Playing in Charlotte has longed served as an Achilles Heel for FC Cincinnati. Since The Crown’s inaugural MLS campaign in 2022, The Orange and Blue had garnered only two points from their four previous trips to The Queen City. Coming off last week’s thrilling, cardiac comeback versus Chicago, an imbued sense of hope existed that FCC would be able to continue their winning ways.
Both sides received some positive injury news prior to the match, as Miles Robinson returned to the bench after battling through an injury in recent weeks. For Charlotte, USMNT backline stalwart Tim Ream returned to the starting XI after not appearing for The Crown since April 18th. Additionally, Matt Miazga and Nick Hagglund returned to the starting lineup.
FIRST HALF:
With these defensive enhancements in mind, the beginning of the match featured a cagey sort of feeling. Both sides ventured forth, yielding no more than some nerve-wracking moments for those present at Bank of America Stadium and those watching at home. Despite a standoffish opening 10 minutes, FCC would soon grab ahold of the game for a period. This spell of control crowned by a near Puskas-worthy effort from Bryan Ramirez in the 18th minute following an inch-perfect switch of play from Pavel Bucha.
As the half-hour mark neared, Charlotte clawed their way back into the match. Despite having fewer chances, The Crown certainly had the more dangerous chances. The home side very nearly opened the scoring when Pep Biel set up Idan Toklomati on the doorstep of goal in the 28th minute.
To the dismay of the Charlotte fans, it would be FC Cincinnati that would eventually open the scoring ledger in this one. After Dado Valenzuela drew a foul from Djibril Diani, Evander lined up for a free-kick from a dangerous position. His initial salvo was parried by Kristijan Kahlina, however Kévin Denkey was in a fortunate spot to pounce and put The Orange and Blue up 1-0.
This would not spell the end of the first half scoring however, as Evander followed up Denkey’s in the 44th minute with a graceful finish tucked neatly into the top corner, just beyond Kahlina’s reach. It was an effort that in real time seemed to suspend itself, the ball fluttering perfectly in a way that encapsulates Evander’s distinct control and play-making ability.
SECOND HALF
While neither side made any personnel changes coming into the second half, it was clear that Charlotte manager Dean Smith had made some tactical changes in the dressing room. The pace of play had a distinctly more urgent feel to it, and Charlotte needn’t wait long to capitalize on their celerity.
After narrowly missing the opener in the first half, Idan Toklomati would not be denied for long. Just six minutes into the second half, Tim Ream headed a pass centrally for the young Israeli, who slammed his effort past Roman Celentano; drawing the home side within one. It was Toklomati’s first goal since April 18th, and fourth on the season.
Just two minutes later, Charlotte would complete the comeback. With all the momentum on their side, all it took was Djibril Diani finding Pep Biel in the six-yard box to quickly level the affair at 2-2.
With the hasty start to the second half taken into account, it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that more late-game dramatics were in store. Be that as it may, the flow of the game soon grinded down. Both sides had their share of opportunities, yet neither were able to capitalize.
POSTGAME:
With Saturday Night’s match marking the start of a busy week for FCC, coming away with a point is certainly a positive. “I thought it was a really strong performance that was a little bit overshadowed by a poor 10 minutes to
begin the second half.”, said manager Pat Noonan following the match.
Of course three matches in seven days will be impacting players minutes and rotations in every match over the aforementioned sequence, with the already battered backline drawing a sizeable part of the focus in this regard. Following Matt Miazga and Miles Robinson’s shift work tonight, “Matt’s was planned. We were seeing how long he could go, but it was in the 45-to-60-minute range. Miles was 30 to 45 minutes, and just with him coming back, we wanted to err on the side of caution and see if we could balance out those two and get to get us through 90. And it worked out.”, explained Noonan.
QUICK RECAP
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati at Charlotte FC
Date: May 9, 2026
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: Bank of America Stadium | Charlotte, North Carolina
Attendance: 26,252
Kickoff: 7:40 p.m. ET
Weather: 70 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
CLT: 0-2-2
CIN: 2-0-2
CLT – Idan Toklomati (Ream, Westwood) 51’, Pep Biel (Diani, Schnegg) 52’
CIN – Kévin Denkey 36’, Evander (Bucha, Hagglund) 43’
LINEUPS
CLT: Kristijan Kahlina, David Schnegg, Tim Ream, Morrison Agyemang, Nathan Byrne, Ashley Westwood (C), Pep Biel, Djibril Diani, Wilfried Zaha, Idan Toklomati (Archie Goodwin 82’), Kerwin Vargas (Liel Abada 77’)
Substitutes not used: Tyler Miller, Andrew Privett, Brandt Bronico, Luca De La Torre, Tyger Smalls, Rodolfo Aloko, Aron John
Head Coach: Dean Smith
CIN: Roman Celentano, Andrei Chirila, Matt Miazga (Miles Robinson 56’), Nick Hagglund, Bryan Ramirez (Ayoub Lajhar 87’), Samuel Gidi (Obinna Nwobodo 73’), Gerardo Valenzuela (Ender Echenique 73’), Pavel Bucha, Evander (C), Kévin Denkey, Kenji Mboma Dem (Tom Barlow 87’)
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Gilberto Flores, Tah Brian Anunga, Stiven Jimenez
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
STATS SUMMARY: CLT/CIN
Shots: 11 / 13
Shots on Goal: 3 / 5
Saves: 3 / 1
Corner Kicks: 7 / 4
Fouls: 8 / 15
Offside: 2 / 1
Possession: 46.2 / 53.8
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Gerardo Valenzuela (Yellow Card) 26’
CLT – Ashley Westwood (Yellow Card) 54’
CIN – Samuel Gidi (Yellow Card) 62’
CIN – Evander (Yellow Card) 77’
CIN – Obinna Nwobodo (Yellow Card) 90’
NEXT MATCH:
MLS Regular Season: vs. Inter Miami, 7:30 PM Wednesday May 13th, AppleTV+
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