FC Cincinnati and FC Motagua finished in a 1-1 tie Wednesday night at TQL Stadium in the second leg of the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup Round One fixture. The Orange and Blue defeated Motagua on aggregate, 5-2, in the Round One series.
FC Cincinnati advance to the Champions Cup Round of 16 and will face Mexican club Tigres UANL. The first leg will be in Cincinnati on Tuesday, March 4 at TQL Stadium. Tickets are on sale now for FC Cincinnati Season Ticket Members and Orange and Blue Reserve Members. Tickets go on sale to the public Thursday at 10 a.m. ET at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or by calling 513-977-KICK.
Motagua struck first in Wednesday second leg as Rodrigo Auzmendi scored his second goal of the two-legged fixture in the 9th minute. But it was Cincinnati Designated Player Kévin Denkey who answered 10 minutes later in the 19th minute on his third goal in as many matches for Cincinnati.
FC Cincinnati return to MLS action on Saturday, March 1 at Philadelphia Union. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. from Subaru Park and the match airs on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and for free for Apple TV+ subscribers. Fans can listen to the match locally on iHeart Media Fox Sports 1360 in English and in Spanish on La Mega 101.5 FM.
AS IT HAPPENED
MOT: Rodrigo Auzmendi, GOAL – 9’ (0-1) – A short throw in from Jonathan Nuñez in Cincinnati’s defensive half led to Motagua’s opener in the 9th minute of play. Raul Santos controlled the throw and quickly returned to Nuñez who sent a first time cross into the box, picking out Rodrigo Auzmendi as the forward headed home.
CIN: Kévin Denkey, GOAL – 19’ (1-1) – Corey Baird dashed through the Motagua midfield, beating challenges from Luis Vega and Hector Castellanos which put the forward into space as the Cincinnati attack broke towards goal. Baird played Kévin Denkey in on goal, and a quick controlled touch saw Denkey beat the keeper low before the Motagua defense could recover.
GAME NOTES
- FC Cincinnati advance to the Concacaf Champions Cup for the second straight season.
- Kévin Denkey has scored in each of his first games for FC Cincinnati. Including non-MLS matches, his three match goal streak is the 16th in FC Cincinnati’s MLS history.
- Goalkeeper Evan Louro made his second appearance for FC Cincinnati (April 6, 2024 vs RBNY).
- Amir Daley and Kenji Mboma Dem made their debuts for FC Cincinnati. Daley, Mboma Dem and Noah Adnan were three FC Cincinnati 2 players to join the team for the match via short term agreement.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs FC Motagua
Date: February 26, 2025
Competition: Concacaf Champions Cup Round One, Second Leg
Venue: TQL Stadium | Cincinnati, Ohio
Attendance: 21,280
Kickoff: 6:36 p.m. ET
Weather: 61 degrees, cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
CIN: 1-0-1
MOT: 1-0-1
CIN – Kévin Denkey (Baird) 19’
MOT – Rodrigo Auzmendi (Núñez) 9’
LINEUPS
CIN: Evan Louro, Bret Halsey, Alvas Powell, Miles Robinson (C) (Gilberto Flores 46’), Noah Adnan, Amir Daley (Teenage Hadebe 53’), Pavel Bucha (Kenji Mboma Dem 79’), Tah Brian Anunga, Evander (Yuya Kubo 46’), Corey Baird, Kévin Denkey (Stefan Chirila 46’)
Substitutes not used: Roman Celentano, Paul Walters, Nick Hagglund, Obinna Nwobodo, Lukas Engel, Stiven Jimenez, DeAndre Yedlin
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
MOT: Marlon Licona, Raúl Santos (C), Jonathan Núñez, Giancarlo Sacaza, Cristopher Meléndez, Luis Vega, Riky Zapata, Walter Martínez (Jorge Serrano 76’), Yeison Mejía (Carlos Mejia 46’), Héctor Castellanos (Denis Melendez 82’), Rodrigo Auzmendi (Diego Ledesma 89’)
Substitutes not used: Jonathan Rougier, John Turcios-Castillo, Rodrigo Gomez, Edwin Munguia, Jefryn Macias, Emilio Izaguirre, Mathias Vasquez
Head Coach: Diego Vásquez
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/MOT
Shots: 13 / 8
Shots on Goal: 5 / 4
Saves: 3 / 4
Corner Kicks: 7 / 4
Fouls: 20 / 9
Offside: 1 / 2
Possession: 68 / 32
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Amir Daley (Yellow Card) 27’
MOT – Cristopher Meléndez (Yellow Card) 55’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Victor Caceres
Ast. Referees: Michel Morales, Marco Bisguerra
Fourth Official: Enrique Santander
VAR: Guillermo Pacheco
AVAR: Erick Miranda
