FC Cincinnati 1-0 New England Revolution: Notes on Transitory State

"Dude, my balls were swimming by the 10th."

Don’t expect any co-workers to excitedly ask whether you caught the big FC Cincinnati game yesterday, never mind brag about seeing live and in persona at the Big Tickle. None of that means the 1-0 win they picked up over the New England Revolution wasn’t a good thing, so much as questions about whether it means anything beyond three useful points.

About the Game
The two teams played a slippery bastard, what with the rain pouring from the skies, so you’d get slapstick like Carles Gil flopping to his ass midway through one of his defender-twisting turns. The same affliction plagued any dribbler – e.g., Luca Orellano – but the teams still managed to create a respectable haul of chances between them. Cincy had the better chances early – some of the best they’d get in the first half, in fact - but New England got a hold of the game, little by little. The loose theory/dream of midfield dominance from my Scouting Report didn’t hold up so good – the Revs’ Matt Polster probably had the best two-way game of any player, and my personal honorable mention goes to Cincy’s Tah Anunga – which saw Cincinnati’s shots come from further and further away until the halftime whistle. Peak anxiety for the hosts undoubtedly came in the stretch between a New England header off the post (didn’t see who tagged it (well), but leaning toward Mamadou Fofana?) and Ignatius Ganago’s deflected shot squicking between Roman Celentano’s fingers, but that covers the “what might have beens” more or less (Luca Langoni fired a couple from range, etc.). Cincinnati came out of the locker room with a little fire under them (angry Pat Noonan!) and they probably had their best 15 minutes of the day between the 45th and 60th minute and that best period had slipped halfway out the door when Cincy finally got the go-ahead. Shots to the back-post had been popular all day, and for both teams, but the Orange and Blue finally worked a ball into the 18 that had Kevin Denkey dancing in front of two defenders; his short outlet teed up Corey Baird, who forced a bobble out of (a solid) Aljaz Ivacic, who pushed the ball to Pavel Bucha, who squared it for Sergio Santos to tap home: it took a village, in other words, which isn’t so surprising given some absences. That left 25+ minutes of running around, plus a couple more shots – the last one noted came from a deflected shot around the 80th by Jackson Yueill – and Cincinnati came within an offside flag of marching in an insurance goal (most of these made the full highlights), but the process of putting the game to bed started with Santos’ goal.

An Aside on the New England Revolution
Getting Leo Campana fit and whole will help – I’ve seen Maxi Urruti touch the ball maybe a dozen times over about 170 minutes of soccer – and the broadcast booth kept talking up what Tomas Chancalay might do for New England when he comes back…even if he’s not currently on the official roster, but the Revs have objectively struggled with scoring in 2025. Movement from back to front isn’t an issue and Gil still delivers a good ball, Ilay Feingold looks like a good find, and they can get a ball into the mixer (sometimes well), etc., but they unquestionably miss and need that final touch. The good news for them: the defense looks sturdy enough for a little improvement in the attack to go a long way. The present question is how far behind the pack they’ll slip before the ship gets sailing in the right direction. This loss puts them at least seven points behind anything good.

Neither team had its best eleven available, of course, and that meant missing attacking firepower for New England and, for Cincinnati, some key cogs that make the midfield work (e.g., Evander and Obinna Nwobodo). Both teams should improve, even if how and how much remains an open question (more below), so this one was all about the points on offer and who got them.

Now, let’s wrap up with…

Talking Points
1) Not With This XI
While sufficient for the task at hand, the team Pat Noonan had on hand doesn’t have a chance in the long run. It’s great to see Nick Hagglund last a full 90 and Anunga continues to exceed my expectations – the former may matter more than the latter, for all I know – but they have tasks ahead that rise considerably higher than containing a headless Revs attack. I still have questions about how the attack levels up, but concerns about the defense will/should evaporate when Matt Miazga and Miles Robinson heal…both of whom would be smart to keep an eye on their six.

Filthy, dog-eared and worth every penny.

2) Best Damn Rolodex in MLS
Gilberto Flores made a recovery run in the second that snuffed out one of New England’s better-constructed attacks up the right (think it came from Feingold), not just catching up to his mark, but getting between him and the ball. That moment stood taller than the rest, but it has plenty of company; I lost track of how many times I’ve heard the name “Flores” over the past three games. I don’t know how Chris Albright keeps finding amazing young players that other GMs seem to have never heard of, but this 22-year-old Paraguayan could improve half the defenses in MLS tomorrow.

3) Making a Meal of, but Not “Feasting” on Scraps
I don’t know enough about Denkey to know how he should look out there – i.e., what his best game looks like, where he likes to receive the ball, etc. Absent that, I’m left with a whiff of “is that all there is?” half the time I watch him. I don’t question his instincts as a target player – he wrestled for a clear look early in and he did everything right in his second-half turn-‘n’-shoot – but getting him actually good positions still seems to elude the larger set up. So many questions…including...

3a) No "I" in Team

As someone who defaults to preferring teamwork over individual brilliance, I will never stop questioning how Evander fits into this team until, frankly, he shuts me up. To put any worries at ease, he did it with the Timbers last year - or at least he did until he didn't. Here's to hoping Noonan, et al, have ideas about how best to encourage Evander to play within the team. Related to all of the above, it did me good to see Cincy pull together three to four intricate buildups yesterday. 

I’m calling it for this post. Cincinnati had a job, they did it and good for them. Odds are they’ll be doing with different faces in the line up four to six weeks from now, so I don’t see any point in lingering longer. Till the Scouting Report on…fuck me, I have to watch DC United?