Denkey Brace elevates FC Cincinnati over Atlanta United 3-1
“It’s nice to have the feeling that the group does in the other room there,” Head Coach Pat Noonan said of FC Cincinnati’s 3-1 win over Atlanta United on Saturday. He was talking about the jovial feeling going through the FCC locker room after securing their first since their 2-1 home victory over New York City FC on Aug. 19.
That is nearly two months since the last victory that the Orange and Blue have put together, having a miserable stretch that included massive losses to both Nashville SC and Philadelphia Union, both teams that they will have to play one more time this season.
But with three of the four new additions making appearances in this match, the early returns are looking favorable. The starting lineup featured both David Doudera and Tyrell Malacia in starting roles on the left and right wing positions, with a backline of Teenage Hadebe, Miles Robinson, and Kyle Smith. The midfield consisted of Obinna Nwobodo and Sam Gidi, with Pavel Bucha moving into the #10 position, with Evander out for the match with a knock. Kevin Denkey and Tom Barlow started up top at striker.
A surprise to most people was Evan Louro in goal. Roman Celentano was on the bench for this game, ruling out any kind of injury or knock that kept him out of the starting lineup. Celentano has been struggling this season, giving up 18 goals since their last win against NYCFC. The last match Louro started was the 2-1 loss to Atlas FC that eliminated FC Cincinnati from Leagues Cup contention.
“It’s a tough decision,” Noonan said about the choice to start Louro. “And you know when you’re evaluating these things and making changes to the lineup, Roman has been consistently steady for us, and for four years, it’s just kind of been, you know, his position, and he’s helped us have a lot of success. And in this moment, it felt like it was a good opportunity for Evan, and to try to look at these things the same way we do with field players, and it’s just unique when it’s a goalkeeper position because that always gets more attention.
The first half was a relative snooze-fest in this match, neither team able to get on the scoreboard early. The only notable moments were a yellow card for Teenage Hadebe in the third minute, a yellow card for Tomas Jacob of Atlanta United in the 43rd minute, and several misplaced shots from both teams.
Things really kicked off in the 52nd minute when Denkey scored an absolutely ugly goal, where he dribbled around a falling defender who tripped up the Atlanta goalkeeper and put a left-footed shot from the left side of the box into the dead middle of the net. It was one of several handful of times when you could really tell how bad Atlanta is.
Not to be outdone, the Cincinnati defense struck again in the 69th minute, allowing a goal from Miguel Almiron with three defenders in front of him. The play started with a cross into the box that Hadebe attempted to head away. Unfortunately, Jacob was a few feet behind him and headed his header back to the penalty area, where Almiron was waiting. Almiron played the ball over the outstretched leg of Gidi, hitting Breel Embolo with Robinson and Smith behind him. Embolo, whether on purpose or not, played the ball to Almiron, who took the shot past Hadebe and through the legs of Louro for the goal.
The camera shot from the goal shows that at least four different legs were in front of this shot, and it still made its way through to the goal. It’s a little impressive, both the shot and the absolute ineptitude of the defense at times.
Malacia and Robinson would be subbed off moments later, with Robinson reportedly feeling tightness and being pulled due to precaution. Bryan Ramirez came in for Malacia, and Julian Malatini made his debut for Robinson.
The midfield took a hit of their own a few minutes later when Nwobodo had to come out after feeling discomfort in his ankle and cramping in general. Brian Anunga came in for him, but it is something to keep in mind with how well Nwobodo has played since the return from the World Cup break.
With the match tied 1-1 and no subs left for Cincinnati (Doudera had been replaced by Ender Echenique and Gidi replaced by Dado Valenzuela), Tom Barlow stepped up and added a second goal for the Orange and Blue in the 84th minute. When I say stepped up, I mean he was a full human being offside when he received the ball from Smith, taking a right-footed shot towards goal. It’s arguable if he would have scored had the goalkeeper not got a hand on the ball. The trajectory looked like it was headed over the bar, but the deflection was enough to take some momentum off the shot and angle it towards the back post.
