Clumsy play prevents win as FC Cincinnati draws Atlanta United
Damon Gumbert
FC Cincinnati was unable to take care of a short-handed Atlanta United when the two teams played on Saturday, March 22. The match ended in a 2-2 draw after an Alvas Powell own goal brought Atlanta even in the 88’.
Atlanta was missing many of their key players due to the international break, including star midfielder Miguel Almiron. FCC was without Kevin Denkey, who scored for Togo in their World Cup qualifying match against Mauritania (a nation I did not know existed yesterday), Teenage Hadebe (who was on international duty but also picked up a knock that would have kept him out of the game anyway), and Gilberto Flores (received a red card in the Charlotte match).
Cincinnati marched out a formation laden with players playing out of position. The back line consisted of a returning Nick Hagglund, Alvas Powell, and Lukas Engel. Yuya Kubo and DeAndre Yedlin (who wore the captains armband for the match) lined up at the wing-back position. The midfield was the normal sight of Pavel Bucha and Obinna Nwobodo in the defensive mid with Evander and Luca Orellano in the attacking midfield. Sergio Santos got the start at striker with Denkey out.
The first half was sloppy from both sides, but defensive work from Hagglund and Engel kept the game even going into the half. Hagglund looked back to his old self, accumulating six clearances, and two blocked shots, and was an aerial force, clearing four balls with headers and winning three of his five aerial duels. Hagglund also had one of the highest xG shots on the night, nearly sending a header into the Atlanta goal that was saved by Brad Guzan. Engel excelled at center-back, notching nine clearances, eight headed clearances, one interception, and five recoveries. The Denmark native also won every duel he had tonight, whether in the air (three for three) or on the ground (one for one).
“He’s another important piece,” Head Coach Pat Noonan said about Hagglund after the match. “A vocal leader. It’s something that we’ve been missing, that leadership and the communication along the back line at times, and he’s been consistent with having a presence in that way. And now it’s just continuing to get him training sessions, game minutes, playing in bigger spaces. That’s what he has been limited with, but you can see the impact that he has with this fan base. So, it was a nice reaction to his name being called. It’s good to see him out there.”
One of the biggest problems the Orange and Blue had in this game is also a recurring problem this season; their crossing game is lacking. As a team The FC attempted 11 crosses and only had one that reached the intended person. A perfect example from this was when Brad Smith, who subbed on in the 61’ for Sergio Santos, sent a ball flying from the left side of the pitch over all of his teammate's heads and out of bounds on the right.
Another problem that the team has, at least if you ask the fans, is the offense’s lack of goal-scoring. A lot has been made of the team’s spending this offseason, bringing in Kevin Denkey for $16 million and Evander for $12 million, and many expected more goal production. Evander has seemingly come into his role with the club, scoring a brace in this match and leading the team in goal-scoring on the season.
Photo by The Post Cincy’s Timothy Sears
Unfortunately, after the three goals from Evander and two from Denkey, there hasn’t been much offensive production on this team. Orellano is still finding his legs after missing several games with a leg injury, but he has yet to make a difference on the score sheet in his three games. Yuya Kubo is the only player who has a goal other than Denkey and Evander and that came off an assist from Evander. Kubo has otherwise had a forgetful season. After netting 10 goals last season, Kubo has looked out of place in the starting 11 in 2025. Once the team is more healthy and has players return from international duty, he may make his way out of the starting lineup.
Offensively, it feels like this team cannot get into the box and take high-percentage shots and is instead settling for longer-range shots. For the third game in the last four, FC Cincinnati took more shots outside the box than inside. In this match, it was seven shots outside and six inside, but in the Charlotte match it was 11 outside the box and only six inside. Those shots outside the box have a lower percentage chance of finding the back of the net and often end up well off target. Orellano tends to send two or three shots well over the crossbar in most games on shots from outside the box.
When asked about whether there is any frustration about how the offense is playing so far this season, Noonan shrugged off the question. “No, we’ll be fine.”
Time will tell if that is the case, but for now, the club will have to get back to training and get ready for their match next Saturday when they travel to Nashville. That game can be watched on Apple TV+ with the MLS Season Pass or you can view it at any of the club’s participating Pub Partners, like The Post Cincy’s favorite Streetside Brewery. You can see more photos from the match taken by The Post Cincy’s Tim Sears in the gallery below.
