On a rare Tuesday night at TQL Stadium, FC Cincinnati got a draw with Tigres UANL and enter the second leg of the competition with a chance to advance into the Quarter-Finals of the Concacaf Champions Cup with another strong performance in Mexico next week.
But much like some draws can feel like absolute victories, some draws feel like disappointments. So while there was pride in the effort and battle The Orange and Blue put forward on the field, and an undeniable sense of optimism – or confidence – for the future, there was a sense of a missed opportunity that permeated the team after the match.
After getting off to a strong start thanks to a goal by Pavel Bucha in the 3rd minute, his third of the tournament, which is also now a club record, FC Cincinnati had to settle for a draw. Conceding a goal in the 17th minute on a cross and header, FC Cincinnati could not find a breakthrough goal despite several opportunities and exited the home leg even with their Liga MX opponent 1-1.
Historically speaking, MLS teams have (in general) had an incredibly difficult time going away to Liga MX sides and getting a result in this tournament – only five times since 2016 has an MLS team gone away and got a winning result. So entering the second leg with a lead could have given FCC a significant advantage, and given them far more successful outcomes.
But the reason more so for the disappointment wasn't that the situation one week from Tuesday at El Volcan in Monterrrey, Mexico, will be harder; it's that the result on this night was well within their grasp – and it just slipped away.
"A good game. I think two strong teams that put in a really good effort. You could see it left on the field by the guys, you know, both sides. You know, I think from our end, it's just disappointing that we're not in a better position going into the second leg," Pat Noonan said to open his postgame press conference. "I think you get off to a strong start with the goal, and the first time we let him into the box, we didn't defend that cross well enough…but we had an opportunity to regain the lead where we missed out on that.
"A missed opportunity to play with a different type of advantage," Noonan continued. "But the guys will be confident to go in and get a result. We know it'll be difficult, but the disappointing part is just how we concede the goal and how well we defended outside of that to limit their chances and the moments we don't capitalize, the margins are small, and I don't think we took them today. We'll have a confident group going in there, but in the moment, you know, that's the hard part."
"Overall, it was quite good but it's not the result we wanted. We wanted to get a win from the first leg and be in a more comfortable position in the second leg there in Mexico. But that's what it is," Pavel Bucha, FC Cincinnati's lone goalscorer, said from the press room Tuesday night. "I think just in the final touches, it isn't there still at times. So we will work on it every day. So, hopefully, we will be scoring more."
Tigres had their chances on Tuesday night, but FCC dominated the danger and looked sure to have the quality to find a decisive goal. Kévin Denkey had a shot from close range saved and missed another just wide with the keeper well out of net. Evander had a near-perfect shot saved, and Luca Orellano, making his season debut as a substitute, had a perfectly placed curling shot swatted away off the line.
The opportunities were there, and all the extenuating circumstances were true and relevant, but none of them made anyone feel any better as they exited TQL Stadium 1-1 all the same.
Context is key here, though. From a certain point of view, the 1-1 result is a pretty positive result, given the details to consider. Tigres is widely considered not only one of the best teams in Mexico but also in all of Concacaf. It entered this tournament as the third-ranked team in the Concacaf Club Ranking and is currently ranked eighth. There are very few better tests of quality in the region. Tigres is also in the middle of their season, compared to FC Cincinnati, preparing to play their third league game later this week.
Pile that on with the circumstances FCC has faced with a new, fresh-faced lineup and several key pieces still not available, getting a draw of any sort could be considered a successful night – and likely would have been considered one for an MLS club many years ago.
All that context does nothing for how this group feels about the outcome. Writing it here only serves to provide insight into how, at a different time, this could have been considered a success by someone. But the goals of Pat Noonan and his team are higher than that, and settling for a draw was exactly that. Settling. Wanting more.
There were positives to take away, though. It was not as if the FCC played poorly, far from it. The defense performed well beyond one, albeit vital, moment. And after what could be considered an 'uncharacteristic' performance three days earlier, the team looked closer to their usual selves.
"We disappoint ourselves on Saturday against Philly," Yuya Kubo said postgame. "We didn't play well, but I think we improved a lot this game so now we look forward to the next game. So against Toronto, we have to win at home and continue…(I think) we're progressing every day, every game, so we need to build more."
"We just have to continue to play the way we played. Be aggressive, be confident in each other," DeAndre Yedlin said of what the team can take away from this match. "I thought tonight was actually a really good performance. Just finishing a few chances could have been really different. But with this team, I'm not worried about going on the road and trying to get a result.
"I think we have a really honest group and a group that's going to work hard, and a group that's probably going to be even more motivated by this game and take it up a notch."
On a similarly positive note for FC Cincinnati coming out of the match, another significant piece of The Orange and Blue puzzle has returned to the fold. Luca Orellano made his season debut after being held out with a nagging hip injury for the early part of the 2025 season. Coming on in the 65th minute as a substitute, Orellano's unique skill set of prowess on the ball and dynamic athleticism instantly popped. His combinations with new teammates Evander and Kévin Denkey similarly leaped off the field.
"Luca had good minutes. This is his first real test, and it's against a very good opponent," Noonan said of Orellano. "But you could see the moments where he was able to get on the ball and create separation and move us up the field…so for that being his first game minutes, I thought that was strong."
The trio of Orellano, Evander and Denkey was cut unfortunately short as Evander exited the match with an injury to his back that Noonan ensured was not concerning. However, his return to the field showed a brief yet very exciting glimpse into where FCC could still grow.
"It felt great, the truth is I felt very loved and that's very important for a player," Luca Orellano said about the warm reception from the FC Cincinnati crowd he got when coming on for the first time.
"I needed to play and I think I am still behind a bit physically but as the game went on I felt like I found my way into it."
This will be the second year in a row FC Cincinnati have to go to Monterrey, Mexico, the home of Tigres UANL, in order to advance in the Concacaf Champions Cup. Last year, FCC went to the Mexican city down a goal to face the crosstown rival of their current opponent, CF Monterrey. But this year, the stage is equal. A win guarantees advancement in the tournament, and a draw (at the very least) guarantees a chance to advance in extra time, if not an outright advancement.
The task is simple, but the reality couldn't be more complex. FC Cincinnati gave themselves a chance, but so much more was there for them, and it will take even more to right that moving forward.
