Denkey, Louro lead FC Cincinnati to 1-0 win over New York Red Bulls
Damon Gumbert
A week after FC Cincinnati’s defense came under fire from Orlando City SC and critics, including myself, they secured Evan Louro’s first MLS clean sheet.
A return to the type of play that earned the team a Supporter’s Shield in 2023, an individual moment of pure brilliance combined with 90-ish minutes of stellar defense, propelled them to a 1-0 victory against rival New York Red Bulls.
That moment of brilliance came from Kevin Denkey in the 12th minute. Denkey received the ball near half field, turned and streaked past and around a small handful of surrounding RBNY players. Ender Echenique was streaking along the right side of the pitch, and it looked like Denkey would pass the ball off to the wingback, but instead he looked at goal and took a rocket of a shot that soared past Carlos Coronel for the goal.
Denkey celebrated by tucking in his shirt, an obvious ode to his enthusiastic celebration from last week that garnered him a yellow card.
The goal was Denkey’s 15th and last goal of the season for the Togolese striker. A few minutes after the goal, Denkey was given a yellow card for poor sportsmanship after delaying a RBNY restart by kicking the ball away. Due to yellow card accumulation, Denkey will miss Decision Day in Cincinnati against CF Montreal.
“Just an immature play,” Head Coach Pat Noonan said about the yellow card. “Because he knows that he was on four and shouldn’t have been receiving a yellow for anything outside of maybe a tactical situation.
Denkey’s goal was the difference maker on a forgettable night for the Cincinnati offense. The team went into the halftime break having only two shots and zero corners while trying to keep pace with a surging Philadelphia in the Supporter’s Shield race. While the Red Bulls were already eliminated from playoff contention, it didn’t stop them from putting up 17 shots and 12 corners compared to FC Cincinnati’s six and one.
Noonan obviously learned from the previous match-up as he switched up the back line for this match, starting Lukas Engel at left wing back and putting Teenage Hadebe back in the starting lineup. As good a move as that was, it was still a little confusing to see Alvas Powell starting at the right center back position. Nick Hagglund, who had started the previous matchup, was relegated to the bench with Luca Orellano, who had experienced some discomfort in his hamstring.
While the back line didn’t inspire a lot of confidence on paper, they more than performed in the match. Miles Robinson, who captained the team in the middle, joined Hadebe and Powell at center back, was a force on defense throughout the match. Hadebe, with Engel backing him up on the outside, was able to step up and make some great plays, totaling eight clearances, two interceptions, six tackles, and four recoveries. Hadebe earned himself the highest FOTMOB rating of all the center backs for his effort.
Alvas Powell was his usual chaotic self in this game. The Jamaican was awful on the ball, notching a 63% accurate pass rating and a 20% accurate long ball. While his ball skills left the team at a disadvantage, his speed kept them in the game defensively. Of the many times that Powell sent an errant pass directly to the opposition, his closing speed would allow him to get back on defense and stop the attack from causing too many problems.
Powell’s passing was indicative of the whole team’s weak spot Saturday night. Early in the match, there was a point where three separate passes were all intercepted by waiting Red Bulls players, but fumbled back into FC Cincinnati's possession. The players would consistently fail to string together successive passes without giving the ball away, something that has been a problem for the club all season.
The club’s social media team likes to post updates about the team’s “transfer game” during practice, a game where the players pass the ball around in a small group while being pressed by defenders. A version of this game should be what we see on the pitch, but instead, we see indecision and poor judgment.
One member of the team whose passing stood out, however, was Brenner. The Brazilian is quickly justifying the team’s decision to bring him back on loan from Udinese. Brenner has scored three goals in five games and notched his first assist of the season on Denkey’s goal. Not only that, but the striker would consistently press the opposition in meaningful ways, something that was lacking from Evander and Denkey.
Last week, Robinson spoke to the media and called out his teammates, saying, “For me, we need all 11 players defending at all times if we’re up one goal in the 95th minute.” The team seemed to respond to these comments, with substitutions in the form of Hagglund, Brian Anunga, Kei Kamara, and Ayoub Jabari coming on late in this match and immediately adding to the defense. At several points in the last 10 minutes, you could see at least nine men in the defending third, not counting goalkeeper Evan Louro, setting themselves up between the ball and the goal.
Speaking of Evan Louro, the goalkeeper had the game of his career last night. The New Jersey native returned home and put on a show, notching two saves and securing his first-ever MLS clean sheet. Louro has been undefeated since standing in for Roman Celentano over the last five matches. When asked what he thought about Louro’s play over this stretch, Noonan said, "Yeah, really happy for Evan, especially getting the clean sheet here.”
The head coach went on to acknowledge the support for Evan amongst the fans, and especially the Cincy PostCast, saying, “I know there’s a lot of support there in the stands and watching for him, but he’s been consistent with his starts…He was behind that backline and in a strong way, and showed good leadership and good composure.”
Louro will undoubtedly get interest from many teams after his run of form this season, as he is in a contract year with FC Cincinnati. The club still holds an option, so not all is said and done, but it would be surprising if suitors don’t come calling for Louro after the season.
For now, though, we will likely see Celentano return to the starting lineup when The FC returns to action against Montreal in a few weeks. Obinna Nwobodo will also likely be returning to the team. Matt Miazga, though, suffered a setback on Thursday and could be out for at least three or four more weeks. That means that Hadebe and Hagglund will have to step up and fill the shoes of the former Defender of the Year.
In the meantime, we head to an international break that sees seven FCC players go off to train and play for their countries: Robinson for the USA, Kamara for Sierra Leone, Echenique for Venezuela, Denkey for Togo, Hadebe for Zimbabwe, Samuel Gidi for Slovakia’s U21 team, and Stef Chirila for Romania’s U19 team. When they return, the team will take on Montreal at TQL Stadium on Decision Day, with the decision for them being pretty much over.
Philadelphia Union captured the Supporter’s Shield on Saturday, clinching the trophy with a 1-0 win over NYCFC. Bradley Carnell’s side sits at 66 points on the season, four ahead of Cincinnati, who are in second place. The only decision that could be made on Decision Day is who FC Cincinnati will be facing in the first round. As of now, it is Orlando City SC, who sit at 53 points. That could change, with the bottom four teams all within striking distance of each other.
Chicago FC and Columbus Crew are set to face off in the play-in game, with CFC sitting at 52 points and the Crew sitting at 51. Nashville SC currently sits at 54 points and could move down or up depending on their final match. Nashville takes on Inter Miami at home on Decision Day, with Miami still fighting for a chance at the #2 seed in the East. Columbus will take on RBNY in Columbus, Chicago faces the New England Revolution in New England, and Orlando City takes on Toronto FC.
For now, The FC will focus on getting their players healthy and ready for the next match against Montreal. That match kicks off at TQL Stadium on Oct. 18 at 6:00 p.m. If you don’t have tickets, you can watch the match on AppleTV+ with MLS Season Pass, or you can visit one of the club’s participating Pub Partners.
