In last year’s CONCACAF Champions Cup, FC Cincinnati lost at home to Monterrey before succumbing on the road. This year, FC Cincinnati managed to split the result with Tigres UANL in the home half of the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 matchup. Pavel Bucha scored for an early lead, but the Orange and Blue allowed Tigres an equalizer to produce a 1-1 draw. The away goal gives Tigres a slight advantage in next week’s second leg.
Cincinnati advanced past FC Motagua with relative ease in the previous round, winning 5-2 on aggregate. A two-goal brace by Pavel Bucha in the away matchup and two goals by Kévin Denkey over both legs powered the Orange & Blue past their Honduran opponents.
On paper, the Round-of-16 matchup with Tigres UANL appeared both daunting and doable. After a 1-0 loss in Nicaragua, Los Auriazules (the “Golden-Blues”) delivered a stronger 3-0 home performance to get past Real Estelí in the last round.
However, Tigres have started their Liga MX Clausura half-season with a sudden sea change, sacking head coach Veljko Paunović after only nine months and a 6-1-3 start to the season. Guido Pizarro, who until Saturday served at defensive midfielder for UANL, was named head coach immediately after he announced his retirement from playing. The Argentinian defensive midfielder first joined the club in 2013 and had been its captain since returning from a year-long stint in Sevilla in 2018.
The FC Cincinnati roster looked stronger than it has all season. Bucha returned to the Starting XI after sitting out the first half against Philadelphia on Saturday, replacing Brian Anunga. Luca Orellano and Nick Hagglund also returned to the bench after missing last week due to an abundance of caution.
Tigres UANL started with three replacements from their 2-1 win over Necaxa on Saturday. Rafael Carioca occupied Pizarro’s open spot in the defending midfield location, while Sebastian Cordova and Juan Jose Purata—former center back for Atlanta United in 2022-23—also switched into the Starting XI.
First half
While Tigres earned a good chunk of possession throughout the first half from tight passing, the Orange & Blue struck first. In the third minute, DeAndre Yedlin fought through the defense on the right edge of the box, and the play continued through a foul. Denkey eventually found Bucha atop the box. His right-footed shot past goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman was his third goal of the tournament, making the score 1-0.
Although Tigres held back their own attempts, they capitalized on their first. In the 17th minute, Francisco Cordova lofted a cross from the edge of the box and found Nicolas Ibañez leaping above Teenage Hadebe. His header floated past Roman Celentano for the equalizer, his first goal in the CCC.
Cincinnati had their opportunity to regain the lead soon after in the 20th minute. A scramble in the box drew Guzman way out of position, allowing Bucha a crossing attempt in an unguarded goal. However, Denkey’s window closed sharply, and his free attempt spun wide of the frame.
While Cincinnati enjoyed more attempts overall in the first half (5/3), Tigres enjoyed more possession (54/46).
Second half
While possession was fairly split in the second half, FC Cincinnati continued to produce the better attempts. Both Denkey and Evander found space atop the box in the first ten minutes of the second half. However, Guzman was up to the challenge each time. Tigres preferred to absorb attacks and counter on the edges, taking only three attempts in the second half.
Orellano eventually made his presence felt after his substitution in the 65th minute. His best attempt was in the 76th minute when he fired a shot to Guzman’s right. The Argentinian goalkeeper made four saves on the night, and his outstretched dive kept the score knotted at 1-1.
Celentano was also up to the task at the end, making three saves over the match. His two saves in the 83rd and 84th minutes against Ibañez and Juan Brunetta proved essential to keep the score equal and give FC Cincinnati a puncher’s chance in Mexico next week.
In the end, while Tigres presented a more physical style of attack, head coach Pat Noonan was still positive about a result in the next leg. “For us to go in advance, we need to be better in front of goal. We had a couple moments to, you know, to score some good opportunities. I think if we defend that way, we’ll be in a good position.
“Even in the moments where I thought our pressure was broken, we recovered well and maybe conceded space, but I thought did a good job of not letting them into our box and into dangerous areas on a consistent basis. So, our transition on both sides of the ball I was pleased with when the game got open. So, we need that commitment again in the second leg to you know to be in a position to advance.”
Orellano was pleased to play his first minutes with the main team this season, but he understood that there was work left to do. “Obviously, we’re going to go there to win,” he stated through a translator. “Tonight’s a tough result to us. We preferred to have a win tonight, but we’re going to have to go out there and win the game in the second leg.”
FC Cincinnati transition back to league play with a home match against Toronto FC on Saturday. Tigres plays Querétaro in Liga MX competition on Friday. Cincinnati and Tigres play the away leg at Estadio Universitario next Tuesday.
CONCACAF Champions Cup, Round of 16, Match #1
FC Cincinnati vs. Tigres UANL
TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
Attendance: 14,298
Result: FC Cincinnati 1, Tigres UANL 1
BOX SCORE
FC Cincinnati starting XI (5-3-2):
Roman Celentano (GK); DeAndre Yedlin (Sergio Santos 81′), Gilberto Flores, Miles Robinson (c), Teenage Hadebe, Lukas Engel; Pavel Bucha, Evander (Corey Baird 87′), Obinna Nwobodo; Yuya Kubo (Luca Orellano 65′), Kévin Denkey.
Bench: Evan Louro, Paul Walters, Alvas Powell, Nick Hagglund, Stefan Chirila, Brian Anunga, Kenji Mboma Dem, Stiven Jimenez, Peter Mangione.
Tigres UANL starting XI (5-3-2):
Nahuel Guzman (GK); Javier Aquino, Joaquim Henrique, Juan Jose Purata, Jesus Angulo (c), Jesus Garza; Juan Brunetta, Rafael Carioca (Bernardo Parra 89′), Marcelo Flores (Juan Pablo Vigon 78′); Francisco Cordova (Urtiel Antuna 65′), Nicolas Ibañez.
Bench: Felipe Rodriguez, Fernando Tapia, Eduardo Tercero, Eugenio Pizzuto, Fernando Ordoñez, Raymundo Fulgencio, Vladimir Loroña, Osvaldo Rodriguez.
Scoring summary:
CIN – Pavel Bucha 3′ (Denkey)
TIG – Nicolás Ibañez 17′ (Cordova)
Discipline:
YC – Kévin Denkey 54′ (CIN, foul)
YC – Teenage Hadebe 72′ (CIN, foul)
YC – Jesus Garza 79′ (TIG, foul)
YC – Obinna Nwobodo 88’ (CIN, foul)
Next up:
- Toronto FC, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 8th, TQL Stadium (Cincinnati, OH)
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