First half

From the opening kick, the famed home field advantage of Tigres became apparent. Additionally, it became evident that FCC’s strategy was to apply soft pressure, which allowed Tigres to dominate possession. Things got off to a nervy start, as only three minutes in Roman Celentano got in front of a rocket from Nicolas Ibanez. Despite the lack of a score, it set the tone for what we were going to see from the home side.

Over the next 15 minutes both sides had a couple of good chances, with nothing coming from any of them. Then, in the 18th minute, the magic of Luca Orellano was conjured. After a weaving run through three Tigres defenders, the Argentine laid a pass off to Evander who thumped a shot past Nahuel Guzman. With FCC now leading 2-1 on aggregate, and equalizing the away goal scenario, things were looking up.

The remainder of the first half featured a number of Tigres chances, but no goals.

Second half

The Orange and Blue XI remained unchanged coming out of the halftime break. But from the opening kick of the second half, the feeling of inevitability regarding a Tigres equalizer grew ever stronger. Multiple prime chances for Tigres went for naught, with the opening 15 minutes passing in quiet trepidation.

Just before the hour mark Pat Noonan made his first sub of the match, pulling Pavel Bucha for Yuya Kubo.

In the 62nd minute Deandre Yedlin earned a booking for a bad foul, with the resulting free kick spelling the beginning of the end. The initial effort resulted in a corner being earned for Tigres. That corner effort was originally cleared, however Tigres soon regained possession out wide. From there Juan Brunetta sent a picture perfect cross into the box, with Ozziel Herrera putting just enough of his head on the ball to steer it past Roman for the equalizer.

This goal in the 64th minute would open a eight minute window in which Tigres would score three goals, putting themselves ahead 4-2 on aggregate. All of the scores were beautiful, and truly spoke to Tigres’ skill and technical ability.

Postgame

While expectations were tempered coming into this fixture, the early goal had reignited hope that FCC would be able to make history. But the second half showed why no MLS side has ever come into Estadio Universitario and won outright.

Pat Noonan spoke on the result, “Yeah, it was a tough night for us. You know, after [our] goal, they were in complete control. I think, far superior with the ball. You know, their confidence was there.”

Perhaps the confidence instilled from the early goal was ultimately FCC’s downfall. In the mixed zone following the match, Evander said, “After we scored the goal we stopped playing” (per Carter Chapley).

Quick Recap

FC Cincinnati at Tigres UANL
Date: March 11, 2025

Competition: Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16, Second Leg

Venue: Estadio Universitario | San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, Mexico
Attendance: 27,992

Kickoff: 10:36 p.m. ET/8:36 p.m. CT

Weather: 72 degrees, clear

TIG – Ozziel Herrera (Brunetta) 64’, Juan Brunetta (Herrera) 69’, Nicolas Ibañez (Gorriarán) 72’

CIN – Evander (Orellano) 18’

LINEUPS

CIN: Roman Celentano, Lukas Engel, Teenage Hadebe, Miles Robinson (C), Gilberto Flores, DeAndre Yedlin (Alvas Powell 87’), Pavel Bucha (Yuya Kubo 58’), Obinna Nwobodo, Evander (Gerardo Valenzuela 87’), Luca Orellano (Sergio Santos 81’), Kévin Denkey (Corey Baird 81’)

Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Paul Walters, Tah Brian Anunga

Head Coach: Pat Noonan

TIG: Nahuel Guzman, Joaquim Henrique, Juan Jose Purata, Jesús Angulo (C), Rafael Carioca, Juan Brunetta, Jesús Garza, Sebastián Córdova (Fernando Gorriarán 46’), Javier Aquino, Marcelo Flores (Ozziel Herrera 61’), Nicolas Ibañez (Bernardo Parra Camacho 89’)

Substitutes not used: Felipe Rodriguez, Fernando Tapia, Eduardo Tercero, Fernando Ordoñez, Raymundo Fulgencio, Vladimir Loroña, Osvaldo Rodríguez, Juan Pablo Vigón

Head Coach: Guido Pizarro

Discipline

CIN – DeAndre Yedlin (Yellow Card) 62’
CIN – Lukas Engel (Yellow Card) 83’

Next Match

MLS Regular Season: at Charlotte FC, 7:30 P.M. EDT March 15th; AppleTV+

The post A Tale of two halves: FC Cincinnati bounced from CONCACAF Champions Cup appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

LOS TIGRES

Tigres fired their manager, Veljko Paunović, just a few days before leg one. Their fanbase were discontent with his management despite them being in third place in the Clausura of Liga MX. Their club captain, Guido Pizarro, subsequently retired and was immediately hired as their head coach.

