To advance this year, getting the job done in Columbus would be an accomplishment but not an unprecedented one. No one has been better on the road in 2025 than FC Cincinnati, winning a league high 11 road games.
But the focus has to reset after this. Any modicum of overconfidence or complacency will punish them as they head up to Columbus, so while you want to pull the confidence and motivation you earned from this game and carry that into Game 2, they need to refocus and earn that in their preparation for the week ahead.
“Win Game 2. That's it. We put ourselves in a good position. I want us to be able to look at this game and find all the good, all the things that are going to challenge us again in the second game and see if we can avoid a third. But that's the focus. Go and have a good week of preparation and know that it's not going to get any easier,” Noonan said in a brief look ahead to next weekend. “We have to put our heads down and continue to work. I think if we do that, we put ourselves in a good position.
“The way we performed tonight doesn't guarantee victory. We missed a lot of chances, and they had a couple where they could have taken the lead because we didn't capitalize on ours. It doesn't always correlate to getting the result that you think you might deserve. But we have a victory. We have some momentum. Now we need to take that momentum in this performance and try to replicate it,” Noonan continued. “There's no reason for the guys not to go after it the same way. If you feel the energy in that building, and of course, they're in a good place in the locker room. Yeah, take that momentum. Take that energy. But know how to use it to our advantage.”
FC Cincinnati will head to Lower.Com Field next Sunday, November 2nd for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff with the opportunity to clinch their spot in the Eastern Conference Semifinals with a win in regular or a win in penalty kicks should things be tied after 90 minutes.
A chance at glory awaits, and thanks to a complete performance tonight in Cincinnati, The Orange and Blue can earn their path forward.
