There were plenty of one-goal FC Cincinnati wins in 2025. If Saturday’s performance is an indication for future matches, fans should rest easier.
Cincinnati (1-0-0, 3 pts.) rode late goals by Kevin Denkey and Nick Hagglund to begin their 2026 season with a mammoth home victory over Atlanta United (0-0-1, 0 pts.) While things looked bleak with an early exit from one of Cincinnati’s star performers, the underlying roster talent carried the match down the stretch.
“Fitness levels were strong. The defensive press was really effective,” head coach Pat Noonan emphasized in his press conference. “I guess the only thing that could have been more consistent was just some decisions on the ball to move us forward, but the guys put together a good performance tonight.”
The Starting XI for the Orange & Blue was much as predicted, with Noonan pushing the squad out in their familiar 5-2-1-2 lineup. Samuel Gidi, Pavel Bucha, Ender Echenique, Teenage Hadebe, and Nick Hagglund played their first minutes for the squad this season after being held out for the CCC match at O&M FC. Ayoub Jabbari, fresh off his brace against O&M, started atop with Keven Denkey.
The only reported injury was Kristian Fletcher, who is still recovering from a knee injury. Matt Miazga has been recovering from his own injury concerns since last season and was held out of the lineup.
Atlanta United played cautious with their first lineup. Designated player Alexey Miranchuk started on the bench after some injury concerns earlier in the week. Defender Pedro Amador is getting his green card settled and was not available. Fafa Picault and former FCC guy Sergio Santos had signed earlier in the week, but were not ready for play.
Atlanta listed Dominik Chong Qui (knee), Jay Fortune (foot), and Will Reilly (hamstring) as OUT.
First half
The first half was unfortunately punctuated by an untimely loss with uncertain repercussions.
In the 11th minute, Bryan Ramirez attempted to feed Evander into the box, only for the Brazilian to slow down and eventually lay down. While Evander was able to walk off the field without any visible pain, he was shown rubbing under his knee and leg before getting up.
Dado Valenzuela replaced him in the 13th minute. Early reports indicate that it is a hamstring injury, but more will be known after analysis this week.
The general pace of the match was hard to dictate afterwards, as head referee Rosendo Mendoza took more control. In a visible moment at the 23rd minute, he pointed at a fouled Miguel Almiron, counted to three on one hand, and waved his hands. The next foul on Almiron by Bryan Ramirez in the 26th minute drew an expected yellow card.
While Cincinnati did produce some solid opportunities later in the first half, no shots were on goal. The best opportunity was a cross into the box by Echenique in the 35th minute, but goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos jumped high to palm the ball out of the air.
The wildest moment may have been from what the referee deemed to be a back pass in the 38th minute picked up by Roman Celentano. The indirect free kick by Almiron was scuffed and eventually cleared without worry.
Despite the loss of Evander, the first-half numbers were relatively even. While both teams took four shots, Atlanta had two on frame, while Cincinnati had trouble finding the target.
Second half
To start the second half, Cincinnati were on the pitch, ready for the opening kick much earlier than Atlanta. Perhaps that was evidence that the Orange & Blue were prepared to play their game in the final 45 minutes.
While the whistle favored Atlanta in the first half, Cincinnati slowly squeezed out possession and command, milking two yellow cards from Atlanta in the first 15 minutes.
Their biggest threat came from Denkey within that window. Off of a deflection from Valenzuela, Denkey faced Hoyos one-on-one in the 56th minute, but the Togolese striker rang the outside post with his shot.
Miles Robinson had a similar opportunity in the 67th minute, but his open look on net was cleared off the goal line.
Denkey finally broke the deadlock in the 80th minute. Off of a threaded pass from Gidi, Echenique found Denkey streaking into the box. After a fake and a stutter-step to get Hoyos to commit, Denkey smashed his first goal of the MLS season to make it 1-0 late in the game.
“We have a strong team. I think this is really better than the last one,” Denkey mentioned after the match. “I feel the good chemistry in the team. We have more to achieve, we learn, we know each other better.”
While FCC normally could survive on this one-goal lead, the victory cigar came in the 90th minute. Hagglund deflected the corner kick from Ramirez to head it past Hoyos. The “Cincinnati Kid” celebrated with a mimicked sword pull to finish the match 2-0.
For Hagglund, who suffered a broken rib and punctured lung in the away match at Atlanta last year, the goal was just a goal. “My ribs are still numb, and I have scars, so there’s a reminder every day what that game was like. For me, I just want to let my soccer do the talking today.
“A lot of people are like ‘What are you gonna do?’ I just wanted to play soccer. I think the goal was a representation of just all the things that I went through and coming out on top.”
Robinson fortified his “Man of the Match” honors with two strong plays down the stretch. After clearing a slow shot that got past Roman Celentano in the 87th minute, Robinson blocked a late attempt by Emmanuel Latte Lath in extra time, preserving the clean sheet.
“We understand you’ve got a shift,” Robinson mentioned after the match, “but overall, the defensive work came from all eleven players. I think even the front three were pressing great together, Roman made some big saves, so just all collectively, we did great.”
Noonan was willing to give Robinson his credit. “(Miles) was outstanding. A couple of his blocks, the way he defended in front of goal was outstanding. That was a captain-like performance.”
Cincinnati begins their fifth season under Noonan with a home win for the second straight year. The Orange & Blue continue their CONCACAF Champions Cup stretch with their home leg against O&M FC on Wednesday. Afterwards, they travel north to play Minnesota United on Saturday.
Atlanta head to California to take on San Jose on Saturday.
Major League Soccer, Match #1
FC Cincinnati vs. Atlanta United
TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
Attendance: 25,513
Result: FC Cincinnati 2, Atlanta United 0.
BOX SCORE
FC Cincinnati Starting XI (5-2-1-2):
Roman Celentano (GK); Ender Echenique (Alvas Powell 89′), Nick Hagglund, Miles Robinson (c), Teenage Hadebe (Gilberto Flores 71′), Bryan Ramirez; Pavel Bucha, Samuel Gidi; Evander (Gerardo Valenzuela 13′, Obinna Nwobodo 89′); Ayoub Jabbari (Tom Barlow 71′), Kevin Denkey.
Bench: Evan Louro, Brian Anunga, Kenji Mboma Dem, Kyle Smith.
Atlanta United Starting XI (4-4-2):
Lucas Hoyos (GK); Ronald Hernandez, Enea Mihaj, Juan Berrocal, Elias Baez; Cooper Sanchez (Tristan Muyumba 73′), Steven Alzate (Luke Brennan 84′), Tomas Jacob, Saba Lobjanidze (Aleksey Miranchuk 73′); Miguel Almiron (c), Emmanuel Latte Lath.
Bench: Jayden Hibbert, Stian Gregersen, Adrian Gill, Cayman Togashi, Toto Majub, Matthew Edwards.
Scoring summary:
CIN – Kevin Denkey 80′ (Echenique)
CIN – Nick Hagglund 90′ (Ramirez)
Discipline:
YC – Bryan Ramirez 26′ (CIN, foul)
YC – Tomas Jacob 51′ (ATL, foul)
YC – Steven Alzate 61′ (ATL, foul)
Next Match:
CONCACAF Champions Cup: vs. O&M FC, 7 pm, Wednesday February 25th; FS2
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