FC Cincinnati had found themselves in a somewhat familiar place again on Saturday afternoon. Not a place they’d like to be, but a place they’ve been all too often in the last month.
After a Kévin Denkey red card in the 71st minute and a goal from Toronto FC in the 80th had put The Orange and Blue down a man and a goal with just less than 10 minutes left in regulation, FC Cincinnati were looking down the line at another road loss. Denkey’s red card was also the fourth in as many games, meaning once again FC Cincinnati would have to mount a comeback without a full allotment on the field.
This time though, in stoppage time and after a handful of substitutions to refresh the group on the field and augment the attack, FC Cincinnati’s resolve and character won out. Kenji Mboma Dem, in only his 23rd minute on the field this season, cashed the opportunity that was created for him by his teammates and equalized the match. The 2024 MLS Superdraft selection scored his first MLS goal and ultimately helped to earn FC Cincinnati its first points on the road this season with a 1-1 draw at BMO Field against the surging Toronto FC.
“There were a lot of positives, but it doesn't necessarily feel that way because of a couple of the negatives,” FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said immediately after the match from a press conference just outside the locker room at BMO Field.
“I like the way the guys finished the game. Under the circumstances, we had to be fluid about how we made some changes…with the ebbs and flows of it, but to see us go down the way we did in a moment where we just don't deal with the cross well, and then come back with a goal. I'm pleased about that.”
“You're on the road, you're down a goal, and in the fashion in which we let the game kind of get away from us, to find a point is still a positive and good character from the group. I think you saw that when we went down a man and a goal at home against Montréal. The belief, the fight, all of that is still there.”
Mboma Dem, 24, scored by firing a well-placed shot to the far post, around the keeper and past a rushing defense looking to recover. Ayoub Jabbari, someone described as being one of Mboma Dem’s closest friends and a fellow French speaker, feathered the pass through to the University of Dayton alumni for the assist after a launching pass from Sami Gidi to Jabbari sprung the initial attack.
The French forward and former FC Cincinnati 2 player says he saw the space opened by Evander and knew he would have a chance to get to a dangerous space for a shot. With the Brazilian number 10 further across the field, Mboma Dem said he saw four defenders chase to cover Evander – his gravitational pull alone creating an open area in front of goal. Mboma Dem then just put his head down, ran to that space and took his chance with confidence.
The way the game played out was certainly not the way FC Cincinnati would have drawn it up, nor would it be a result that they would have been excited for had you asked them at the hour mark of the match. After struggling mightily in the weeks prior, FC Cincinnati had seemed to turn a corner Saturday afternoon at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The defense looked stout, the offense was generating quality chances, and even at a nil-nil scoreline heading to the 70(ish) minute mark, it felt like FC Cincinnati’s game to win.
But that all turned in a flash, and the context of things changed. Kévin Denkey, frustrated with a lack of call going his way, took a yellow card for dissent in the 70th minute. Less than a minute later, in the 71st, Denkey received a second yellow card and was sent off for colliding with a TFC player near midfield.
Suddenly, the match that was FCC’s to dictate drifted away and it was TFC in control of the match.
Toronto quickly countered and created the first goal of the game – an 80th minute own goal that crossed up Gilberto Flores and found its way to the back of the net for an own goal.
“We lose our cool, and we have a man sent off,” Noonan said of the sequence. “That's the biggest concern. This is four games in a row now we don't finish the game with 11 men. That's a discipline issue, and whether it's frustration on an individual level or collectively, that can't carry over into affecting the team to finish the game.”
“It's not one person. It's clearly been a variety of different reasons and players why we've gone down a man,” Nooonan continued. “Sometimes it's a play like Miles [Robinson], where we switch off and now we have to recover. Today, it's not to do with a tactical moment, so it's something to address again.”
“Playing a man down in the fashion that we did today is inexcusable and preventable. It's not one person. It's clearly been a variety of different reasons and players why we've gone down a man. But it's also a sign that if we're a collective in how we play and how we think and how we act and how we hold each other accountable, there'll be a lot of good days ahead of us, but we have to stop talking and see more action with a lot of things that have been addressed.”
The red card situation changed the game, and created a point of emphasis that Noonan recognized and addressed clearly.
It also, unintentionally, highlighted a key personality trait that Noonan sees in his team; and served as an example of why he sees this team as capable of still reaching the heights they set their sights on at the start of the season.
“That's still a strength of the group, when you talk about the character of the guys in there,” Pat Noonan said of his team. “Based on how the last few weeks have been – results, performances, all of it – those guys out on the field had every reason to say, ‘not our night, not our moment. Let's just move on to the next.’”
“And you could tell… they just kind of put their head down and tried to do what was asked of them and keep playing. Because of that, we found a goal, and because of that, we still were able to manage those dying moments.”
“It speaks to the character and resilience of the group,” goalkeeper Roman Celentano added. “We put our heads down and got into it. Things happen, and there's an unfortunate goal, but the boys are great and we stick together.”
A draw on the road in MLS is hardly something to turn your nose up at -- historically its difficult to get those with regularity. But a draw when it felt like a win was there for the taking always stings. A draw when it felt like a win was available, but then became an uphill battle, then a likely loss, only to then come from behind and steal a point from the jaws of defeat is a confusing labyrinth of feelings.
You’d be forgiven for not having a solid grasp on how to feel after that kind of a game.
But if you cut through the noise and try to see past the “inexcusable” elements, this was a performance that FC Cincinnati can build on and feel proud about.
The defense, who had in Noonan’s words been “leaking goals” not only defended the box well, but limited total chances. The offense generated chances, and the bench stepped up when they were needed in the most important moments of the match. A red card may sour some of that on the scoreboard (and that won’t go unmentioned), but given the struggles of the last few weeks, there’s a lot of good to feel heading back to Cincinnati.
“We can talk all we want. We've talked a lot about tactics. We've talked about discipline, expectations, accountability, all of it. If you don't learn from it, it doesn't mean anything. We won't progress, and I still have the belief that we will,” Noonan said. “This is a tough stretch for a lot of different reasons, but if they can see that the belief and the fight and the character is there, if we get these other parts right, we'll be a good team.”
“So, I wish I had the answer for how we solve (it all), because it hasn't been solved, but there's enough out of this game to take and show why we can be a good team. (But) until that all happens, we'll just have to keep digging ourselves out of holes and that's not the approach that we're taking. It's not to dig ourselves out of holes, it's to create advantages and be able to play the game in a more positive way.”
The Orange and Blue are back in action at TQL Stadium next weekend at 7:30 p.m. when they kick off against Chicago Fire FC. That homecoming in the Queen City presents another opportunity to earn a result and have their supporters behind them.
