FC Cincinnati Come Back to Win a Thriller at Home.

CINCINNATI, OH - FC Cincinnati storm back down a man and a goal at home against CF Montréal on Sunday.

After two consecutive bad losses for Pat Noonan's FC Cincinnati, a win was crucial not only to get back on track in MLS play, but also for the morale of the players and even more the fanbase heading into the March international window.

FC Cincinnati fans watched their team lose on the road on Sunday and Thursday, a 1-6 loss in New England and a 1-5 loss in Monterrey to the New England Revolution (MLS Regular Season) and Tigres UANL (Concacaf Champions Cup), respectively. This saw the club exit the CCC for the second consecutive season against Tigres and FC Cincinnati were just 1-3-0 (3 points) in MLS play, their first time with a losing record in the MLS regular season since 2022.

FC Cincinnati conceded an early goal in the match to CF Montréal, who saw the trio of Iván Jaime (on loan from FC Porto), WIki Carmona, and Hennadiy Synchuk play meaningful minutes together for the first time - all with captain Prince-Osei Owusu leading the line. A 6th minute goal from outside the box by Wiki Carmona gave the visitors an early lead.

FC Cincinnati eventually responded after settling into the match. Ender Echenique drove down the right channel and beat Montréal GK Thomas Gillier (on loan from Bologna) for the equalizer. That was met by an immediate response from the visitors, miscommunication at the back after a Evander turnover saw captain Prince-Osei Owusu put CF Montréal up a goal headed into the halftime break.

FC Cincinnati started the second half well, finding an equalizer through Ender Echenique again. The Venezuelan international drove inside to the central area of the pitch, drew both centerbacks, and found Ayoub Jabbari on the left who scored.

Jabbari scored his first goal of his MLS career on Sunday after joining FC Cincinnati last summer on loan from Grenoble. He returned after a permanent transfer option was triggered, and scored his two FC Cincinnati goals in the first match of the season against O&M FC in the first round of the Concacaf Champions Cup.

"Pat [Noonan] gave us a message and the formation that he was looking at. He's like 'listen, guys, this is the time, this is where you need to show who we are.' And I think guys looked around and were like 'alright, we have no choice, we have to do this.' So I think Pat really gives a good message in the hydration break and you see the results. There's no quit. There was no 'stuff wasn't happening our way.' Like, it didn't matter. We'll figure it out." - Evan Louro

FC Cincinnati's captain Miles Robinson was ejected from the match with a red call after he pulled on Owusu's shoulder inside the box. A DOGSO call was given, and with Robinson not making a play on the ball in the foul, CF Montréal was given a penalthy and Miles Robinson was sent to the locker room with a red card.

When asked by pool report about the incident, PRO referees responded:

"Prior to Owusu playing the ball, Robinson pulled Owusu which forced him to slow down. This allowed Robinson to catch up and didn't allow Owusu to shoot the way he wanted to. All four considerations for denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity were present, and given that the initial hold was not part of any attempt to play or challenge for the ball, the final outcome was a penalthy and a red card." -PRO Referees Pool Report

Owusu stepped up for the penalty and scored, putting Montréal ahead for the third time in the match.

A 75th minute hydration break became the key turning point for FC Cincinnati. Down a man and a goal, FC Cincinnati brought on Sami Gidi and Tom Barlow for Alvas Powell and Pavel Bucha, changing their shape from the 3-5-1 to a 4-3-2.

Teenage Hadebe broke the lines with a ball to Denkey, and after a deflection, Barlow pounced on the loose ball inside the box and equalized for the home side.

With momentum and the fans on their side, FC Cincinnati chased for a winning fourth goal despite still being down a man. And from a long throw in by Cincinnati native Nick Hagglund and a poorly headed clearance, Kévin Denkey scored the winner in the fourth minute of second half stoppage time.

LINEUPS:

FC CINCINNATI (3-4-1-2): 13 Louro; 2 Powell (11 Gidi 77'), 21 Miazga (15 Hadebe 65'), 12 Robinson (C); 66 Echenique, 20 Bucha (16 Barlow 77'), 5 Nwobodo (37 Jimenez 88'), 29 Ramirez; 10 Evander; 9 Denkey, 99 Jabbari (4 Hagglund 65')

Head Coach: Pat Noonan

Unused Substitutes: 93 Mrozek, 3 Flores, 24 Smith

CF MONTRÉAL (4-2-3-1): 31 Gillier; 19 Hidalgo, 24 Morales, 4 Vera, 13 Petrasso; 22 Loturi, 8 Longstaff (29 Escobar 84'); 18 Synchuk (7 Opoku 57'), 16 Carmona (6 Piette 74'), 10 Iván Jaime (17 Thorhallsson 58'); 9 Owusu (C) (14 Rios 74')

Head Coach: Marco Donadel

Unused Substitues: 1 Breza, 3 Avilés, 5 Craig, 39 Guboglo

STATS (CIN/MTL):

Possession (%): 53/47

Shots: 15/21

Shots on Target: 8/7

Fouls: 20/11

Corners: 2/2

Attendance: 25,513

SCORING SUMMARY:

6' CF MONTRÉAL - Wiki Carmona (Assist: Prince-Osei Owusu)

40' FC CINCINNATI - Ender Echenique (Assist: Alvas Powell)

45' CF MONTRÉAL - Prince-Osei Owusu (Assist: Iván Jaime)

52' FC CINCINNATI - Ayoub Jabbari (Assist: Ender Echenique)

64' CF MONTRÉAL - Prince-Osei Owusu (PK)

80' FC CINCINNATI - Tom Barlow

90'+4' FC CINCINNATI - Kévin Denkey

DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY:

47' Yellow Card - Hennadiy Synchuk (MTL)

60' Red Card - Miles Robinson (CIN)

62' Yellow Card - Matt Miazga (CIN)

67' Yellow Card - Obinna Nwobodo (CIN)

83' Yellow Card - Teenage Hadebe (CIN)

90'+5' Yellow Card - Kévin Denkey (CIN)