VAR took a look at the goal, and apparently someone slipped them some money to let it go through because they did not come to the obvious conclusion that it was offside.
Denkey sealed the deal in the 90+7 minute of the match, the only clear goal of the match. A perfect through ball from Echenique found a streaking Denkey in the box, and he sent a right-footed shot past the goalkeeper. It was likely that even if he hadn’t scored, that he had been fouled on the play and would get a penalty out of it, but it ended up not mattering as he put the ball into the back of the net nonetheless.
A few minutes later, it was a full-time victory for FC Cincinnati.
Statistically, Atlanta had a better match offensively than the score indicated. They controlled 57% of possession, had 16 shots compared to Cincinnati’s 13, put six of those shots on frame while Cincinnati only managed four. Some of the only categories that The FC controlled were less shots blocked with two to Atlanta’s six, less offsides calls with one compared to Atlanta’s six, and an xG of 3 compared to Atlanta’s 1.5.
To that point, Cincinnati’s defense stepped up, despite my pot shot from earlier. Louro managed five saves on the evening compared to Atlanta’s one; the defense had 12 clearances compared to Atlanta’s nine, and the aforementioned blocked shots.
“There was moments where Atlanta was pressing us well, and we didn’t find solutions through the middle or how we used Tyrell and David,” Noonan said. “And in those moments, I thought Kévin and Tom were outstanding higher up the field with their connection working off each other in a deeper position in behind and it created a lot of advantages for us and I think the three midfielders especially moved underneath in a pretty good way and so those connections were pretty good, and it maybe hasn’t looked the way it’s looked consistently but I think there was a good balance of how we impacted the game in behind and then we’re able to do a good job with some second balls, and then find success that way. So, at this point, it’s not going to be pretty all the time. You’re going to have stretches for sure. But Atlanta’s pushing, we’re pushing, but we also need to manage how to play on the road. And I thought defensively, that part was improved.”
The team has a short week before they take on the New England Revolution at home on Wednesday. New England currently sits in fourth in the Eastern Conference, five spots and ten points ahead of Cincy. The Revolution defense has been one of the best in the league, only allowing 39 goals on the season. Their offense has been good, but not nearly as prolific.
Cincinnati will have to have a gameplan for Carles Gil, who has 21 goal contributions on the season. 18-year-old Peyton Miller is second on the team in goals while playing left back.
The emergence of Miller as a force for New England does shine a glaring light on a blind spot for The FC. Despite several strong performances from their younger players, FCC still depends heavily on aging players like Anunga, Barlow, Hadebe, Smith, and Nick Hagglund. A team that has the opposite approach of Cincinnati, the Philadelphia Union are arguably the hottest team in MLS with no losses and only two draws since August 13th. Philly has accepted their youth approach and has seen their prospects grow since they replaced Bradley Carnell earlier this season. They now sit in 6th place in the East, despite having an abysmal start to the season.
While FC Cincinnati did get somewhat younger with the addition of Malatini (25) and the exit of Matt Miazga (31), they also saw the exit of Stiven Jimenez (19) and Gilberto Flores (23) on loans, while bringing in Doudera (29), Malacia (27), and now Jose Martinez (32). It’s a bit of a counter to the current trend in MLS, with many teams depending on their young players more and more. Philadelphia is a big one, but the New York Red Bulls have deployed many new young players, including Adri Mehmeti (17) and Julian Zakrzewski (18), both of whom made their USMNT debuts recently.
We’ll see if the strategy to add veteran presence to a team that has plenty of veterans pays off for Cincinnati over the next few weeks. They have a stacked schedule for the rest of the season, with three game weeks every week for the rest of the month. Depth will be a key factor, and youth may be something they wish they had more of after the season.
All photos and videos are courtesy of FC Cincinnati
