FC Cincinnati defeated Sporting Kansas City, 2-1, Saturday afternoon in front of a sellout crowd of 25,513 at TQL Stadium. The win marked Cincinnati’s fifth straight to push the Orange and Blue to 22 points, alone atop the Eastern Conference standings ahead of the rest of this weekend’s Matchday 10 slate.
The Orange and Blue (7-2-1, 22 points) defeated Sporting Kansas City (2-7-1, 7 points) for the first time in the fourth all-time meeting between the clubs. The victory also secured a perfect 4-0-0 month of April for FC Cincinnati.
FC Cincinnati forward Kévin Denkey scored both of FC Cincinnati’s goals, notching his first brace in a Cincinnati uniform. He sent the Orange and Blue ahead in the 43rd minute and netted a spectacular 78th minute bicycle kick to seal the three points before SKC netted a consolation goal in the 89th minute.
AS IT HAPPENED
CIN: Kévin Denkey, GOAL – 43’ (1-0) – Cincinnati regained possession from Sporting Kansas City as the visitors couldn’t break out from their own defensive half with Evander ultimately controlling play and playing wide left to Lukas Engel. Engel, with space near the top left edge of the box, forced a save from John Pulskamp but only into the path of Kévin Denkey who struck first time from the rebound to beat the sporting goalkeeper from inside the area.
CIN: Kévin Denkey, GOAL – 78’ (2-0) – The Orange and Blue capitalized on a second chance opportunity from a Luca Orellano corner as the match entered the final 15 minutes. A recycled attack made its way back to Orellano near the right corner flag and a second cross into the area from the right wing met the foot of Kévin Denkey inside the box as Denkey met the ball at its high point with a dazzling right-footed bicycle kick to beat a diving Pulskamp.
SKC: Zorhan Bassong, GOAL – 89’ (2-1) – As the final moments of the match drew near, Sporting drew one back with an offensive sequence of two passes from Andrew Brody and Erik Thommy that led Zorhan Bassong to finish with a strong strike into the goal.
The Orange and Blue return to action next Sunday, May 4 at New York City FC. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. from Citi Field and the match airs on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Fans can listen to the match locally on iHeart Media ESPN 1530 in English and in Spanish on La Mega 101.5 FM.
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs Sporting Kansas City
Date: April 26, 2025
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: TQL Stadium | Cincinnati, Ohio
Attendance: 25,513 (sellout)
Kickoff: 2:40 p.m. ET
Weather: 57 degrees, cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
CIN: 1-1-2
SKC: 0-1-1
CIN – Kévin Denkey 43’, Kévin Denkey (Orellano) 78’
SKC – Zorhan Bassong (Thommy, Brody) 89’
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Lukas Engel (Bard Smith 85’), Nick Hagglund, Matt Miazga (C) (Sergio Santos 63’), Miles Robinson, DeAndre Yedlin, Tah Brian Anunga (Obinna Nwobodo 63’), Pavel Bucha, Luca Orellano (Alvas Powell 86’), Evander, Kévin Denkey (Corey Baird 90’+1)
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Gilberto Flores, Stefan Chirila, Gerardo Valenzuela
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
SKC: John Pulskamp, Logan Ndenbe, Robert Voloder, Jansen Miller, Khiry Shelton (Andrew Brody 86’), Dániel Sallói (C) (Erik Thommy 73’), Nemanja Radoja (Zorhan Bassong 66’), Jacob Bartlett, Manu GarcÃa, Shapi Suleymanov (Stephen Afrifa 86’), Dejan Joveljić
Substitutes not used: Ryan Schewe, Ian James, Memo Rodriguez, Mason Toye, Tim Leibold
Interim Head Coach: Kerry Zavagnin
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/SKC
Shots: 14 / 11
Shots on Goal: 7 / 4
Saves: 3 / 5
Corner Kicks: 4 / 5
Fouls: 8 / 6
Offside: 5 / 2
Possession: 53.2 / 46.8
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Tah Brian Anunga (Yellow Card) 17’
SKC – Dejan Joveljić (Yellow Card) 66’
CIN – Kévin Denkey (Yellow Card) 79’
OFFICIALS 
Referee: Allen Chapman
Ast. Referees: Logan Brown, Gianni Facchini
Fourth Official: Thomas Snyder
VAR: Fotis Bazakos
AVAR: Craig Lowry
