"I think we didn't play very well," Kévin Denkey said from the locker room Saturday afternoon. "But we got the three points and that's what matters most."
Denkey and FC Cincinnati capped off the third perfect month in club history with some flair as The Orange and Blue continued their win streak with a 2-1 victory on the back of a Denkey brace. The record-setting striker earned his fifth and sixth goals of the season to give FC Cincinnati their 22nd point of the season, first by striking a volley right before half, then by putting forward an MLS Goal of the Year candidate with a 78th-minute bicycle kick to double the lead.
SKC would score to tighten the margin in the 89th. Still, after three additional minutes of play, FC Cincinnati had earned their sixth one-goal victory of the season.
"I think we won because of our professionalism," Denkey continued. "I think we have experienced players with us and they know how to manage this… it's how we win."
The Saturday afternoon victory was a game that can be distilled into multiple – but distinct – parts.
The first portion of the match was dominated by FCC. With pace and pressure the home side challenged SKC in all phases and forced play into the Sporting Kansas City third by connecting the defense to the forwards through the wingbacks.
But a breakthrough moment wouldn't come, and despite averaging over 75% possession in the opening 15 minutes, FC Cincinnati only mustered 2 shots in the half until the breakthrough goal in the 43rd minute.
Having survived the opening onslaught, SKC made an adjustment to pack the middle of the field and force FC Cincinnati to either play through that mass of defenders or go directly over the block and try to perfectly drop a pass for forwards to run onto. A tough needle to thread. So when the pass went long, or FCC took a heavy touch and was dispossessed in the midfield, SKC looked to attack quickly.
SKC didn't get a goal that way, but it certainly took the air out of the FC Cincinnati tires and slowed the game down to a more survivable pace for the visitors.
FC Cincinnati has gotten results this season without playing their best. It has been, if not the most prominent early theme of the year for the league as a whole, the most notable for FCC for certain. That dynamic has presented itself in different ways this season, making it hard to pin down exactly. This week, the problem was adjusting to pressure quickly and finding ways to break down an opponent in a timely manner.
"All in all, there were good stretches and then some stretches where we just need to eliminate that from our play where we have guys just trying to do too much. When we simplify the game, we're a pretty good team," FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said post-match. "With their structure tonight, they were compact. From front to back, there was 20, 30 yards max. And so, if that's the case from front to back and if they're narrow, we have to move the ball from left to right quicker. We have to think about how we play in from behind. At the end of the half, we create some of our best moments, but taking 40 minutes to recognize that is something we'll address. I know that's unique to tonight, but we needed to stop forcing the ball through the middle.”
"Evander comes over because he sees the game, he feels the game, he's thinking about different spots to pop up," Noonan continued as to how they eventually adjusted. "In the final third, I think it's a matter of what guys see, but also taking too many touches, and that brings in more defenders and then the moment to play behind is gone. The moment to play their teammates is gone. Hold onto the ball too long, overcomplicating the pass instead of making the simple one that might lead to our wingbacks, especially getting time and space on the ball so we could run hard in front of goal. All those little things can improve."
The breakthrough eventually came just before the half, after FC Cincinnati had broken down that compact SKC defense by springing Lukas Engel on the left side for a quality shot on target. Engel's shot was saved, thus eliminating an assist, but in making that save, Sporting KC keeper John Pulskamp was forced to parry the shot away rather than catch it. That rebound bounced to Denkey, who took the one-touch volley and buried it into an open net to take the lead.
That kind of "simpler play" ends up being the difference maker, but it is not necessarily a carte blanche case study for how Pat Noonan says he wants the team to play; it is more of a strong example of making the right choice in the moment. Rather than delay or look for a nifty pass or extra inch of space, Engel saw an opportunity and put a strong shot on target. Engel's shot could have gone in but the rebound also provides an opportunity.
"It's circumstantial," Pat Noonan explained. "If you have an opportunity to shoot and it's the right decision, guys need to be ready to shoot. But if you have teammates who are in better spots to finish off a play, yeah, each moment is going to dictate if it's a shot or a pass. I thought the shot was good. I thought Kévin was in a good spot, but that doesn't necessarily mean the next moment where a guy takes a shot it's the best option."
