Damon Gumbert
“As far as a result, that part is great,” Head Coach Pat Noonan said after his Cincinnati side beat the Philadelphia Union 1-0. “There’s no two ways about it. We clinch a playoff spot for the fifth straight year.”
Noonan has been head coach of FC Cincinnati for five seasons and has now clinched a spot every year, a measure of success that hasn't been common in southwestern Ohio recently.
While this season has been a bit more of a tumultuous one, the sustained success that the team has shown over five years is a testament in and of itself. That kind of success doesn’t come without hard work from everyone involved, including Noonan himself.
“You could probably go back to that first press conference where the goal was to be part of a group that does just that and is able to sustain success over a long period of time and establish ourselves,” Noonan said about the run of playoff years. “I think the five years speak to us doing that in a pretty good way. Is it perfect? Would we have liked to be in a better spot? Sure, but I don’t want to take away the feeling in this moment for everybody who has worked and been here since the beginning of my time.”
Two players who have been with the club that entire time have been Nick Hagglund and Roman Celentano. Both men have struggled at times this season, but both were also instrumental in securing the win for FC Cincinnati on Saturday.
The starting lineup on the night consisted of Celentano in goal, Hagglund working with Teenage Hadebe and Kyle Smith on the back line, Bryan Ramirez and Kenji Mboma Dem at left and right wingback respectively, Obinna Nwobodo, Pavel Bucha, and Samuel Gidi in the midfield, with Kevin Denkey starting up top with Tom Barlow.
Originally, MLSsoccer.com had posted a lineup that included David Doudera and Evander, but minutes before the lineup was released, FC Cincinnati decided to make a change, opting to rest Evander for the first half and remove Doudera from the lineup entirely.
The first half was another evenly played chess match, very similar to how the midweek match with Inter Miami went. Philadelphia was able to get off a lot of shots in the first half, but the defense was able to snuff out those chances fairly well.
Celentano came up huge in the 20th minute, saving a header by Nathan Harriel that could win best save. The goalkeeper had milliseconds to react and was able to get his arm in the way of a perfectly headed ball and keep it from going in.
One of the biggest problems The FC had in the first half was the inability to move the ball forward through the midfield. With no real #10 on the pitch, it was difficult for Nwobodo, Bucha, and Gidi to get the ball forward.
Noonan recognized that and made a substitution at halftime, bringing in Evander for Gidi. The flow of how the team brought the ball forward was instantly better, but Philadelphia still controlled the ball and nearly came away with the lead on a corner kick where Bruno Damiani sailed over the defenders and sent a header off the crossbar.
In the 64th minute, Noonan would sub on Ender Echenique and Ayoub Jabbari for Barlow and Mboma Dem, substitutions that would immediately change the game. Echenique’s speed put Philly on their back foot, having to burn a lot of energy to keep up with the 22-year-old Venezuelan.
In the 70th minute, Evander would take a shot from the left side of the box that would be saved by Philly goalkeeper Andre Blake. Blake didn’t have the ability to catch the ball, and unfortunately for him, the rebound from his save landed at the feet of Jabbari, who easily put the ball into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
Philly didn’t have many chances after that to even things up, as Noonan would sub in defenders Brian Anunga and Alvas Powell to give the defense an added boost.
One of the last attempts the defense allowed was a rocket from Agustin Anello that Hagglund decided to block with his face. The defender was down on the pitch for a moment before quickly getting back up. Celentano told reporters after the match that Hagglund needed a minute, but then jumped back up when he remembered that his wife and kids were in attendance and he didn’t want to scare them.
Cincinnati would see the match off after six minutes of added time, securing the clean sheet, the win, and a playoff berth.
“Defending the box was something that we’ve talked about for quite some time with wide service,” Noonan said as he explained what has changed with how the defense has played recently. “How we deal with knockdowns and cutback spaces has improved. How we prevent from our first line, I think, is improving, and the overall collective nature of how we’re defending against the ball is maybe something that was missing, or even when we had it, just didn’t make enough plays, and now at the right moment, I think you can feel that difference of a collective belief of being tougher to play against and tougher to score against, and this is the time where you need it.”
FCC ends the month of October with four wins, one draw, and two losses. Seven matches in 21 days. When asked how the team feels about finally getting more than three days to prepare for a match, Noonan said, “It’ll feel weird. I don’t know how much we’ll actually do for the next three or four days. Guys are hanging on by a thread, and this will be an important week of recovery because there are going to be things that we have to manage with guys who have been asked to do a lot for guys coming back into the mix, but I think winning a game and clinching a playoff spot is going to make that recovery and that turnaround a little bit easier.”
While the win clinched a playoff spot, the actual positioning on the table is still in flux. Cincinnati sits two points ahead of the Columbus Crew for seventh place, while also only sitting one point behind Philadelphia for the sixth spot. A win next Saturday against Supporter’s Shield winners Nashville SC would help solidify their spot in the standings.
Philadelphia will take on the lowly Toronto FC on decision day, while Columbus will play the Chicago Fire. Chicago has a playoff spot locked in, but they sit one point behind Inter Miami for the third seed in the Eastern Conference. A win against Columbus and a loss or draw for Miami would propel them into a slightly better position. A loss to Columbus and a Charlotte FC win would move The Fire down to fifth place. Charlotte takes on Inter Miami on Decision Day in Miami, so that will be a match to keep an eye on.
But for now, FC Cincinnati can rest for a few days before moving their attention to Nashville.
All photos and videos are courtesy of FC Cincinnati.
