FC Cincinnati closed its demanding stretch of eight matches in 25 days to begin the 2025 campaign with a disjointed, disappointing display in Charlotte. A 2-0 loss, marred by a first-half injury to Miles Robinson and a second-half red card to rookie center back Gilberto Flores, ensured FCC will have to wait for either the postseason or 2026 for its initial victory in the other Queen City.
Charlotte entered Saturday second to last in MLS in “key passes,” a statistic that measures passes that directly lead to a shot on goal. A key pass in fact paved the way to Charlotte’s first goal—only it was a misplaced headed back pass from the Orange and Blue that kickstarted a breakaway goal for Charlotte’s Liel Abada in the 48th minute.
Three minutes later, Charlotte scythed through the visitors’ defense with a pair of well-placed passes, the last of which freed up rising star striker Patrick Agyemang to outmaneuver Flores and score past a diving Roman Celentano. Despite an out-of-sorts performance where it struggled to connect through the midfield and compete with Charlotte’s speed-first counter attacking prowess, FCC was unlucky not to crack the scoresheet themselves. The Garys tied a season-high with eight shots on goal, most notably with Evander sending a 40-yard free kick off the bar in the 72nd minute, an example of his ball-striking gifts.
Nonetheless, four days after exiting the Concacaf Champions Cup, FCC justifiably fell in Charlotte to the better team on the day. Time to see if returning the one-match-per-week rhythm of league play will help the local lads sort out their issues. As I stated a few weeks ago, patterns of play and combination development between players require both minutes on the training ground and during game play. Cincinnati was short of the former during preseason, so supporters could be in for another month or so of growing pains.
One week after trotting out a 4-2-3-1 vs. Toronto, Pat Noonan returned to a four-in-the-back defense in Charlotte. Whether he chose the back four because of personnel reasons—Matt Miazga and Nick Hagglund have yet to debut after major injuries in 2024, and Teenage Hadebe hasn’t impressed to begin the season—or tactical preferences for the night, it was refreshing to see FC Cincinnati experiment and at minimum supply another formation for future opponents to prepare for aside from the 3-5-2. Also, running out a new formation against Charlotte, a side with real postseason potential, is much different than testing your tactics against a hopeless Wooden Spoon contender like Toronto.
Unfortunately, Robinson had to exit in the 30th minute with a leg injury, leaving Flores, who had impressed this season up until a rough showing Saturday, to pair with Hadebe against the dynamic ability of Agyemang, now firmly in the U.S. men’s national team striker pool, and winger Wilfried Zaha, who was playing in the English Premier League less than two years ago. Once again, new faces playing together in a new formation caused problems up and down the pitch.
Next up is a return to TQL Stadium for a tussle vs. Atlanta, the East’s other big-spending squad this offseason. While FCC dropped more than $28 million on Evander and Kevin Denkey, the Five Stripes dished out a combined $32 million to reacquire former Atlanta legend Miguel Almiron from the Premier League and to pry Emmanuel Latte Lath from England’s second division.
Atlanta is also having trouble fusing its new parts together. After conceding an 89th-minute goal to lose a heartbreaker to East-leading Miami Sunday, the Five Stripes haven’t won since February 22, the opening weekend of league play. And they’ve scored just once across the ensuing three league tilts.
For FC Cincinnati, not only is Saturday an ideal time to topple a sleeping giant as it searches for form, but this weekend marks the first international window of the season. FCC will be down Denkey, who was called up by his native Togo, but the Five Stripes will be missing Almiron, two additional starters, and two more regulars with at least 100 minutes to their name in 2025.
The rest of the season starts on Saturday.
Grant Freking writes FC Cincinnati coverage for Cincinnati Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter at @GrantFreking.
Facebook Comments