NOONAN'S TAKE | "Really pleased with the group to get a win on a quick turnaround"

FC Cincinnati picked up their fourth-straight league win Saturday night against the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. The Orange and Blue continue to roll, with Cincinnati extending their lead atop the Eastern Conference table to eight points and Head Coach Pat Noonan’s squad is now seven points clear of Seattle Sounders in the Supporters’ Shield standings.

Four days after booking a ticket to the Quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup against the New York Red Bulls – which saw FC Cincinnati go 120 minutes plus a penalty shootout – the Orange and Blue grinded out yet another win.

“Just a hard-fought win,” said Noonan post-match. “Certainly wasn't the prettiest, but we were able to find the goal. And I thought, in some ways, fortunate not to concede … But you need some luck sometimes in games on the road and we found that tonight. But really pleased with the group to get a win on a quick turnaround with where we're at right now."

That quick turnaround, coupled with a Rapids side desperate to win at home for the first time this season, set the stage for a back-and-forth affair up to the final whistle. FC Cincinnati had a number of chances in the first half and broke the deadlock in the 33rd minute with Dominique Badji’s first goal for the Orange and Blue.

"I'm really happy for Dom,” said Noonan. “It's a long time coming with what he does for our group and what he means to our group, you want to see guys like that rewarded. And tonight was certainly a good time for him to get that goal … I know he had good years here and good experiences from everything that he's talked about.”

Badji did have good years with the Rapids. Over parts of five seasons, the now-30-year-old scored 29 goals with the club, making 108 MLS appearances with the squad.

Badji’s lone goal Saturday night was enough to get the Orange and Blue across the finish line, but it wasn’t for a lack of chances as Cincinnati took a season-high 16 shots throughout the contest.

“The idea was to start the game with our pressure higher up the field,” said Noonan. “[We wanted to] see if we could create some turnovers and turn that into chance creation, which obviously our group is familiar with. But depending on if we weren't having success, if we were unsure at times of, of what kind of shape they were going to take on, then we had a plan to drop off and pick that pressure up in a deeper position so that we could save our legs a little bit.”

Colorado wasted no time in threatening Cincinnati’s lead early in the second half. Connor Ronan sent a curling screamer off the inside of the post as one of nine Rapids shots in the second half. Paired with Roman Celentano’s three saves on the evening, the Orange and Blue closed out the match despite mounting pressure from the hosts in the final 20 minutes. 

Closing out games has been a theme this year for the Orange and Blue. Nine of Cincinnati’s 10 MLS wins this year have been decided by one goal. The club’s perfect 9-0-0 record in one-goal games is by far the best in MLS, no other club has more than five wins in such games.

But Cincinnati, also, is scoring first. FCC have scored first in all but two games – in the scoreless draw at Orlando City in March, and in the lone loss this year at St. Louis CITY – and are 10-0-2 when scoring first. Every other club in MLS have allowed the first goal at least twice this year.

“I think each game is different in terms of what it looks like to close it out,” said Noonan. “But there's a good confidence and expectation to be able to do that. Sometimes you need a little bit of luck with blocked shots or balls hitting the post or your keeper bailing you out and we got a decent amount of that in the second half. That's part of it, and that's why we're able to win games when we're not on the front foot, when we have to take on some pressure."

Last year, this point in the year was a period of rest. Due to an international break, Cincinnati last year played no games between fixtures at CF Montréal on May 28 and at Philadelphia Union on June 18. This year could not be the opposite, with Saturday marking the fourth of six games in an 18-day span, and the fourth of eight games in a 25-day period. 

The games continue to come fast and furious for the Orange and Blue as they get set for another busy week starting Wednesday night against New York City FC at Yankee Stadium. The game streams on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and will be carried over the radio locally on ESPN 1530.