In their first match against Cincinnati, they were focused on a possession-based, dominant style. But they looked somewhat sloppy on the ball. The early goal they conceded to Pavel Bucha was equalized by a point-blank header from Nicolas Ibañez. For the rest of that match, their defense held out against an onslaught of missed chances from the FCC.

They looked much more dominant in Friday’s regular season match against Querétaro. With the  lion’s share of possession at 81%, they took 11 shots; the defense was still somewhat shaky by allowing eight shots. They had 791 passes compared to Querétaro’s 182.

Tigres are perennial high spenders,  known to sign top talents around Liga MX. They have Juan Brunetta, who won Mexico’s best footballer award as part of his time with Santos Laguna. Their striker, Nicolas Ibañez, has been scoring in swaths for Liga MX teams for nine seasons. Uriel Antuna is a winger who did very well with Cruz Azul. The team went to Europe to sign former wunderkinds in Diego Lainez and Marcelo Flores. Joaquim, one of their center-backs, was signed from Santos in Brazil.

When you combine a well-constructed roster with a coach who knows his side well and has already gotten results, you have something that is hard to beat.

THE ORANGE AND BLUE

The Orange and Blue’s most recent match was a satisfactory 2-0 win over Toronto FC. In that match, Noonan rolled out a 4-2-3-1 formation that hadn’t been seen in the past two seasons. A penalty from Kévin Denkey and a late finish from Kubo secured all 3 points.

But that was at home. El Volcán is one of the most boisterous atmospheres in Mexico; it is always a very difficult match there for any away club, let alone one from MLS. In their last 36 matches at home, Los Tigres have only lost twice.

For an MLS club, failing to win the first leg at home and securing it in the second leg is highly unlikely. It has only been done once in league history: the CCC Quarter-final second leg where Columbus visited Tigres and won 4-3 on penalties.

Fans and executives alike agree that this is the most quality team in club history. But it’s early in the season, and there have been missed chances and moments when the defense looked sloppier than preferred. Still, most other MLS clubs are experiencing this—especially those balancing the league and CCC.

It will likely be the most difficult away match that the Orange and Blue have ever played. They are having to weather a storm with fixture congestion, and history has rendered matches like this almost impossible. But if there is any team that can pull it off, it is this one.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Luca Orellano is Cincinnati’s player to watch. In both his brief cameo last Tuesday and the 60 minutes he played on Saturday, he looked dangerous. He adds much-needed chaos to a balanced squad, having the ability to create something out of nothing.

It would be easy to pick Nicolas Ibañez for Tigres’ player to watch since he scored a goal in each of Pizarro’s first two matches in charge. But I’d choose Juan Brunetta as one that fans should keep an eye on. He is Tigres’ maestro and will be expected to show up in a match like this.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Tigres will be playing at a high level. So far under Pizarro, they have been more expressive rather than sitting back and settling for breakaways.

Fixture congestion must be taken into account for Cincinnati. They have played five matches in 15 days.

Regardless, this match is a worthy challenge for Noonan’s boys. They have yet to truly get going, but we could easily see them playing up to their opposition’s level. Nothing is ruled out for this high-ceiling team—not even making history.

MATCH INFO

WHERE: Estadio Universidad

WHEN: Tuesday at 10:30 p.m.

WATCH: FS2

The post FC Cincinnati plays Tigres UANL in decisive second leg at El Volcán appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

Cincinnati advanced past FC Motagua with relative ease in the previous round, winning 5-2 on aggregate. A two-goal brace by Pavel Bucha in the away matchup and two goals by Kévin Denkey over both legs powered the Orange & Blue past their Honduran opponents.

On paper, the Round-of-16 matchup with Tigres UANL appeared both daunting and doable. After a 1-0 loss in Nicaragua, Los Auriazules (the “Golden-Blues”) delivered a stronger 3-0 home performance to get past Real Estelí in the last round.

However, Tigres have started their Liga MX Clausura half-season with a sudden sea change, sacking head coach Veljko Paunović after only nine months and a 6-1-3 start to the season. Guido Pizarro, who until Saturday served at defensive midfielder for UANL, was named head coach immediately after he announced his retirement from playing. The Argentinian defensive midfielder first joined the club in 2013 and had been its captain since returning from a year-long stint in Sevilla in 2018.

