Defense, Denkey shine over Columbus in 1-0 Game 1 victory
Damon Gumbert
Pat Noonan fielded questions for 15 minutes after FC Cincinnati dispatched the Columbus Crew in a 1-0 victory Monday night, but the match can be summarized in his opening remarks, “A really strong performance.”
In this season’s two previous matches with Columbus, The FC has had anything but strong performances. A 1-1 tie that probably should have been a loss in May and a demoralizing 2-4 loss at home in July had fans anxious when the playoff matches were shaking out on Decision Day.
There’s still time for things to go wrong, with MLS in its third year of a Best of Three format in the first round, but confidence will be riding high going into Game 2 in Columbus on Sunday.
“It was just a good team performance, and we will go again on Sunday,” Noonan said.
The choice from Noonan to start a brand new lineup worked gangbusters for the Orange and Blue. A backline of Miles Robinson, Teenage Hadebe, and Nick Hagglund was flanked at wingback by Ender Echenique on the right and Yuya Kubo, making his first start in months, on the left. The midfield consisted of Evander, Pavel Bucha, and, surprisingly, Samuel Gidi instead of Obinna Nwobodo. Starting at striker were Brenner and Kevin Denkey, returning from his one-game yellow card accumulation suspension.
Echenique, Kubo, and Gidi all made huge impacts on the match. In the previous matches this season, Columbus has used speed to get behind the Cincinnati defense and outrun the defenders. Noonan adjusted the lineup brilliantly, putting speed in places where it was lacking and allowing FCC to keep up with Columbus.
When I asked about the pacing and choices in personnel, Noonan said, “I would say, in the first couple matchups, we were outperformed and for different reasons…They’re willing runners. They have interchanges and timing to get in behind. As strong as they are with the ball on the ground, they also have ideas to get behind. I thought our guys did a good job of that tonight, and it was certainly an important part of our defensive structure and personnel that helped us to find some success.”
The defensive structure was anchored by my personal choice for Defender of the Year in Robinson, who again showed in this match why he deserved to be in that conversation. Constantly, when Columbus was in a dangerous position, Robinson would put the team on his back and put himself exactly where he needed to be to stop the attack cold. The USMNT defender and team captain shut down Columbus’s star player, Diego Rossi, marking him the entire night and keeping him in check, forcing Columbus to try to attack with weaker performers.
Echenique was able to stretch the field in a way that not many players are capable of. He single-handedly switched the field in FC Cincinnati’s favor multiple times, just flat out racing past the Crew midfield and into the defense. One moment saw him streak up the right sideline, cut in toward goal, but the closest teammate to him was across the pitch in Kubo, who didn’t have a very advantageous look at goal. Ender eventually played a pass to Kubo that was sent out for a corner, but the wingback’s speed almost worked against him, with not even his own team able to keep up with him in that instance.
Kubo, who missed a significant amount of the season with nagging injuries, was a force on the left. Evander had a forgettable night marred with turnovers, but Kubo often immediately recovered the ball from Columbus, keeping possession and giving the team a chance.
“It’s been a challenging year. You talk about the sacrifices, the struggles on an individual level, it’s been tough for Yuya,” Noonan said after the match. “When you stick with it, when you can overcome some of the injuries and the tough stretches, you find yourself in a position to help your team in a meaningful game. He gets a start at a position that, if we’re healthier, maybe that start doesn’t happen. But he wants to help the team, and it’s good to have him back.”
Noonan only made one substitution in the first 70 minutes of the match, bringing in Alvas Powell for Kubo. Powell immediately injected his unique brand of chaos into the match, with one sequence featuring almost the entire team playing out of position and securing a corner kick from it somehow. The Jamaican was just what the team needed, though, as his chaotic energy led to the lone goal of the night, a tap-in from Kevin Denkey in front of the goal.
Immediately after the goal, Echenique would come off with cramps in his legs. Noonan would put in Nwobodo, and with that, he effectively changed the formation. Powell slid back and played a normal left back position, with Nick Hagglund sliding right and playing right back. Bucha moved wide, and Nwobodo slipped into the middle, with Evander moving more forward into an attacking role. The shape of the formation was a 4-3-3, but I don’t know if you would call it that traditionally. In the 90+1, Noonan would sub in Gilberto Flores, Brian Anunga, and Kei Kamara and bring off Hagglund, Denkey, and Brenner. The defensive shape would hold off Columbus and secure the win for Cincinnati.
The story would be incomplete if there weren’t a mention of the atmosphere at TQL Stadium. From the starting point, with a full bailey behind it and the best tifos in MLS, the crowd was fully into the game. “The energy was incredible,” Noonan said. “How can we not find joy and be the greatest version of ourselves in this moment, in front of our fans, and go after it in a strong way?”
“There’s no reason for the guys not to go after it the same way,” Noonan remarked about momentum going into leg two.
When asked about what he has learned from his two previous best-of-three series, he said, “Win Game 2.”
