FC Cincinnati picked up a dramatic 4-3 comeback win over CF Montréal on Sunday afternoon in front of a sold-out crowd at TQL Stadium.
The come-from-behind win was capped by Tom Barlow equalizer in the 80th minute and Kévin Denkey’s 90’+4 game-winning goal to snap a three-game league losing streak for FC Cincinnati (2-3-0, 6 points). The win marked FCC’s first win in club history when trailing and going down to 10 men.
Montréal (1-4-0, 3 points) took the lead on three separate occasions. FC Cincinnati equalized all three goals from the visitors and won the match.
Following the March FIFA International Window, FC Cincinnati return to action Saturday, April 4 at Red Bull New York. Kickoff from Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey is set for 7:30 p.m.
The Orange and Blue are back at TQL Stadium on Saturday, April 18 to host Chicago Fire FC. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET and tickets are available at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or by calling 513-977-KICK.
GAME NOTES
- FC Cincinnati improve to 8-4-2 all-time against Montréal, including 4-1-1 at TQL Stadium.
- Today's comeback victory over CF Montréal marked the second time in FC Cincinnati's MLS history the club scored the game-tying and game-winning goals in the 80th minute or later.
- Today’s 4-3 win for FC Cincinnati over CF Montréal marked FC Cincinnati’s first come-from-behind win when playing down a man. In FCC’s three prior MLS wins when finishing the match with 10 men, the Orange and Blue were leading at the time of the red card (9/14/19 at MTL; 3/11/23 vs SEA; 5/4/24 at ORL).
- Sunday marked FC Cincinnati’s fourth MLS win in club history when trailing at the 75th minute, the first since June 15, 2024 at San Jose Earthquakes.
- The win marked FC Cincinnati’s 10th MLS win when conceding the match’s first goal (first since March 29, 2025 at Nashville SC) and the club’s fourth MLS win when trailing at halftime (March 25, 2024 at Toronto FC).
- Alvas Powell made his 150th appearance, becoming the fifth player in club history to reach the milestone (Kubo, Hagglund, Acosta, Celentano).
- Entering today, FC Cincinnati had never had a regular season match where they tied the game at least three times and went on to win the match.
- FCC have now scored 34 goals and holds an 11-goal differential all-time versus Montréal, its best marks against a single MLS opponent.
- Kévin Denkey has scored four goals in his last four matches played and secured his 14th game-winning goal for FC Cincinnati, extending his club record.
- Denkey’s goal was tied for the third-latest game-winning goal in club history.
- Ender Echenique recorded his first game of multiple goal contributions (1 G, 1 A) for FC Cincinnati.
- Ayoub Jabbari scored his first career MLS goal in the 52nd minute.
- Ayoub Jabbari and Tom Barlow became the 55th and 56th unique goal scorers for the club across MLS competitions.
-Sunday marked the 52st all-time sellout of TQL Stadium for an FC Cincinnati match.
AS IT HAPPENED
MTL: Wikelman Carmona, GOAL – 6’ (0-1) – The midfielder dribbled into a left-footed shot a few steps outside the penalty area to convert the first shot on target of the match for the away side.
CIN: Ender Echenique, GOAL – 40’ (1-1) – With pressure crashing in from behind in the middle third, Echenique turned around and darted up field to distance himself from his marker and start an attacking chance. The Venezuelan took a hesitation dribble toward the right sideline before firing the equalizer across the penalty box low and toward the far post.
MTL: Prince Owusu, GOAL – 45’ (1-2) – A defensive breakdown allowed Owusu to slip into the penalty area and regain the lead for Montréal just before halftime.
CIN: Ayoub Jabbari, GOAL – 52’ (2-2) – Echenique weaved into the attacking third and drew the attention of Jabbari’s defender, leaving the forward all alone on the left side. With just the Montréal goalkeeper to beat, Jabbari took one touch and ripped Cincy’s second goal of the day for the near post.
MTL: Prince Owusu, PENALTY KICK GOAL – 64’ (2-3) – Miles Robinson was booked for a red card on a foul inside the box that sent Owusu to the penalty spot, where he notched his second goal of the match.
CIN: Tom Barlow, GOAL – 80’ (3-3) – What looked like a favorable deflection for the visitors quickly turned into a golden chance for FCC. A defender deflected a dangerous pass away from Kévin Denkey but into harm's way just inside the penalty area, where Tom Barlow pounced on it with the keeper closing in to even things up at three goals apiece.
CIN: Kévin Denkey GOAL – 90’+4 (4-3) – A long throw-in from Nick Hagglund found the head of a jumping defender on the edge of the goal area to perfectly ricochet the ball toward Denkey in front of the Montréal goal. Denkey slipped off his marker to poke the game-winner underneath the arms of a diving Thomas Gillier.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs CF Montréal
Date: March 22, 2026
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: TQL Stadium | Cincinnati, Ohio
Attendance: 25,513 (sellout)
Kickoff: 1:10 p.m. ET
Weather: 82 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
CIN: 1-3-4
MTL: 2-1-3
CIN – Ender Echenique (Powell, Miazga) 40’, Ayoub Jabbari (Echenique, Bucha) 52’, Tom Barlow 80’, Kévin Denkey 90’+4
MTL – Wikelman Carmona (Owusu, Hidalgo) 6’, Prince Owusu (Jaime, Carmona) 45’, Prince Owusu – PK
LINEUPS
CIN: Evan Louro, Bryan Ramirez, Miles Robinson (C), Matt Miazga (Teenage Hadebe 65’), Alvas Powell (Samuel Gidi 77’), Ender Echenique, Pavel Bucha (Tom Barlow 77’), Obinna Nwobodo (Stiven Jimenez 88’), Evander, Ayoub Jabbari (Nick Hagglund 65’), Kévin Denkey
Substitutes not used: Fabian Mrozek, Gilberto Flores, Kyle Smith
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
MTL: Thomas Gillier, Luca Petrasso, Brayan Vera, Efrain Morales, Bode Hidalgo, Matty Longstaff (Olger Escobar 84’), Wikelman Carmona (Samuel Piette 74’), Victor Loturi, Iván Jaime (Dagur Thórhallsson 58’), Hennadii Synchuk (Kwadwo Opoku 57’), Prince Owusu (C) (Daniel Ríos 74’)
Substitutes not used: Sebastian Breza, Brandan Craig, Tomás Avilés, Aleksandr Guboglo
Head Coach: Guido Pizarro
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/MTL
Shots: 15 / 21
Shots on Goal: 8 / 7
Saves: 4 / 4
Corner Kicks: 2 / 2
Fouls: 20 / 11
Offside: 1 / 2
Possession: 52.5 / 47.5
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
MTL – Hennadii Synchuk (Yellow Card) 47’
CIN – Miles Robinson (Red Card) 60’
CIN – Matt Miazga (Yellow Card) 62’
CIN – Obinna Nwobodo (Yellow Card) 67’
CIN – Teenage Hadebe (Yellow Card) 83’
CIN – Kévin Denkey (Yellow Card) 90’+5
OFFICIALS
Referee: Filip Dujic
Ast. Referees: Kathryn Nesbitt, Mike Nickerson
Fourth Official: Elijio Arreguin
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero
AVAR: TJ Zablocki