The FC Cincinnati roster looked stronger than it has all season. Bucha returned to the Starting XI after sitting out the first half against Philadelphia on Saturday, replacing Brian Anunga. Luca Orellano and Nick Hagglund also returned to the bench after missing last week due to an abundance of caution.

Tigres UANL started with three replacements from their 2-1 win over Necaxa on Saturday. Rafael Carioca occupied Pizarro’s open spot in the defending midfield location, while Sebastian Cordova and Juan Jose Purata—former center back for Atlanta United in 2022-23—also switched into the Starting XI.

First half

While Tigres earned a good chunk of possession throughout the first half from tight passing, the Orange & Blue struck first. In the third minute, DeAndre Yedlin fought through the defense on the right edge of the box, and the play continued through a foul. Denkey eventually found Bucha atop the box. His right-footed shot past goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman was his third goal of the tournament, making the score 1-0.

Although Tigres held back their own attempts, they capitalized on their first. In the 17th minute, Francisco Cordova lofted a cross from the edge of the box and found Nicolas Ibañez leaping above Teenage Hadebe. His header floated past Roman Celentano for the equalizer, his first goal in the CCC.

Cincinnati had their opportunity to regain the lead soon after in the 20th minute. A scramble in the box drew Guzman way out of position, allowing Bucha a crossing attempt in an unguarded goal. However, Denkey’s window closed sharply, and his free attempt spun wide of the frame.

While Cincinnati enjoyed more attempts overall in the first half (5/3), Tigres enjoyed more possession (54/46).

Second half

While possession was fairly split in the second half, FC Cincinnati continued to produce the better attempts. Both Denkey and Evander found space atop the box in the first ten minutes of the second half. However, Guzman was up to the challenge each time. Tigres preferred to absorb attacks and counter on the edges, taking only three attempts in the second half.

Orellano eventually made his presence felt after his substitution in the 65th minute. His best attempt was in the 76th minute when he fired a shot to Guzman’s right. The Argentinian goalkeeper made four saves on the night, and his outstretched dive kept the score knotted at 1-1.

Celentano was also up to the task at the end, making three saves over the match. His two saves in the 83rd and 84th minutes against Ibañez and Juan Brunetta proved essential to keep the score equal and give FC Cincinnati a puncher’s chance in Mexico next week.

In the end, while Tigres presented a more physical style of attack, head coach Pat Noonan was still positive about a result in the next leg. “For us to go in advance, we need to be better in front of goal. We had a couple moments to, you know, to score some good opportunities. I think if we defend that way, we’ll be in a good position.

“Even in the moments where I thought our pressure was broken, we recovered well and maybe conceded space, but I thought did a good job of not letting them into our box and into dangerous areas on a consistent basis. So, our transition on both sides of the ball I was pleased with when the game got open. So, we need that commitment again in the second leg to you know to be in a position to advance.”

Orellano was pleased to play his first minutes with the main team this season, but he understood that there was work left to do. “Obviously, we’re going to go there to win,” he stated through a translator. “Tonight’s a tough result to us. We preferred to have a win tonight, but we’re going to have to go out there and win the game in the second leg.”

FC Cincinnati transition back to league play with a home match against Toronto FC on Saturday. Tigres plays Querétaro in Liga MX competition on Friday. Cincinnati and Tigres play the away leg at Estadio Universitario next Tuesday.

CONCACAF Champions Cup, Round of 16, Match #1

FC Cincinnati vs. Tigres UANL
TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
Attendance: 14,298
Result: FC Cincinnati 1, Tigres UANL 1

BOX SCORE

FC Cincinnati starting XI (5-3-2):

Roman Celentano (GK); DeAndre Yedlin (Sergio Santos 81′), Gilberto Flores, Miles Robinson (c), Teenage Hadebe, Lukas Engel; Pavel Bucha, Evander (Corey Baird 87′), Obinna Nwobodo; Yuya Kubo (Luca Orellano 65′), Kévin Denkey.

Bench: Evan Louro, Paul Walters, Alvas Powell, Nick Hagglund, Stefan Chirila, Brian Anunga, Kenji Mboma Dem, Stiven Jimenez, Peter Mangione.

Tigres UANL starting XI (5-3-2):

Nahuel Guzman (GK); Javier Aquino, Joaquim Henrique, Juan Jose Purata, Jesus Angulo (c), Jesus Garza; Juan Brunetta, Rafael Carioca (Bernardo Parra 89′), Marcelo Flores (Juan Pablo Vigon 78′); Francisco Cordova (Urtiel Antuna 65′), Nicolas Ibañez.