The second goal for FC Cincinnati, which ultimately served as the match-winner, could be described as 'simple,' but you'd be hard-pressed to find an attendant on either side who would see it as such.
The feed on MLSSoccer.com will log the goal as: "Goal! 2:0. Kévin Denkey (FC Cincinnati) scored with right footed shot from the centre of the box with an xG of 24% to the upper right central zone. Assisted by Luca Orellano."
That could mean anything. Plenty of crosses are scored in Major League Soccer every week. But your eyes tell you that Denkey, planted in the middle of the box, timed a dangerous cross from the right wing by Orellano to leap and bicycle kick the shot past a frozen keeper for the goal. At the peak of his jump Denkey, who stands at a menacing 5'11", had his foot well higher than that. But what stood out to his peers was his ability not only to reach the cross (which usually would need a jumping head to get onto it) but also to generate as much power as he did to leave the keeper no chance to react.
"There's not many words to describe what he did," Noonan said postgame. "It was one of the best goals I've seen in person, certainly. It's going to be tough to top that."
"It was an incredible goal. You all saw it," Luca Orellano said from his locker post-match. "I'm fortunate to get an assist and glad to get it there."
Roman Celentano expressed some level of sympathy for his fellow goalkeeper on the other side of the field. He described the goal as one you'd just have to tip your cap to. That, to borrow a baseball metaphor, to have a shot of that pace from that height on a cross in from wide would be like getting a 100MPH fastball when you're expecting a change-up. Almost always, a header would come from that space, and while some headers have pace on them, that kind of shot would feel like a screamer from that close.
"I mean…it was a beautiful goal," Denkey admitted with a smile and laugh postgame after reflecting on the effort. "The most important thing is that we are doing that to help the team win. Last game, (Evander) scored two goals… and because he scored the two goals, we had the three points at the end. So the most important thing is that what we are doing is helping the team."
Denkey has insisted since his arrival in Cincinnati and MLS that his intention is to be the top scorer in the league. He inched closer to that on Saturday afternoon as he is now level with his teammate Evander in a tie for second most with six. Along with that, there has been a consistent message that the goals he scores are most valuable if they help the team win, and that is his priority. This season, Denkey has scored his six league goals in five MLS matches, and FC Cincinnati own a 5-0-0 record in those games.
In the aftermath of that goal, Denkey ran to the corner and took off his shirt, earning his second yellow card in as many weeks for the infraction. Last week the Togolese striker lifted his shirt to reveal a tribute to the late Aaron Boupendza that earned him a card he said he was surprised and disappointed to receive. This time, he accepted the card and understood the decision, and explained this celebration was one intended to replicate the time he scored his first professional goal at home for Nimes in the French league, which was also the first and last time he scored a bicycle kick goal.
"You need to enjoy it all because at the end football is fun. It is artistic. We are here to give joy to the fans," Denkey explained. "They're happy, I just wanted to share in that."
As FC Cincinnati move forward, and sit top of the MLS table as results stand at the end of the early matches, the intention is to not be complacent with results. While yes FCC has worked hard and gotten wins at an important time in the calendar, there is much work to be done.
"No disrespect to what the guys are doing at the moment with the streak and the wins, but we have a lot to improve on. And I'll continue to say that until we get consistent form, until both sides of the ball are in more control," Noonan explained bluntly postgame. "But I think they (the players) understand that too. I think they have high expectations of themselves and this group. So we'll continue to push and not settle, even when the results are going our way."
"We need to stay focused," Denkey said, reinforcing Noonan's belief without knowing his coach had said what he did. "It's not chance, it's not luck. It's teamwork. Every training, same intensity, same focus, and we will get this.
"We know that the club wants to win. The club wants to do big things. So we need to be focused every day, every day, and work, work, work, that's how it happens…that is how top teams (do it) and this is a top team."
