At the start of the 2025 season, the promise of silverware in Cincinnati’s cabinet felt real. The Orange & Blue had to go through 90-minutes-plus of hell to take the first step toward that reality.
FC Cincinnati made a strong opening statement in this expanded version of the “Hell Is Real” derby, beating Columbus Crew 1-0 before a raucous home crowd. Kevin Denkey’s first MLS playoff goal in the 78th minute sealed the win and propelled FCC to a 1-0 lead in this best-of-three series.
“(Our team) stepped out there against a strong opponent and in the right way,” Pat Noonan praised after the match. “To see our fans go home happy is important, but just the energy when they recognized the effort of the play. Not just the chance creation, but the defensive recoveries, being able to play out of pressure and tackle. You could just feel the energy the whole night. It was a fun environment to be a part of.”
Cincinnati’s road to the postseason started after a successful home-finale 3-0 win against CF Montreal earlier in the month. Samuel Gidi started alongside Pavel Bucha in the midfield, while Obi Nwobodo began as a fresh substitute on the bench. Right wingback Ender Echenique (groin) returned to the Starting XI, while Luca Orellano (hamstring) started on the bench. Yuya Kubo started at left wingback in his place.
Defenders Matt Miazga, Brad Smith, and Lukas Engel, as well as forward Ayoub Jabbari, were held out with leg injuries.
Columbus rolled through the New York Red Bulls 3-1 in their finale to avoid Wednesday’s play-in match. Forward Diego Rossi returned to the lineup after being held out to heal his hamstring injury. Midseason pickup Daniel Gazdag started on the bench, while forward Wessam Abou Ali (ankle) and midfielder Mo Farsi (pelvis) were not on the gameday roster.
The prematch festivities were punctuated by a ceremony to honor Alec Kann. The Cincinnati goalkeeper announced his retirement once after the season ends and pulled the sword in front of The Bailey.
“Alec’s the man” Roman Celentano commended after the match. “He’s kind of like the role model for me of how to operate as a professional and how to live life as a guy when things maybe don’t go your way. He never treated me any different. He always got me ready for games or got me through certain things to talk to me and coach me up.”
First half
Both teams played their style of football much of the half. Possession was primarily split down the middle, but while Columbus was comfortable stitching together one-time passes, Cincinnati attempted counter attacking strikes at the defense.
The Orange & Blue took their first solid strike in the 14th minute. Evander’s shot from atop the box was punched back by goalkeeper Patrick Schulte, only for Gidi’s rebound to be shot back directly into Schulte’s arms.
Columbus managed only two shots in the first half, but their best attempt almost caught the defense sleeping. Max Arfsten beat the back line for a shot in the 24th minute, but Celentano stood big to cut down the window.
Much of the offense in the final 20 minutes fell to the Orange & Blue, but Schulte remained strong. The final shot of the half was a blistering smash from Brenner in the 45th minute, only for the Columbus keeper to deflect the ball out for a corner kick.
Overall, Cincinnati commanded the attempts on frame (4/1) in the first 45 minutes, but the score remained 0-0 at the break.
Second half
While the defense continued to play to keep Columbus from breaking through, the offense gave some confidence to the crowd.
In the 49th minute, Columbus had their biggest chance. Forward Lassi Lappalainen fed a careful pass to a streaking Andres Herrera in the box, only to be stonewalled by an oncoming Celentano. The keeper’s save kept the clean sheet at that moment.
Celentano finished the match with three saves in his 11th clean sheet of the MLS season.
“The clean sheet gives us a chance to go and win the game in normal time, and that’s really what we’re going for,” Celentano added afterwards. “I just thought the way we went about it tonight, how everyone defended forward, and kind of stuck to the game plan. I thought it was really impressive, and everyone did their job, did a good shift, and we’re happy with the win.”
With the field flipped, Cincinnati almost took their own lead. Brenner flagged down a deep pass from Evander in the 50th minute. At an acute angle, the Brazilian crossed into the box, but it was just out of the reach Denkey’s right foot.
While Columbus maintained a majority of possession, Cincinnati still had more quality on frame, finally breaking the deadlock in the 78th minute. Echenique pulled past Sean Zawadski on a looping pass from Evander, crossing to Alvas Powell in the box. While Herrera managed to block the shot, Denkey corralled the stray deflection to push the ball past Schulte.
Denkey’s 16th goal of the MLS season and first of the postseason finished the scoring for both sides.
“It was crazy (to face Columbus), but we just focus,” Denkey addressed after the match. “They are a good team. The ranking doesn’t matter if they are #7 or #8. A derby is different. In the playoffs it’s something big, and we just prepare ourselves to win this game.”
The back line led by Miles Robinson held high and firm to force the Columbus Crew attack offside four times in the second half, compared to Cincinnati’s one time. However, Robinson himself sees the bigger picture. “It doesn’t really mean anything if you don’t advance. We recognize that this is a big win, but there’s more to do.”
That doesn’t mean Robinson didn’t take time to enjoy a “Hell Is Real” victory. When asked how much time he’d need, Robinson mused, “Maybe 30 hours?”
Noonan was not ready to completely coast on momentum. “There’s no reason for the guys not to go after (Match #2) the same way. If you feel the energy in that building, and of course, they’re in a good place in the locker room. Yeah, take that momentum. Take that energy. But know how to use it to our advantage.”
The second installment of “Hell Is Real” heads to Columbus on Sunday. With a win in the capital city, Cincinnati would play the winner of the Inter Miami CF / Nashville SC series at home.
Major League Soccer, MLS Cup Playoffs, First Round, Match #1
FC Cincinnati vs. Columbus Crew
TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
Attendance: 23,371
Result: FC Cincinnati 1, Columbus Crew 0.
BOX SCORE
FC Cincinnati Starting XI (5-2-1-2):
Roman Celentano (GK); Ender Echenique (Obinna Nwobodo 82′), Nick Hagglund (Gilberto Flores 90+1′), Miles Robinson (c), Teenage Hadebe, Yuya Kubo (Alvas Powell 70′); Pavel Bucha, Samuel Gidi; Evander; Brenner (Kei Kamara 90+1′), Kevin Denkey (Brian Anunga 90+1′).
Bench: Evan Louro, Dominik Marczuk, Gerardo Valenzuela, Luca Orellano.
Columbus Crew Starting XI (5-3-2):
Patrick Schulte (GK); Andres Herrera (Ibrahim Aliyu 89′), Steven Moreira, Sean Zawadski, Malte Amundsen (Yevhen Cheberko 89′), Max Arfsten; Dylan Chambost (Taha Habroune 75′), Darlington Nagbe (c), Lassi Lappalainen (Daniel Gazdag 61′); Hugo Picard, Diego Rossi (Jacen Russell-Rowe 76′).
Bench: Evan Bush, Rudy Camacho, Amar Sejdic, Cesar Ruvalcaba.
Scoring summary:
CIN – Kevin Denkey 78′ (unassisted)
Discipline:
YC – Max Arfsten 19′ (CLB, foul)
YC – Evander 29′ (CIN, foul)
YC – Yuya Kubo 55′ (CIN, foul)
YC – Pavel Bucha 90+4′ (CIN, foul)
Next up:
MLS Cup Playoffs: at Columbus Crew, 6:30 pm, Sunday November 2nd; Apple TV+
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