Pat Noonan had teased that a formation change could come this season. That his squad had the requisite players and skill sets to diversify the approaches and throw some new looks against opponents if the need or opportunity called for it. He mentioned it at the press conference, welcoming Evander, Lucas Engel, and Gilberto Flores to the squad, and he noted how some of their positional versatility provides opportunities in that sense.
So, for the first time in a long time, Pat Noonan deployed a new formation on Saturday night, utilizing a 4-2-3-1 formation to break away from the long-used "five at the back" formations that FCC have used most of Noonan's tenure as Head Coach. Even if it was only for one night.
FC Cincinnati earned a professional and important victory over Toronto FC on Saturday night, using the new formation en route to winning 2-0 thanks to goals from Kévin Denkey and Yuya Kubo. Not only was FC Cincinnati able to earn the three points from the match, but they were also able to show a new look opponents now have to be ready for, and, perhaps most importantly, were able to rotate the lineup and keep the team just a little fresher for the club next match in three days.
Introducing a new structure at this moment was done, at least in part, due to the need and does not necessarily signal a shift to a new identity in the future. Pat Noonan wouldn't rule out using it should another moment call for it, but the opportunity for experimentation presented itself, and Noonan was pleased with the outcome.
"Mainly just managing the workload," Noonan said in the postgame press conference from the press room at TQL Stadium. "So, in looking at how we wanted to go about that, it just felt like the best way to approach this game was with that structure tonight. It was not a lot of prep as far as working on some things. Still, in the amount of time, we gave them information, I thought the guys did a really good job tonight to look a little bit different but still, try to play the game the same way.
"We need to manage some of those minutes, and I think we were able to accomplish that…each game, there are little adjustments, whether it's a three-back, four-back, whether you're building with your outside backs low or high, all these things. The game is always changing, and it always looks different. It's trying to find advantages with the personnel you have. That was the situation we were in."
FC Cincinnati's start to the season has been, in a manner of speaking, busy. In the opening 24 days of the 2025 season FCC are to play eight games across two competitions, presenting two problems. The first being the one Noonan highlighted in that managing minutes is important, especially considering that FC Cincinnati wants to put its best foot forward in the Concacaf Champions Cup as well as MLS league play, but also that training time has been limited with the need for recovery so pertinent; so working on these kinds of changes has been challenging.
It is then even more so a strong representation of success that FC Cincinnati were able to take on Toronto FC and look as dominant as they did.
"Very pleased for the group to have some guys step in, change the structure and perform really well. Everybody was up for it, and they deserved a win," Noonan shared. "A really strong performance in all aspects. I was really pleased with the individual performances and just the overall team performance. I thought we attacked in a good way despite not being able to find a goal early, and defensively, we were outstanding."
FC Cincinnati dominated play from kick-off to the final whistle. For most of the match The Orange and Blue held over 60 percent possession (sometimes even close to 70 percent) and earned the vast majority of dangerous opportunities. It took a 73rd-minute penalty kick conversion from Denkey to break through (an opportunity earned after an Evander cross was handled by a TFC defender) and an 88th-minute finish by Kubo (assisted by Evander) to seal the deal. But the progress the FC Cincinnati attack saw Saturday night was obvious.
"Guys performed in a really good way. Possession is a number that is good if you know how to utilize your passing and create advantages to eventually attack the goal. That's our goal," Noonan explained in praise of his team's performance. "It's not how many passes we get, it's how efficient we are with moving the ball up the field. Toronto was defending in a very compact way. They were deeper, so yes, you're going to have more time on the ball or more rotation, but eventually, how do we find ways to play through them, play around them. It took awhile, but we were able to break through there in the second half. It's nice to have the ball, but what do you do with it. That part I was pretty pleased because I think we created some good chances."
FCC generated 13 shots total to Toronto's six and eight shots on target to Toronto's one. At least two other chances, chances where the ball actually went in the net, were called off due to a foul or offside that had a delayed call from the official, further highlighting FCC's offensive pressure on TFC. But certainly not under the radar either for The Orange and Blue was their defensive performance.
