With just 11 minutes elapsed in Saturday’s MLS opener vs. Atlanta, FC Cincinnati’s season was in potential peril. Back-to-back MVP finalist Evander went to the ground with a non-contact injury, clutching his leg. The No. 10 then walked off the pitch, with Dado Valenzuela taking his place atop Cincinnati’s midfield.
If I was pondering worst-case scenarios, I’m sure Orange and Blue diehards were straight-up catastrophizing. FCC, already on the back foot to begin the match, struggled to gel after Evander’s exit. The midfield was overrun, and Atlanta seemingly captured every second or loose ball.
With the match scoreless at intermission, FCC rode a sterling second-half showing and scores from Kevin Denkey and Nick Hagglund to a 2-0 victory in front of a sellout crowd. The more important news arrived Tuesday afternoon. Head Coach Pat Noonan said that Evander’s hamstring injury “won’t be anything long term.” Exhales all around!
Pre-match on Saturday, the lone eyebrow-raising inclusion in the starting XI was Samuel Gidi over Obinna Nwobodo in midfield. Gidi enjoyed a first-choice run in the No. 6 position to end 2025 because Nwobodo was working his way back to 100 percent after quad surgery. The pecking order appears to be the same following preseason and the club’s 4-0 midweek win at Dominican Republic club O&M FC in the first leg of its Concacaf Champions Cup tie. In the earlier match, Nwobodo and Brian Anunga started and went the full 90 minutes, while Gidi and regular No. 8 Pavel Bucha were unused substitutes.
Around the 30-minute mark or so on Saturday, FCC began to work themselves back into the game. Then, 10 minutes after halftime, a fortuitous bounce off Valenzuela sent Denkey one on one with Atlanta goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos, only for Denkey to send his shot off the right woodwork. Not much else to say: Your $16 million striker has to bury that opportunity.
Denkey would not be denied in his second goal opportunity, though. Gidi sent Ender Echenique clear down the right flank with a scything through ball. Echenique delivered a composed setup pass to Denkey, who dodged and deked Hoyos before burying a left-footed shot.
Hagglund’s header off a well-placed Bryan Ramirez corner kick in the 90th minute snuffed any Atlanta comeback hopes. The goal must have been particularly sweet for Hagglund, who suffered broken ribs and a collapsed lung last May following a collision with Five Stripes striker Emmanuel Latte Lath.
Denkey’s and Hagglund’s goals will gobble the headlines, but the man of the match was center back Miles Robinson. Now a Designated Player—only two 2025 MLS squads used a DP slot on a center back—he’ll face additional scrutiny in 2026 from an increase in stature as well pressure to maintain a high level of form ahead of the World Cup.
The 28-year-old failed to put a foot wrong on Saturday. Robinson was not dribbled past once and won 100 percent of his ground duels. He cleared a ball off the line (the goal would have been ruled out for offside, but Robinson didn’t know it at the time). He almost got on the scoresheet against his former club, but Atlanta managed their own last-ditch goal line clearance.
Other standouts were right winger Echenique, who picked up where he left off in 2025, and Gidi, who displayed the passing breadth and vision that Nwobodo doesn’t have. Roman Celentano notched three saves, including a pair of textbook parries to not only stop the shot but deflect it out of danger.
In the end, a clean sheet and a second goal to push the result beyond the typical-but-productive one-goal outcome was a highly positive MLS start for FC Cincinnati. The locals host the return leg vs. O&M FC tonight before traveling to Minnesota on Saturday for its first road league match.
Grant Freking is in his eighth year of FC Cincinnati coverage for Cincinnati Magazine.
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