There comes a time in every team’s season when everything to that point fades into the background, where the entire focus must turn from the past to the remaining future.
In the case of FC Cincinnati, this means that all the missed points, defensive inequities, and comparisons to past seasons must cease. All that matters now is making the most of the remaining run-in of the season.
The pressure may have created a diamond at the best time. FC Cincinnati (9-9-9, 36 pts.) played a solid first half of defense and a stifling second-half offense to beat Atlanta United (7-6-15, 27 pts.) 3-1 on the road.
Saturday night’s match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium versus an ailing Atlanta United side presented a marquee opportunity to unfurl the proverbial sails on the Orange & Blue’s quest for the playoffs.
The starting XI featured seven changes from FCC’s last time out at Montreal in late September. Most notable among these changes being the absence of Evander, courtesy of a knock picked up in the aforementioned match.
Evander’s spot in the midfield was filled by Pavel Bucha, who was able to slide into the middle from his usual outside spot thanks to newcomer and fellow Czech-national David Doudera. Across the pitch another newcomer would fill the other outside spot, as Tyrell Malacia made his first start for FC Cincinnati since joining late in the summer.
However, the most surprising change perhaps would come in goal, For the first time since early 2022 Roman Celentano was a healthy piece on the bench, as Evan Louro started between the sticks.
First Half:
The plethora of new pieces in the starting lineup presented a weighted scale of pros and cons for FCC. From the opening whistle, it was evident that no Evander in the middle would present a challenge in progression. However, the added speed and ability of Doudera and Malacia out wide did well to nix Atlanta’s heavy-handed attempts to run the flanks.
Despite a relatively wide-open first 15 minutes, the FCC press would soon grow into the match. However, the offense would struggle to follow suit, only accumulating four shots in the opening 45.
The best chance of the first half would come for Atlanta in the 40th minute when Tomas Jacob would open a chance for Tristan Muyumba. The French midfielder’s initial effort was saved down-low by Louro, with the follow-up from Elias Baez being easily collected as well.
With the flowing nature of the match, the first half would come to a quiet end right at the 45-minute mark.
Second Half:
Neither side made any personnel changes to begin the second half. Still, there was a palpable shift in the Orange & Blue’s attitude.
A sudden willingness to take advantage of direct action opportunities led to the opening score just seven minutes on from the restart. The sequence began with a play-in from David Doudera, who found Tom Barlow near the top of the box. A headed pass landed for Kevin Denkey who proved that his dancing ability was not limited to just celebrations, as he carved a shooting lane out of goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos’ broken ankles.
The lead bolstered what had been a slow matriculating confidence, and for the next quarter hour spirits were high. However, the hosts would not meekly acquiesce defeat.
In the 69th minute, Miguel Almiron would capitalize on a loose ball in front of goal for an equalizer. The score was the cap on what had been a high-intensity press from the Five Stripes.
Immediately following the equalizer, FCC made a pair of changes. Pat Noonan pulled a banged-up Miles Robinson for Julian Malatini and replaced Malacia with Bryan Ramirez.
A definite change was evident from this point, as the hosts could clearly taste blood in the water. However, FCC held strong, weathering Atlanta’s renewed vigor.
As the match ground towards the 90-minute mark, a draw began to feel like a best-case result. However, the Orange & Blue’s propensity for late-match heroics reared its head yet again.
In the 84th minute, a high-floating Kyle Smith broke the Atlanta backline. He picked out a narrow corridor of space to play in Tom Barlow. The goal was checked for offsides, but was ruled good after the brief review.
With the lead now in hand, all that was left to do was weather the gaudy eight minutes of added time against an increasingly desperate Atlanta side. The precarious advantage was briefly jeopardized five minutes into stoppage time when Louro was forced into a diving save, yet the sequence proved to be for naught as the offsides flag rose.
With the clock winding down, one final push upfield from FCC ended the match. Ender Echenique sliced a daisy-cutter between two Atlanta defenders for a Denkey game-sealer. The brace marks Denkey’s 15th and 16th goals of the MLS campaign and pushes him up to 20 total on the season in all competitions.
Postgame:
After weathering the recent run of bad form, Saturday night’s victory in Atlanta did well to serve as a grounding point for a FC Cincinnati side that has felt aimless as of late. From the three goals scored, renewed confidence in the offense can be gleaned. Perhaps more tantamount to a late-season push, the defensive effort does well to work towards rectifying what has been a season-long issue.
Undoubtedly the road ahead remains tumultuous, with a titanic seven matches coming over the next 22 days. Yet, at this critical point of the season, the focus must be on one match at a time. FC Cincinnati sit in ninth place in a tight Eastern Conference with a match in hand.
FCC returns to action on Wednesday, October 14th, when they host New England at TQL Stadium.
Stat Facts:
- Saturday Night’s three goals brings the Orange & Blue’s season total to 81 in all competitions. This matches their previous best set in 2018.
- With his brace, Kevin Denkey has now scored 16 times in MLS play and 20 times overall. His MLS tally is only two off the club record jointly held by Brenner (2022), Brandon Vazquez (2022), and Evander (2025). His overall tally likewise sits two behind Evander’s record tally of 22 set in 2025.
- Both Tom Barlow and Kyle Smith made their 200th career MLS appearances.
- FC Cincinnati has now swept the season series with Atlanta for the second time, the previous mark coming in 2024.
Quick Recap:
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati at Atlanta United FC
Date: October 10, 2026
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Atlanta, Georgia
Attendance: 36,286
Kickoff: 7:40 p.m. ET
Weather: Roof Closed
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
ATL: 0-1-1
CIN: 0-3-3
ATL – Miguel Almirón (Embolo, Jacob) 69’
CIN – Kévin Denkey (Barlow, Douděra) 52’, Tom Barlow (Smith) 84’, Kévin Denkey (Echenique, Barlow) 90’+7
LINEUPS
CIN: Evan Louro, Tyrell Malacia (Bryan Ramirez 71’), Teenage Hadebe, Miles Robinson (C) (Julián Malatini 71’), Kyle Smith, David Douděra (Ender Echenique 60’), Obinna Nwobodo (Tah Brian Anunga 78’), Samuel Gidi (Gerardo Valenzuela 78’), Pavel Bucha, Tom Barlow, Kévin Denkey
Substitutes not used: Roman Celentano, Alvas Powell, Nick Hagglund, Kenji Mboma Dem
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
ATL: Lucas Hoyos, Elías Báez (Sergio Santos 90’+2), Enea Mihaj, Júnior Alonso, Tomás Jacob, Tristan Muyumba (Cooper Sanchez 86’), Mauricio Amaro, Giuliano Galoppo (Fafa Picault 86’), Jay Fortune (Alexey Miranchuk 56’), Miguel Almirón (C), Breel Embolo
Substitutes not used: Jayden Hibbert, Adrian Gill, Luke Brennan, Paulo Díaz, Matthew Edwards
Head Coach: Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino
STATS SUMMARY: ATL/CIN
Shots: 16 / 13
Shots on Goal: 6 / 4
Saves: 1 / 5
Corner Kicks: 5 / 4
Fouls: 8 / 14
Offside: 6 / 1
Possession: 56.1 / 43.9
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Teenage Hadebe (Yellow Card) 3’
ATL – Tomás Jacob (Yellow Card) 43’
CIN – Julián Malatini (Yellow Card) 88’
CIN – Tom Barlow (Yellow Card) 90’+4
ATL – Mauricio Amaro (Yellow Card) 90’+4
Next Match:
MLS Regular Season: vs. New England Revolution, 7:30 PM, Wednesday October 14th, AppleTV+
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