Evander, Roman Ball Out in FC Cincinnati’s Thrilling 2-1 Victory
The Admin
PSA: Well, here I am. I was called on by Kevin, The Chief and Grayson to fill in for The Post’s Damon Gumbert in this recap against NYCFC. I normally write the tweets, but now I have to remember how to write cohesive thoughts. I just ask that you direct all complaints to feedback@thepostcincy.com as Kevin closely monitors that email and takes your feedback very seriously.
SO. With that out of the way, let’s jump right into it!
“The result was good. How we got there – certainly there’s plenty to talk about.” Pat Noonan said after the match.
Evander (yet again) came in clutch for The FC to seal the victory at the death with his incredible 90’+1 goal. It’s also worth noting that this is the first time The FC has beaten NYCFC since 2024.
Another interesting tidbit is that Pat Noonan took a… different approach ahead of this match.
“This is the first time before a game that we've talked about where we're at,” Noonan said. “There's still so much to play for everybody, but they're a point behind us going into the game, and I wanted guys to recognize the importance of getting three points at home, because it matters and it's tight. "
“And certainly, you go game by game, but this was an important three points in this particular game with NYC right behind us at the table. So that part, I think, is a huge win for us.”
As a result of this victory, The FC now sits 5th in the East and 10th in the Supporters’ Shield standings.
FC Cincinnati Lineup vs NYCFC
Last night’s lineup featured a slightly different look after Saturday’s ref show. You are also probably wondering where Andrei Chirila is and well… yeah, me too.
I also love to see Miazga and Obi featuring in back-to-back-to-back starting XIs given their age and injury history. So that’s cool.
The Game
The first goal came at the 11’ – Evander played a lovely long ball to Kévin Denkey where the ball chaotically found its way to the one and only Kenji Mboma Dem. KMD finished beautifully with a left-footed shot. KMD now has 5 goals and one assist in MLS play this season.
It wasn’t until the 21’ where the bad guys get one back. I don’t feel like talking about that tbh.
What I do want to talk about is Roman Celentano. At the 50’, Roman came up huge with a world-class save to keep the game level. He finished the match with 7 saves, earning him the man of the match.
The moment we’ve been waiting for finally came at the 90’+1. It all began with a venturing Miles Robinson into the final third. Miles found Bucha creeping down the right flank who found Dado in the box. Dado then played a nice one-touch pass to Evander. Evander did Evander things and had a nasty turn followed by a laser of a shot into the back of the net. Pavel Bucha recorded his 20th career assist for FC Cincinnati, two shy of Emmanuel Ledesma (22) for fourth-most in club history in all competitions.
“Those moments are just instinct. I just turn and shoot, and that's more the muscle memory. You know, just thinking, where's the goal, we know the players are in front of you. I was just happy to score a late goal and give us the three points tonight that we needed,” Evander mentioned in the press conference.
Meanwhile, Kyle Smith had the quote of the night: “Really happy and glad Evander is on my team to score those goals at the end of the game.” You’re damn right, Kyle. Me too.
The FC is back in action at TQL this Saturday, August 22 against a struggling Seattle Sounders squad. Kickoff is set for 7:30pm.
I’ll now leave you all with this – no words needed.