FC Cincinnati Opens Second Round of CCC Strong, Wins 3-0 Against Tigres UANL.

CINCINNATI, OH - FC Cincinnati takes a commanding 3-0 victory at home in the first leg of the tie against Tigres UANL in Cincinnati.

FC Cincinnati came off of consecutive losses in MLS regular season play, held scoreless and ultimately losing 0-1 in both matches. Pat Noonan's side lined up a bit differently from past matches, in a 3-5-2 with a deep-lying defensive midfielder in Sami Gidi with Obinna Nwobodo and Pavel Bucha as two box-to-box midfielders on either side of the 21-year-old midfielder.

"I feel like it made sense with how Tigres was setting up," GK Roman Celentano said after the match about the shape in the midfield. "They have Brunetta underneath the front three, so it would make sense to have Sami, or if Obi needed to - someone who could kind of follow him [Brunetta], and have the two other guys push out onto their midfield. I feel like it was a smart, tactical move and I feel like the boys responded to it well and defended really well."

That change in the midfield shape meant both Dado Valenzuela and Evander started on the bench for Cincinnati, the latter still working up to full match fitness, with Noonan saying post-match that the expectation for Evander was, at most, a 45-minute cameo.

Cincinnati capitalized on a mistake by Tigres goalkeeper Nahuel Guzmán early in the match, with the Argentine passing the ball errantly to Cincinnati's Ender Echenique, who drove down the right channel and found Kévin Denkey inside the box for a goal.

"It was really important," Denkey said about the early goal of the match. "We needed to react. Pat was asking us to score early, during this time of the season, and I think it's the first time we did it. It's really good for the team."

Denkey would add another goal and assist in the second half, capping a three goal contribution match on the night, and his second brace since joining FC Cincinnati ahead of the 2025 campaign.

Kévin Denkey also spoke after the match about his involvement in build-up play for the team, particularly with him dropping deeper into the midfield. Cincinnati found success in the latter part of the 2025 campaign with the return of Brenner, who played in that Raumdeuter role, a role famously played by current MLS player for Vancouver, Thomas Müller. With the end of his loan at the end of the 2025 season, it seems Denkey has taken over some of those responsibilities.

"I know I can do it. I know I'm capable to do it," Denkey spoke about the new role. "Before, I was playing as a nine, a pure nine, so I was expecting balls, and sometimes, I don't receive the balls. But I can't drop because I will close up some space and that's why I was more high to receive balls and I don't get a lot of chances."

"This time, the coach asked me to be more underneath and come [into the midfield]. That's something I like to do, also, and it was good. I did it and I think I did it good, and we create even more chances. It's not because I'm underneath that I can't also go [up], you know? It's even easier because I can read the play, when to go, and that's good."

Tom Barlow was on the receiving end of the assist from Denkey, the second goal of the match. He scored his third goal in three Concacaf Champions Cup matches for FC Cincinnati in 2026.

"It felt good to find the back of the net," Barlow stated about the goal. "I think the last time I spoke to you guys, last weekend, we struggled a little bit, but just continued to biuld that relationship and chemistry and tonight, it showed. Hopefully, we can keep up the momentum."

Roman Celentano - 150th Appearance

FC Cincinnati's goalkeeper Roman Celentano eclipsed the 150th appearance mark in the win on Thursday night, the fourth player in club history (Kubo, Hagglund, Acosta). Notably, Celentano is the only player to have made 150 starts for the club, starting in every match he's appeared in for the Orange and Blue.

Celentano commented on the milestone, saying, "It's a number, it's cool. I think it's a reflection of the belief of the coaches and the team in me. Obviously, I want to keep it going, but most importantly, it was finding a way to get a win and a clean sheet tonight."

Roman Celentano was drafted by FC Cincinnati in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft with the second overall pick, one of the additions made by Chris Albright and Pat Noonan in the offseason before their first season with the club. Celentano was the starting goalkeeper for FC Cincinnati 2 in their inaugural season in MLS NEXT Pro, as the third string behind Alec Kann and Kenneth Vermeer for the senior team. An injury to Kann in April and a strong start in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup against USL Championship's Pittsburgh Riverhounds saw him make his MLS debut against LAFC in a narrow 1-2 loss, a team that would go on to win MLS Cup later that year.

"Shot stopping and keeping goals from going in the net is the most important thing. And he [Celentano] does that very well. That's been very consistent all along, his desire to get better has been there all along." Pat Noonan said after the match on Thursday night. "He's been a steady influence in our group."

LINEUPS:

FC CINCINNATI (3-5-2): 18 Celentano; 3 Flores, 21 Robinson, 15 Hadebe; 66 Echenique (2 Powell 78'), 5 Nwobodo (27 Anunga 63'), 11 Gidi (22 Valenzuela 78'), 20 Bucha, 29 Ramirez, 16 Barlow (10 Evander 63'), 9 Denkey (99 Jabbari 88')

Head Coach: Pat Noonan

Unused Substitutes: 13 Louro, 93 Mrozek, 2 Powell, 17 Mboma Dem, 21 Miazga, 24 Smith, 37 Jimenez

TIGRES UANL (4-2-3-1): 1 Guzman; 14 Garza (35 Rodríguez 79'), 23 Zwarg (4 Purata 21'), 27 Angulo (77 Herrera 59'), 32 Loroña; 28 Joaquim, 5 Araújo; 7 Correa (10 Gignac 79'), 11 Brunetta (C), 16 Lainez (6 Vigón 79'); 17 Aguirre

Head Coach: Guido Pizarro

Unused Substitutes: 13 Carrera, 25 Rodríguez, 19 López, 20 Flores, 22 Simeone, 30 Sánchez, 33 Guerrero

Scoring Summary:

6' FC Cincinnati - Kévin Denkey (Assist: Ender Echenique) 53' FC Cincinnati - Tom Barlow (Assist: Kévin Denkey)

82' FC Cincinnati - Kévin Denkey (Assist: Dado Valenzuela)

Stats (CIN/TIG):

Possession (%): 43/57

Shots: 12/11

Shots On Target: 4/1

Fouls: 11/12

Disciplinary Summary:

26' FC Cincinnati - Tom Barlow (YC, Foul)

29' FC Cincinnati - Obinna Nwobodo (YC, Foul)

49' Tigres UANL - Jesus Garza (YC, Foul)

90' FC Cincinnati - Pavel Bucha (YC, Foul)

90'+2 FC Cincinnati - Brian Anunga (YC, Foul)