When the full-time whistle went at the end of the game, and the FC Cincinnati bench burst onto the field to celebrate their three points and 1-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls, Pat Noonan went to embrace the lone goalscorer – Kévin Denkey – of the night. In that firm embrace by the winning coach and his goal scorer Noonan says the first thing out of his mouth was one of regret.
“He was mad about the miss at the end there,” Noonan confessed with a smile. “So that tells you everything, he's hungry for more.”
It was a celebration of grit and determination Saturday night at TQL Stadium. After a month away from home for preseason, and a midweek match in Honduras, the cherry on top was a frigid cold night in Cincy with a frozen, bumpy field. But The Orange and Blue persisted and earned a victory on the coldest night in FC Cincinnati home history.
FC Cincinnati kicked off the 2025 MLS Season and 10th Anniversary season with a victory at TQL Stadium despite a challenging night due to the elements. Backed by a terrific 70th minute header by Denkey – poking the ball past the rushing keeper after a brilliant pass from DeAndre Yedlin over the back line – FCC impressed their head coach with their diligent play and mental toughness.
“Like they did on Wednesday and like they did for the last month of preseason, they just get on with it,” Noonan said, praising the mental toughness of his team. “It's not a group of excuse-makers. They're just going to put their head down and figure it out, and that's what you love to see as a coach is guys that, you know, aren't throwing their hands in the air because things aren't going their way and solving problems. Again, it's only two games, but I like the character that they've shown with what's been thrown at them.”
“I think it’s just the mentality of all the players. I think it’s the kind of players they try to bring in, the players they recruit. It's kind of like no nonsense guys,” DeAndre Yedlin said after hearing his coach's praise postgame. “I think it’s just like that. We don't like to make excuses. We're all hungry. We're all hungry to win, and I think this year especially, we're just trying to focus on not looking too far ahead. Just focus on the next game. No matter what conditions we have to play in, no matter what the travel is like, how can we get a result?”
It was not a perfect night for FC Cincinnati. Noonan highlighted several places where there were growing pains; connecting passes, finding the right pressure, finding space to turn towards goal and drive play forward all for example. But given all the circumstances, the growing pains that FCC may be experiencing just point towards excitement rather than concern.
The preseason was long, but perhaps not as effective as Noonan wanted. With players like Evander, Lukas Engel, Gilberto Flores and Yuya Kubo not joining the group until very late in the camp, and others like Luca Orellano, Matt Miazga and Nick Hagglund are injured and have not yet assisted the team in their victories.
If Wednesday night in Honduras was a proof of concept, Saturday night was continuing to collect receipts for that potential. Despite the challenges the weather posed, there were moments – not just glimpses, but extended periods of time – where the full power of FC Cincinnati’s attacking prowess could go on display. It lacked the final touch, or the shot would go just wide, but the opportunities were created by both individual brilliance and team cohesion.
“For the guys to be able to turn it around and put together that type of performance with that energy –certainly driven by our fans – was impressive,” Noonan said. “Like I said after Wednesday, we're nowhere near what we're capable of, and most teams aren't. So, in that process, and I'm a broken record at this time of the year, you try to get results, and that's very important down the road. It's also important for us to be better at home. We weren't good enough last year, and certainly early in the season, dropped points. I'm pleased about the win tonight. I know it's a confident group, but they're realistic. They know in this moment, it's a nice start, but nothing else. Hopefully, game by game, we see improvements and better relationships on the field and better play overall.
“But I think there should be excitement about what this group of players is capable of.”
In the end, the talisman of the team did enough to earn the result. Pat Noonan said early in the season, when things don’t look as pretty, it’s vital to find ways to get the result. In this case, the record transfer fee striker did his part and the elite defensive capabilities that FC Cincinnati have held the score line to zero, earning the first clean sheet of the season.
Noonan had plenty of positive things to say about the defense, going on for over two minutes in his postgame press conference praising the performance of his center backs in particular. Miles Robinson’s performance garnered little chatter, mostly due to just how regularly excellent he is with Noonan saying “I can talk about Miles every game. Miles is Miles… he’s incredible.” It was the youngster Gilberto Flores who Noonan praised most for his contributions.
“I mean, you're looking at Gilberto (Flores), who got thrown in there for his first game and was up for it,” Noonan explained. “He was really impressive tonight on both sides of the ball and just looked into the game, defensively, pressing, covering simple concepts, but it's not always that simple and he made it look easy. With the ball, (he) found some good passes, played safe when he didn't have any real options to play short. I thought some of his balls, his passes in behind, were excellent.”
“The week that he's been with us, we've seen a lot of what you just saw tonight, but it's hard to say that it's going to translate into a game when there's pressure and for somebody to carry over what he does in training against a really difficult opponent. The physical part of it was even more impressive because he hasn't played significant minutes. I don't know what he got to, 80 (minutes) or whatever it was. That's just a mentally-strong kid if you're able to do that and still play at a high level.”
Flores, 21, joined the club earlier this week after signing a U22 initiative contract weeks ago but was held up with immigration paperwork, delaying his arrival. But despite his short time with the club Flores’ talent and instincts were on full display, and despite not speaking any english the young Paraguayan defender found ways to communicate effectively and shine as a center back for the 85 minutes he played.
“I feel like he communicates well with the back line just with his positioning and also his body language,” goalkeeper Roman Celentano said after the match. “I feel like he does a good job putting himself in positions and then using his body language to kind of communicate with the (defenders), like, ‘all right, this is what I'm doing. I need you to cover me here.’
“He's good about just managing moments like that. So until we get more experience communicating and feel better about that stuff, we can do this for now.”
It is just one match of 34, and one week of many. This is the start of a very long season that will, almost assuredly not be a perfectly linear ascent to the top. But there is reason for optimism and excitement. With how challenging a full year can be, let's not dwell on what could be or what might happen. It is an exciting time for FC Cincinnati, celebrate that now – for a new challenge could always be just over the horizon.
FC Cincinnati is 1-0-0.
FC Cincinnati turn around quickly, but stay home for their next match welcoming FC Motagua to TQL Stadium on Wednesday, February 26 for the second leg of the Concacaf Champion Cup Round One matchup. FCC enter the second leg up 4-1. For their next MLS match, The Orange and Blue head to the City of Brotherly Love to take on the Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park on Saturday, March 1.