Bench: Felipe Rodriguez, Fernando Tapia, Eduardo Tercero, Eugenio Pizzuto, Fernando Ordoñez, Raymundo Fulgencio, Vladimir Loroña, Osvaldo Rodriguez.

Scoring summary:

CIN – Pavel Bucha 3′ (Denkey)
TIG – Nicolás Ibañez 17′ (Cordova)

Discipline:

YC – Kévin Denkey 54′ (CIN, foul)
YC – Teenage Hadebe 72′ (CIN, foul)
YC – Jesus Garza 79′ (TIG, foul)
YC – Obinna Nwobodo 88’ (CIN, foul)

Next up:

1. Toronto FC, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 8th, TQL Stadium (Cincinnati, OH)

The post Challenge Accepted: FC Cincinnati manage a 1-1 draw against Tigres UANL appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

The season is off and running and the fixtures keep coming hot and heavy for FC Cincinnati. After a tough 4-1 loss in Philadelphia Saturday night, the Orange and Blue are coming back to TQL Stadium to continue their CONCACAF Champions Cup run. After dispatching Motagua in the round of 32, FCC now have a much harder opponent in the Mexican giant, Tigres UNAL. The teams are set, so let’s dive into both sides.

The visitors 

Unlike FCC, Tigres are well into their season at this point in the year. Liga MX does their seasons a little differently. The league runs on two different seasons, Aperture (July-December)  and Clausura (January-May). Tigres performed very well in the Aperture season finishing 3rd place and just one point behind 2nd place Toluca. In the current Clausura season, Tigres are in the exact same spot sitting 3rd in the table. In their last five matches Tigres have won three and lost two. With wins coming against Cruz Atlas, Cruz Azul, and Necaxa, and losses to León and Juárez. Safe to say that Tigres are a team in great form. Tigres employ a possession-based style of football. The main formation they have been using is a 4-2-3-1. They like to rely on their wingers to get up the sides of the pitch and get crosses into the box, which can create chaos or opportunities for headed goals from a striker or midfielder.

Players to watch for Tigres UNAL 

Tigres has always been a hot bed for talented players, and not just players from Mexico. The Brazilian CB Joaquim Pereira is a force to be reckoned with. He’s 6’3″ and has plenty of pace and strength to keep up with all attackers. Dangerous on corner kicks, he wins a whopping 95 percent of all aerial duels, so FCC would be wise not to give up too many corners. Uruguayan midfielder  Fernando Gorriarán is a do it all type player. Great at cutting off passing lanes and putting in a tackle on players, he’s also not afraid to join the attack as well. Juan Brunetta, a talented Argentinian midfielder, plays a bit further up the pitch so he can use his excellent passing ability to distribute to his teammates. If you give him the space and time, he can score the goals himself as well.

Tigres CCC round up

Tigres had a more adventurous round of 32 matchup in the CCC. They took on the Nicaraguan side Real Esteli FC. In a shocking upset, Tigres were beaten 1-0 in Nicaragua on Feb 5th. The second leg was no problem at all though. In just two minutes Tigres tied the aggregate score. They added two more goals in the 14th and 85th minute. So, while they were upset in shocking fashion in the first leg of the tie, in the end they really didn’t struggle with Real Esteli FC all that much.

FCC CCC first round reap

FCC had an easier time in their round of 32 with FC Motagua. The first leg took place in Honduras, and it was FCC’s first competitive match of the 2025 season. There were some nervy moments, and the score could have been much different, but FCC won 4-1. The second leg was a bit more of a boring affair. With the two-leg tie pretty much in hand, FCC rotated the squad and played some younger players. Motagua scored first, but FCC equalized through Kévin Denkey. The match finished 1-1, and FCC advanced with an aggregate score of 5-2.

FCC storylines

This match is coming at a bad time for the Orange and Blue. Having been beaten handily by Philadelphia on Saturday night by a score of 4-1, the team will be licking their wounds. The match on Tuesday night will also be FCC’s fifth match in 13 days, and with a squad that is not completely healthy it’s going to be a tall order. The two big transfers from this winter, Evander and Kévin Denkey, will look to continue their good form. Evander picked up his first goal for the club in Philly, and Denkey has already netted three goals. Luca Orellano might return to the squad during this match. He would be a welcome boon in tough matchup.

