FC Cincinnati is advancing in CONCACAF Champions Cup play, and can meet a Mexican big within the second spherical for the second consecutive 12 months.
FC Cincinnati tied FC Motagua, 1-1, Wednesday at TQL Stadium to shut out the two-game, mixture rating collection towards the Honduran membership with an general scoreline of 5-2.
FCC entered Wednesday’s close-out match within the two-game collection with a 4-1 lead within the Honduran capital metropolis of Tegucigalpa.
Motagua appeared to make issues attention-grabbing in Cincinnati Wednesday when, within the tenth minute, Rodrigo Auzmendi volleyed residence previous from shut vary. FCC nonetheless held an general collection lead of 4-2 at that time, however the early aim made the collection really feel removed from a forgone conclusion.
9 minutes later, scored his third aim in three video games. That restored order for FCC, and appeared to take a few of the chew out of Motagua’s assault.
By evening’s finish, FC Cincinnati had roughly a two-to-one possession benefit and was capable of shut out the sport in relative consolation.
Three video games, three outcomes for FC Cincinnati
Thus far, we’re seeing year-over-year enchancment from FC Cincinnati when it comes to outcomes. It is an excellent begin for a workforce and may, for that cause, determine to be within the combine for trophies in 2025.
A 12 months in the past right now, FC Cincinnati had failed to attain in its residence opener and commenced MLS play with a draw. FCC additionally dismantled Jamaica’s Cavalier FC over two video games in Champions Cup, however that wasn’t a lot comfort after seeing the best way the workforce appeared in league play. Plus, Cavalier wasn’t precisely a stiff problem ultimately.
Here is what FC Cincinnati’s completed every week into aggressive play this 12 months: Motagua is a much bigger and extra succesful workforce to face within the first spherical of the Champions Cup, and beating them within the collection soundly is noteworthy. FC Cincinnati additionally began off in MLS play at TQL Stadium the suitable means with a 1-0 win by way of Denkey’s second-half aim (remember FCC’s disappointing 7-7-3 residence document of 1 12 months in the past).
FC Cincinnati of 2025 remains to be in its early kind, however what we have seen is a lot extra promising than a 12 months in the past. To borrow a drained sports activities cliches, it seems like FCC’s offseason “raised the ground” of its expertise stage.
The very best probabilities the remainder of the best way, together with a Kenji Mboma Dem shot that required a determined slide sort out block from Motagua, principally belonged to FCC.
Kévin Denkey is the actual deal (not that there ought to have been any doubt)
Three video games for Denkey have produced one aim in every outing for him. That is about nearly as good of a begin as you would have hoped for for a participant who was the MLS league-record incoming switch for a number of months.
Whether or not it was towards FC Cincinnati’s Honduran opposition within the Champions Cup or New York Crimson Bulls, the defending Jap Convention champions, on Saturday, Denkey is delivering. His aim celebrations additionally inform you he is relishing these moments. He is additionally logging main minutes, which tells you what his dedication to the FCC trigger is. Denkey began and performed the overwhelming majority of the primary leg towards Motagua on Feb. 19, logged a full 90-plus minutes towards the Crimson Bulls on Saturday, after which went 45 minutes on Wednesday.
Suppose there’s any prima donna in Denkey? Uncertain while you have a look at him by the lens of all these minutes he is logged.
Denkey will get an enormous likelihood to show himself once more this coming weekend, this time towards the Philadelphia Union. The sport constitutes Denkey’s first match in one of many main East Coast media markets, and the Union began MLS play with a shocking highway win, so Subaru Park will probably be full of media and followers alike. That is a whole lot of eyeballs and one other alternative for Denkey to plant his flag.
Subsequent up for FC Cincinnati: Again to Monterrey
FC Cincinnati performed one of many Monterrey-based soccer giants in final season’s Champions Cup, in the end shedding the second-round collection to monied and highly effective CF Monterrey. Now, FC Cincinnati will face Monterrey’s different main membership, Tigres UANL, on this 12 months’s match second spherical.
The groups will convene the primary sport of their two-leg collection March 4, and wrap it up March 11.
Tigres makes up the opposite half of the “Clásico Regio,” which is the high-stakes, intra-city rivalry between Tigres and Monterrey. Tigres is the grittier membership of the 2 groups, and maybe much less glamorous, too. Its Estadio Universitario (nicknamed “El Volcán”) opened in 1967 and reveals its age. In the meantime, Monterrey’s scenic stadium will probably be considered one of three Mexican venues to host FIFA World Cup matches in 2026.
However Tigres and its stadium nonetheless pack a strong punch, and FC Cincinnati’s two-game, mixture rating collection towards the membership means FCC will doubtless be the underdog towards considered one of Mexico’s nice golf equipment.
FC Cincinnati has factors of reference for enjoying Tigres regardless that the will probably be their first encounter with the membership. For one, FCC’s already skilled touring into Monterrey and might mannequin their subsequent keep off of final 12 months’s once they confronted CF Monterrey, albeit on the opposite facet of city.
However members of the FC Cincinnati employees additionally skilled Estadio Universitario throughout that journey when Orlando Metropolis SC performed Tigres there two nights previous to FCC’s personal sport within the metropolis (that was additionally a Champions Cup sport).
At the least in a number of respects, FC Cincinnati is not going into this matchup blind. FCC additionally gave Monterrey a scare within the second leg of final 12 months’s second-round collection, so there’s each likelihood the membership is aggressive once more within the Northern Mexico metropolis.