With a new formation, and one at that that took away one defender to move that player further up the field, one could forgive the defense for looking not perfectly coordinated and working things out as they came along. But that was not what happened at all. From the opening whistle, the defense looked organized and composed and ultimately earned the second clean sheet of the MLS season.
"I think all in all, from start to end, we were the better team. It was really, really, really nice," Lukas Engel said from the FC Cincinnati locker room. Engel started as a left back in this new formation – a position he says he felt natural in as his time in Europe had prepared him for multiple positions, this one included. "It was a team effort and I think we did really well. We had a great structure. I think we were switched on for all 98 minutes. It really was a team performance."
"It's obviously helpful when we train it but I think today, we had the personnel for it," Engel explained as to why he thought the defense was so strong under this new formation. "I think most, if not all, of our players have played in different formation systems before. So it's not completely new. It's not something we've never tried before. Personally, for me, it's small adjustments and small changes, mostly my positioning. But I think we are a clever group of players that can adapt quickly.
"I think I said to Teenage when we got subbed off, 'I think we handled it perfectly. I think we did really, really well.' And I think today it was the perfect tactic."
One of the true notable successes of the defense beyond the simple milestone of a clean sheet was FC Cincinnati's ability to defend Toronto forward Federico Bernardeschi. The Italian forward, an MLS All-Star, is widely considered one of the most independently dominant attackers in all of MLS and has the individual skill to create danger out of thin air.
But for just about all Saturday night's 90 minutes, Bernardeschi was essentially invisible to the untrained eye.
"He's as dangerous as it gets with what he's capable of up on the ball. From an individual beating a defender, to how he gets his teammates involved closer to goal when he gets it on his left," Noonan said, highlighting how dangerous a player like Bernardeschi can be. "So we try to do our best to take him off the ball as much as possible or if he was on the ball (to be) further from goal. I think Lukas (Engel), Teenage (Hadebe) in the first half, and then DeAndre (Yedlin) and Miles (Robinson), and just at the end Gilberto (Flores). I thought all of the defenders that were tasked with trying to take away a key piece for them did a really good job today."
Bernardeschi had just one shot, a free kick in added time that went well high of the crossbar and out of bounds and completed 21 passes. But for the vast majority of the night, the former Italian national team star was factored out of the match.
"All teams have good players… but I think we did really well. We had a great structure. Again, I think it was really just a full team performance," Engel said, describing how he was able to find success when dealing with Bernardeschi. "Really trying to show them one side, show them one way to go. It starts from Kévin (Denkey) and I think we all did a great job of doing exactly what we wanted."
The victory improves FC Cincinnati's record in league play to 2-1-0 and continues FC Cincinnati's unbeaten streak at home. A home victory was a point of emphasis from Pat Noonan going into the match, speaking of a desire to establish home dominance in 2025 after struggling to earn that in 2024, and it became a point of pride postgame beyond the usual glee of a victory. FC Cincinnati players shared a commitment to home success after the match, echoing their Head Coach and how the victory on Saturday night serves as an important investment in a long-term commitment to one another.
"I believe in this team. On and off the field, we love each other. So we are able to fight for each other, we are willing to die for each other," defender Teenage Hadebe said of the locker room's mentality helps them find success even in difficult or new situations. "MLS is not easy, so we promised to each other that no matter who comes in to play, that playing with our home fans means they must fight, and they must make TQL Stadium a fortress…so no matter who it is or what the challenge is, we have each other."
FCC now have to turn their attention to the Concacaf Champions Cup this Tuesday as the squad faces a massive opportunity, an opportunity to make a name for themselves by going into Mexico and defeating one of the biggest clubs in the world in Tigres UANL. An achievement fewer than a handful of MLS teams have realized in the last decade.
They can't take this result with them, but they can take their confidence and belief with them. And on this Saturday night, they earned all of it.