What to expect

This is shaping up to be an uphill battle for FCC—tired squad going up against an experienced and well-conditioned Tigres side well into their season. FCC do have a good enough roster to go toe to toe with the historic Mexican club, but how much will the fatigue factor into the results? FCC will want to erase the memory of Saturday night as quickly as possible and what better way to do that then beating Tigres and being in a great position to move to the next round in the second leg. It will be a very good test for both sides, and it should produce some dramatic football.

Match Info

Where: TQL Stadium

When: Tuesday, March 4^th at 6:30 p.m.

Watch: FS2, Foxsports.com, FuboTV, VIX

The post Tigres come to TQL for a CCC round of 16 Clash appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

First Half

FCC had a good blend of high-profile players and rotational players in the starting XI. Amir Daley, of FCC2, made his debut with the first team at right wing back, on his birthday of all days. Star signings Kevin Denkey and Evander headed up the attack. Motagua fielded a considerably strong lineup with the flashy Rodrigo Auzmendi, the lone goal scorer from the first match, heading up the attack. The first half is where we got to see the most action.

In the ninth minute, a throw in for Motagua led to a Yeison Mejia volley delivery into the box. Auzmendi beat Noah Adnan on his first step and was able to redirect the ball with a left-footed shot past Evan Louro into the net. The early goal may have raised concerns at the moment, but despite the 0-1 scoreline, FCC still had a comfortable lead on aggregate 4-2.

FCC would respond in the 19th minute. A fantastic press from Brian Anunga sprung a high-speed attack deep inside the Montagua defense. Corey Baird drove the ball forward before splitting the defense to Denkey. Denkey fooled the Motagua goalkeeper and elected for a near post shot. The ball caressed the net and just like that the match was level.

K E V I N pic.twitter.com/0bou2SN8bv

— FC Cincinnati (@fccincinnati) February 27, 2025

Second Half 

The halftime break saw many substitutions by the Orange and Blue. Denkey, Evander, and Miles Robinson made way for Stefan Chirila, Yuya Kubo, and Gilberto Flores. Interestingly, new addition Flores took up the central defender position for FCC’s back three. Anunga received the captain’s armband from Robinson, demonstrating the leadership position he has earned in his short time with the club.

Unfortunately, in the 51st minute, Daley would go down with an injury. A challenge against Riky Zapata appeared to have ended in some sort of left shoulder injury. Daley had had a strong debut with several goal scoring chances created.

Apart from a few chances by Chirila, Kubo, and Alvas Powell, the match really slowed down. Motagua needed to overcome a four-goal deficit to have hopes of advancing. FCC were perfectly comfortable with seeing the match out with the 1-1 scoreline.

Goals

CIN – Kévin Denkey (Baird) 19’

MOT – Rodrigo Auzmendi (Núñez) 9’

Lineups

CIN: Evan Louro, Bret Halsey, Alvas Powell, Miles Robinson (C) (Gilberto Flores 46’), Noah Adnan, Amir Daley (Teenage Hadebe 53’), Pavel Bucha (Kenji Mboma Dem 79’), Tah Brian Anunga, Evander (Yuya Kubo 46’), Corey Baird, Kévin Denkey (Stefan Chirila 46’)

Substitutes not used: Roman Celentano, Paul Walters, Nick Hagglund, Obinna Nwobodo, Lukas Engel, Stiven Jimenez, DeAndre Yedlin

MOT: Marlon Licona, Raúl Santos (C), Jonathan Núñez, Giancarlo Sacaza, Cristopher Meléndez, Luis Vega, Riky Zapata, Walter Martínez (Jorge Serrano 76’), Yeison Mejía (Carlos Mejia 46’), Héctor Castellanos (Denis Melendez 82’), Rodrigo Auzmendi (Diego Ledesma 89’)

Substitutes not used: Jonathan Rougier, John Turcios-Castillo, Rodrigo Gomez, Edwin Munguia, Jefryn Macias, Emilio Izaguirre, Mathias Vasquez

Discipline

CIN – Amir Daley (Yellow Card) 27’
MOT – Cristopher Meléndez (Yellow Card) 55’

Next Match

 MLS Regular Season: at Philadelphia Union, 7:30 p.m. Saturday March 1st; AppleTV+

CONCACAF Champions Cup: vs Tigres UANL, TBD Kickoff Tuesday March 4th; TBD Broadcast

The post FC Cincinnati advances on aggregate past FC Motagua appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

EL CICLÓN AZUL

Motagua won the Apertura in the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional de Honduras this year. They’ve started the Clausura relatively balanced with a record at 3-2-3, not quite up to their last competition’s standards.

Nonetheless, they possess enough quality to disrupt any opposition. Their forward core of Rodrigo Auzmendi, Yeison Mejía, and Diego Ledesma is dynamic. Jonathan Rougier, their goalkeeper of eight years, is a tremendous shot stopper at 6’3”.  Players of impressive quality fill their defense, like Honduran nationals Carlos Meléndez, Luis Vega, and captain Marcelo Santos, as well as Uruguayan national Sebastián Cardozo (who has been a journeyman across South America).

The scoreline does not reflect their performance in the last match.  They may have gotten battered by Cincinnati’s near full-strength attack in the second half, but they were surprisingly assertive in the first.

Any draw for a Central American team against an MLS side is won in their home leg. Atmospheres there are known to be much harder to play in due to rowdy fans, conditions, and possible elevation. If they lose that leg where home advantage is amplified, winning away is a near impossibility.

That is the situation Montague is currently in; despite the winning quality they possess, the first half in the last match, and the home advantage, their Champions Cup dream is all but over.

THE ORANGE & BLUE

The Orange & Blue’s first match of the season was a star-studded success. The first half was shaky as Motagua had multiple chances on goal, and they would go into the break equalized. But they would leave Tegucigalpa with a 4-1 win that included a brace from Bucha, and debut goals from Denkey and Evander.

The city waited with bubbling excitement to watch Saturday’s home opener against the New York Red Bulls. It wasn’t a convincing performance, but a Denkey header would secure victory in the middle of the second half. Fans were dancing in the Bailey that night.

It is the first time in club history that a season has started with consecutive wins. But per Pat Noonan, they aren’t a finished product on the field: “Like I said after Wednesday, we’re nowhere near what we’re capable of, and most teams aren’t. They know in this moment, it’s a nice start, but nothing else.” This leaves more room for optimism as the team continues to gel and both Orellano and Miazga return from injury.

Tomorrow’s match is an opportunity to give players a rest. While it remains to be seen who will start, it is likely that at least some starters won’t play the majority of the match. With a 3-goal lead already, it won’t be worth risking.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Rodrigo Auzmendi is the obvious choice for Motagua’s players to watch. He has scored five goals in the past five matches, and his glancing header was the lone score for his side during the last meetup. But there were others who, at times, looked threatening: Rodrigo Gomez had the crossing assist, Carlos Meija had a few dribbles, and Jonathan Rougier had a few saves.

As for FCC, I am intrigued by the possibility that we see some depth players get minutes in this leg. Perhaps we’ll see Brian Anunga, Bret Halsey, Stefan Chirila, and Stiven Jimenez. There is also the possibility of some short-term loans from the reserves. They are who I’ll be watching for; matches like this are made for them.

WHAT TO EXPECT

This match is all but over. It would take a miracle straight from the chaos god of Concacaf for Motagua to overcome a three-goal deficit away from home against—with all due respect—a much stronger team. But it isn’t an impossibility; Cincinnati likely won’t be playing their full-strength XI, opting to rest for Saturday’s clash with Philadelphia.

You can expect a rotated team on the pitch, but don’t fret. There is still plenty of opportunity for a dominant performance from these players like we saw during the 2024 CCC match against Cavalier FC, when Alvas Powell, Aaron Boupendza, Isaiah Foster, and Dado Valenzuela all scored to lead FCC to a 4-0 victory.

MATCH INFO

WHERE: TQL Stadium

WHEN: 6:30

WATCH: FS2

The post FC Cincinnati plays Motagua in second leg of CCC Round-of-32 appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

First Half

We knew that FCC wasn’t going to be operating at full strength, considering the absence of Luca Orellano, Matt Miazga and the roster upheaval that happened during the offseason. The opening half hour looked exactly like you would expect when you have a side playing their first match of the season against a side who is in midseason form. Neither side strung together any great attacking looks, and FCC’s best chance came when Lukas Engel lifted a free kick to the back post which was cleared away. Mere minutes after that, it appeared as if FCC would find themselves in an early hole, as Motagua had a chaotic chance inside the six-yard box.

Thanks to Roman Celentano and company however, the scoresheet remained blank. This stand meant that when Pavel Bucha went top bins following a Denkey run and Kubo blocked shot, it was for the lead versus an equalizer. Following the opening goal, optimism was humming through the FCC faithful. Alas, Motagua would dash those feelings in the 41st minute when Rodrigo Gomez crossed a ball into Rodrigo Auzmendi who cut in front of Noah Adnan and flicked the ball on goal and past Roman for an equalizer.

Going into halftime,  FCC were lucky to only have conceded one. Regarding the early struggles, FCC manager Pat Noonan said, “I think as far as just the formation, we saw something different than we anticipated, with their defensive structure. So, early on there was, I would say, lack of certainty about how to create more and have more space.”

Second Half

Coming out of the break, only one change was made to the FCC lineup, with Teenage Hadebe replacing Noah Adnan. The second half started a tad shaky, as FC Motagua immediately won a corner. This chance was dashed quickly however, when following a great midfield buildup and Lukas Engel cross, Kevin Denkey did what he does best—controlling the cross, turning on the ball and firing past the keeper for a 2-1 FCC advantage.

Following this goal, the Orange and Blue settled in and began fully controlling the pace of play. FCC fans were sent into yet another frenzy as Evander subbed in at the hour mark, replacing Corey Baird. With the new combo of Evander and Denkey now on the pitch together for the first time, us fans waited with bated breath to see what magic they could conjure.  The wait was not long, as barely 15 minutes after coming on Evander found himself with possession near the top of the penalty area. After briefly considering chipping one in for Denkey, he laid off a ball for Pavel Bucha who sent a screamer past Jonathan Rougier for a 3-1 advantage.

At this point, it was clear that the Orange and Blue would be leaving Tegucigalpa with a favorable result, but the FCC onslaught had yet to end. Just 10 minutes after Evander picked up his first assist in the Legacy kit, he picked up his first goal as well. After making a run, Evander laid it off to a wide open Alvas Powell, who crossed it immediately back in. Evander, the new #10, rose to meet the ball with a karate kick style volley going bar-down for the fourth and final score of the evening.

With that the Motagua fans began trickling out, and a few moments later the final whistle sounded, sealing a 4-1 victory and making a Motagua comeback next week in leg 2 at TQL almost impossible due to aggregate scoring.

Postgame

Any questions about Denkey and Evander’s efficacy were dashed during this contest, but the real surprise of the night came from Pavel Bucha. Speaking on his performance, “When you score two goals, then you have to be happy with yourself. But always, there is something to work on.” (per Carter Chapley)

While the high scoring was somewhat surprising to some, gaffer Pat Noonan was on the opposite side, “Yeah, I don’t think I’m surprised, because I’ve seen the last couple weeks our attacking production and kind of the progress that we’ve made.”

Quick Recap:

MOT – Rodrigo Auzmendi (Gómez) 41’

CIN – Pavel Bucha 28’, Kévin Denkey (Engel) 49’, Pavel Bucha (Evander) 77’, Evander (Powell) 87’

LINEUPS

CIN: Roman Celentano, Lukas Engel (Gilberto Flores 84’), Alvas Powell, Miles Robinson, Noah Adnan (Tennage Hadebe 46’), DeAndre Yedlin, Pavel Bucha, Obinna Nwobodo, Yuya Kubo (Tah Brian Anunga 76’), Corey Baird (Evander 60’), Kévin Denkey (Stefan Chirila 85’)Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Paul Walters, Bret Halsey, Stiven Jimenez, Amir Daley, Peter Mangione

MOT: Jonathan Rougier, Giancarlo Sacaza, Cristopher Meléndez, Jonathan Núñez (Mathias Vásquez 67’), Raúl Santos (C), Sebastian Cardozo, Carlos Mejía (Jefryn Macías 68’), Riky Zapata (Clever Portillo 68’), Carlos Argueta (Yeison Mejía 32’), Rodrigo Gómez (Walter Martínez 67’), Rodrigo Auzmendi

Substitutes not used: Marlon Licona, Luis Vega, Edwin Maldonado, Héctor Castellanos, Edwin Munguía, Jordan García, Jordan García

Next Match: MLS Regular Season vs Red Bull New York, 7:30 p.m. February 22nd; AppleTV+

The post FC Cincinnati claims leg one with 4-1 win over FC Motagua appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

The waiting ends at 10 PM EST on Wednesday. You’ve done the holidays, you’ve braved record-setting blizzards and stocked up on food and beverages. You might have accumulated as many questions about the upcoming season as inches of snow on your driveway. What you’re now reading is the first competition preview from Cincinnati Soccer Talk for 2025. And it’s also the first article I’ve written in my new position as a contributing writer for CST. I’m honored and brimming with excitement. In simply creating this content, I’ve sensed how much I’m going to learn about writing, about FC Cincinnati, about the global world of futbol, and our community. I would be remiss if I didn’t express my deepest gratitude to CST and you. Grab your courage and your love of this team and this game. Ready? Let’s begin.

