Shorthanded FC Cincinnati dominate CF Montréal in 3-0 rout
Damon Gumbert
On a night with very little to play for and facing a myriad of injuries, FC Cincinnati dominated CF Montreal in a 3-0 victory.
When The FC dropped their lineup online (some people had it before then (me, I did)), it was clear that fans were in for an interesting night. Six everyday starters were in the lineup, with five reserves substituting in for injured stars.
Kei Kamara joined Brenner up top, the first time the two strikers have started a match together. Evander, Pavel Bucha, and a returning Obinna Nwobodo filled the midfield. Dominik Marczuk and Alvas Powell started at wing-back. Miles Robinson anchored a backline of Teenage Hadebe and Nick Hagglund in front of a returning Roman Celentano in goal.
Celentano got the start despite many people wanting to see more of Evan Louro after his recent unbeaten streak. When asked about the decision to start Celentano, Head Coach Pat Noonan said, “(We) Look at the body of work leading up to it, how, as far as being away with the national team and picking up the injury, then looking at Evan’s performances, which were very strong… I don’t think (Celentano) was worthy of losing that spot, but Evan certainly made the conversation difficult because he’s been excellent.”
The first 15 minutes were a slog for FC Cincinnati, with Montreal commanding the ball for much of that time and putting pressure on the defense. In the 18th minute, Hadebe collided heads with Prince Owusu of Montreal, with both men taking some time to get up from the play. Both players left the pitch briefly and then returned to action, but Hadebe was subbed off at half-time.
When asked about Hadebe’s injury and how he kept playing for some time after, Noonan said, “He cleared the concussion protocol. So it was a combination of just the physical toll, the first half, and the play as well. It just looked like he was affected by a few knocks.”
Backtracking a little, the scoring began in the 33rd minute when Evander found Hagglund on a corner kick, with the Cincinnati native heading the ball and sending a rainbow shot into the top corner of the back post. Even a fully outstretched Thomas Gillier couldn’t get close to stopping this goal. Afterwards, the defender celebrated by imitating the Tyler Davidson Fountain centerpiece in Fountain Square, a shout-out to the city of Cincinnati.
“I had planned that for years,” Hagglund said while laughing. “Usually, I have a token one goal a year, I mean, 12 seasons and 11 goals. So I missed last year; I only played a couple of games. So, finally got it on the last game of the year.”
Other than the Hadebe substitution, Noonan also brought in Yuya Kubo and Samuel Gidi for Marczuk and Nwobodo, respectively. Noonan has consistently taken out returning players after 45 minutes previously, and this was a similar case.
“I feel good, but of course I’ve been out a while,” Nwobodo said about making his first appearance in nearly three months. “No matter how long you practice, you can’t compare with such the play. It feels good to be on the pitch and… to see where I’m at physically in a match intensity.”
Hagglund wasn’t done helping out the team. Not only did the defender make several heads-up plays on defense, but he also assisted on the second goal of the night, a smooth shot that slowly made its way into the net, sneaking past an unsuspecting defense and narrowly avoiding an outstretched Gillier. With the goal, Evander tied Brandon Vazquez and Brenner for most goals for FC Cincinnati in the MLS regular season (18), and passed Lucho Acosta for most goals in all competitions (22).
All of that in just his first season with FC Cincinnati. On Evander’s impact this season, Noonan said, “He came in with the right approach to this team, to this project, and acclimated himself and wanted to be a part of it, and wanted to be a key part of it.”
“He’s the one that when you’re not on, and you need a moment, this is where he steps up.”
Evander wasn’t the only Brazilian to score on the night, though. Brenner added a third goal for The FC in the 88th minute off a Dado Valenzuela assist. This was Brenner’s fourth goal in his six matches since returning to Cincinnati. Brenner has amassed 517 minutes since his return, nearly as many as he had before he left the club in 2023. That season, Brenner scored one goal in eight matches.
The Orange and Blue saw out the match with little resistance from Montreal. The win was the club’s 20th of the season, keeping them one ahead of Inter Miami and securing second place in the Eastern Conference, as well as second place in the Supporter’s Shield chase.
For much of the second half, fans were not only watching this match, but also scoreboard watching. While FC Cincinnati didn’t have much to play for, four teams were jockeying for position near the end of the playoff table.
Orlando City dropped the ball in their match against Toronto FC, losing 4-2 and dropping from seventh place to ninth. Chicago had a chance to jump up in the standings into sixth, but instead drew the lowly New England Revolution. Nashville SC were up against it with a match against Miami, one where they led 2-1 at halftime but were blown out 5-2, allowing Lionel Messi to score a hat trick and run away with the Golden Boot.
That leaves the Columbus Crew. With Chicago drawing and Orlando losing, Columbus was in a unique spot to jump from ninth place to seventh. What was a tightly contested match for over 60 minutes turned into a blowout win for Columbus after Daniel Gazdag and Ibrahim Aliyu added two goals to put the Crew up 3-1.
That sets up an interesting matchup for FC Cincinnati in the first round. They have not had a lot of luck against Columbus this season, drawing the match in Columbus 1-1 and losing at home 4-2.
Potentially three games of Hell is Real await as Cincinnati will host Game One on Monday, Oct. 27, at 6:45. The following match in Columbus will be on Nov. 2 at 6:30. If a third match comes, it will be on Nov. 8 at TQL Stadium.
