“We looked scared to play.” That was the haunting post-match quote from FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan after his side folded like cheap lawn chairs during Thursday’s 5-1 loss to Tigres in Monterrey, Mexico. The setback ensured that, despite carrying a 3-0 advantage from the first leg, Cincinnati will have to wait at least one more season for Concacaf Champions Cup advancement beyond the Round of 16.
I was actually embarrassed for FCC, a difficult feeling to achieve observing grown men paid to play a sport for a living. Such was the visible trepidation and anxiety, however. Just 10 minutes in, two goals conceded. Thirty minutes in, zero shots recorded. Halftime, two shots tallied, zero on target.
While FC Cincinnati has looked overwhelmed in pressure moments during its history, this wax figure display was on another level. Panicked clearances. No patterns of play. Hopeless long balls. Ill-timed final-third balls. Twenty minutes had elapsed from the match, and FCC players were slow to take throw-ins in what looked to me like attempts to milk the clock. Draw your own conclusions.
The first five minutes of the second half wrought two additional Tigres goals, swinging the tie’s aggregate score (4-3) back to hosts’ favor and sending the patrons of “El Volcan” into delirium. The Liga MX powers needed to simply keep the Orange and Blue at arm’s length for the remainder of the match. As for Cincinnati, when factoring in the 6-1 pasting in New England on March 15, it had yielded 10 goals over the previous 140 minutes of play.
And yet, in spite of a Neanderthal-esque game plan, FC Cincinnati were seconds away from advancement. Kevin Denkey expertly headed in Evander’s perfectly lofted cross in the 65th minute to flip the aggregate score (4-4) back to the visitors, who would stand to advance on the away goals tiebreaker. Over the next 30 minutes, FCC held on like Tom Cruise clinging to a cargo plane. Then in the second-to-last minute of stoppage time, they lost what little grip they had left.
Any post-match vibe of “That was really ugly, but we got the job done” disappeared. Instead, the cold, hard result was a 5-1 cave-in. Another edition of similarly numbing win-or-go-home, late blown-lead losses like the U.S. Open Cup semifinal and Eastern Conference Final defeats in 2023.
Folks had asked me why Concacaf Champions Cup advancement was so precious to the club. Moving on would have been a statement of intent to MLS and a boost of confidence to a club that’s paying big money for its players and coaches to contend for trophies. Current payroll information is not yet available, but the 2025 team ranked fourth in MLS—third if you discount the outlier that is Leo Messi-led Miami. The players and coaches are being paid to win everything in front of them. The club has been open about the pressure and desire to win silverware.
Thursday could have also served as a reference point for other in-season struggles for the 2026 team. We’re struggling now, but remember when we got the result we needed in El Volcan? We can get through anything! Now, the players and coaches must pick up the pieces of shattered confidence and put the current campaign back on track. Sunday’s 4-3 victory over Montreal, a Wooden Spoon contender, did not inspire much confidence.
FC Cincinnati was forced to come back three times and prevailed thanks to Denkey’s stoppage time header. FCC picked up a second-half red card for the second week in a row and yielded seven shots on target. Given Thursday’s trauma, slack shall be cut for now.
The March international break comes at an ideal time, as the Orange and Blue do not play again until Saturday, April 4. Nine players are off on international duty, and it’s a chance for the entire organization to reset before shifting the priority back to league play. Time will tell if Cincinnati can fully shake off Thursday, though.
Grant Freking is in his eighth year of FC Cincinnati coverage for Cincinnati Magazine.
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