THE OPPOSITION

FC Cincinnati travels from Florida, through a lush rainforest filled with jaguars and macaws into a valley surrounded by mountains, to Estadio Nacional Chelato Uclés in Tegucigalpa. They face one of the most successful clubs in Honduran football history, FC Motagua (mo-TAH-guaaaaaaah), dubbed Ciclón Azul (Blue Cyclone). This is the first in a two-leg competition, each game played in respective home stadiums.

Founded in 1928, Motagua has a long history and has participated in CONCACAF since 1969. They completed 2024 by winning their Liga Nacional over Olimpia, who they faced Sunday during their seventh contest of the year.  Motagua is formidable, and with a season-opening victory over Real Sociedad, 3-0, picked up right where they left off last season. They qualified for the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup tournament after winning their Play-In series vs. CD Águila in the 2024 CONCACAF Central American Cup.

Coach Diego Vásquez, a former goalkeeper who once played many seasons for Motagua and saved the penalty that gave them a national championship, also holds their league record for coaching over 300 consecutive games.

Motagua Season Record

THE EAGLES TO WATCH

Motagua have had their forward power decimated in recent weeks.  The man who would have been the eagle to watch was Argentine forward Agustín Auzmendi, a 27-year-old who started as a youth with Acassuso before working his way through to Motagua. He departed for Godoy Cruz of the Argentine Super League, leaving his younger brother, Rodrigo Auzmendi, behind.  Rodrigo, a 24-year-old standing at 6’3”, is no slouch, scoring 12 goals in 24 matches last season. He plays an aggressive game and can rack up yellow cards quickly. He scored a hat-trick on February 6th over UPNFM, and another goal against Juticalpa on the 12th, assuring the Motagua faithful that the Auzmendi name still means goals and victory. Although likely available Wednesday, Rodrigo may soon face disciplinary action and possibly lose his position with his team following an incident on Sunday where he spit on an opposing player during their loss to Olimpia.

In addition, Motagua has made a compelling recent acquisition of striker, Diego Iván Ledesma. Ledesma, a 6-foot, 31-year-old veteran, arrives from Tecnico Universitario, to make up for the other recently departed Rubilio Castillo, who left and signed with Deportivo Pereira. Ledesma already contributed two late goals in their 3-0 victory over Juticalpa.

WHO ARE WE?

Ever wake up during your school years and realize you hadn’t quite completed that big science project due that morning? It feels like we’re finishing this team project just in time, especially with the signing of Evander, just before wheels up to Honduras. The MLS home opener is Saturday against the NY Red Bulls. With three games in eight days, it will certainly be interesting to see how Noonan plays the first of this two-game series and how the team will handle the wildly varying climate conditions.

We come off a frustrating but well-fought final pre-season match with a 2-2 draw against Atlanta. Kubo, Bucha, and Nwobodo all received cards in just the first half. That Atlanta scored a PK in the 91st minute might leave a bad taste in our mouths. We need to be sharp at the start of this next contest.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The “expect the unexpected” mantra has proven accurate since the season’s outset, particularly concerning player transactions, and this opening game is no exception. We should anticipate a starting lineup similar to the pre-season Atlanta match against Motagua, with Anunga and Mboma Dem as likely substitutes. Evander’s participation remains uncertain, possibly contingent on a comfortable lead.

For the first game that counts, taking a six hour plane trip into the rainforest to a stadium at 3,248 feet above sea level (Denver is 5,280), and playing a team that, despite recent shakeups, is still championship caliber and well into their league season  at 10 PM sounds like the opening premise to a new installment of the Mission: Impossible series. Why not blindfolded?

Look for our returning midfielders, Bucha, Kubo, and Nwobodo to continue to scrap and thread forward to Denkey. We should expect a decent performance from our stalwart defense as well. Which means we are right back where we were at the end of last season: wondering, can we score?

Where to watch:

You can watch this match Wednesday night at 10pm EST on FS2 for english or ViX ($5 a month app) for spanish.

The post FC Cincinnati kicks off 2025 with a CCC match versus FC Motagua appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

• