FC Cincinnati went into Decision Day 2024 with plenty to play for despite being locked into the number three seed in the Eastern Conference headed into the MLS Cup Playoffs. A win would secure The Orange and Blue a Concacaf Champions Cup spot, build some confidence and send FCC to the playoffs on a winning note.
Their opponents, the Philadelphia Union, needed a win to even have a chance at earning a playoff spot.
With all Eastern Conference matches kicking off at the same time for the final match of the season, chaos was in the cool air in Chester, Pennsylvania. But it was FC Cincinnati who tamed the crazy final day of the regular season, and earned a hard fought 2-1 victory thanks to a goal from Yamil Asad and a strong defensive performance.
That chaos started with the starting XI in some ways. Pat Noonan, perhaps looking to catch his old club off guard, or perhaps more simply just trying to make sure all his best performers were available, started his 42nd unique starting XI of the season. Making it so every match this season, across all competitions, had a different lineup combination. This time, the big change came from out of left field, or maybe, left wing back.
Luca Orellano made his first start for FC Cincinnati at striker, doing so alongside Yuya Kubo, for the first time this season. Orellano had been used as an attacking midfielder at times this season but never sent all the way up to the number nine.
Unfortunately from there, the chaos went Philly's way next. With just less than two minutes ticked off the clock, Quinn Sullivan slipped into an open space inside the box and put a inch perfect shot onto the far post that tucked in just out of the reach of Roman Celentano.
Not the start FC Cincinnati had imagined. But the faith was not shaken. The Orange and Blue pressed forward in the half and, despite the early deficit, appraised themselves as the stronger team over the first 45 minutes.
In order to keep the lead, Philadelphia needed to rest on its multiple time All-Star, multiple time goalkeeper of the year and Captain Andre Blake to keep FCC out of net. DeAndre Yedlin and Luca Orellano had the best chances themselves. The American wingback had his moment by soaring through the air to head a cross, but an equally worthy save halted the score. The newly named Argentine striker may have been the most dangerous player on the field though, as he tormented the defense. He had multiple shots that forced the Jamaican international to work hard.
Eventually though, in the literally dying moments of the first half, FC Cincinnati broke through. With three minutes of stoppage time shown from the sidelines, The Orange and Blue looked to put a final push for an equalizer and peppered the box. Enough chaos on the Philly defense allowed for Yuya Kubo to pull in a loose ball just to the left of the penalty spot and roll a pass back to a waiting Yamil Asad. The fans at Subaru Park, already antsy because of their predicament, vocally lamented the pass as the three minutes shown had already passed but the referee allowed play to continue. So Asad, playing to the very final whistle, stepped to the ball, swung a curling right footed shot along the ground that bent around the keeper perfectly to bury itself in the back of the net.
Asad, making his eighth start in league play, scored his third goal of the season and brought his all competitions goal contribution number to 10 (5 goals, 5 assists). Yuya Kubo earned his third assist on the season with a pass to Asad, which also brought his all time total with FCC to 10. The goal was the second time Asad had scored at the 45+4 mark this season, and the goal is tied for second latest goal of the season in the first half.
The goal sent FC Cincinnati into the locker room with an earned confidence and a level score. The referee blew the halftime whistle immediately after restart, further infuriating fans, but the damage was done. It didn’t take much longer in game minutes to further press the good fortunes of FC Cincinnati.
In the 46th minute, less than 90 seconds after kickoff of the half with no changes for either side, a seemingly boring play turned into extraordinary with a splash of Decision Day chaos. Star Philadelphia Union defender Jakob Glesnes went back to collect an overplayed pass from FCC to pass the ball back to his keeper to reset play. But Glesnes did not check to see where Blake was before rolling it back to him and was shocked to see Blake rushing out for the ball with Glesnes, and the defenders pass rolling softly into the Philly goal for an own goal.
Now with the lead, FCC started to look like a team full of confidence. It was also the first time since September FCC had played with a lead.
Up a goal and with 44 minutes to play, FCC continued to play with pace and possession. But in a matchup where, even without all the added tensions, there is usually fiery emotions and physical play, this match only ratchets things up to 11 and makes every interaction more intense. Five yellow cards had been issued before the 70th minute of play and trying to be mindful of playoff suspension implications, Pat Noonan went to his bench looking for some added firepower.
Noonan deployed Niko Gioacchini for Luca Orellano when the new striker took a yellow card for a hard challenge. Sergio Santos also came on for Yuya Kubo to retool the strikers. Ian Murphy, Corey Baird and Alvas Powell all also came in to provide fresh legs on defense as they looked to see out the victory.
Philadelphia though needed a victory to even have a chance at a playoff spot, and as the clock ticked closer to full time, their desperation rose with it. Philadelphia threw nearly everything but the keeper forward for the final few plays and made FCC play flawless defense to keep them from equalizing.
With the victory, FC Cincinnati improved to 18-11-5 with 59 points and punched their ticket to the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup. The win also equalled a MLS record 11 road victories and earned FC Cincinnati their first ever win at Subaru Park.
With results around MLS going final, FC Cincinnati was confirmed to face off with New York City FC in Round One of the MLS Cup Playoffs.
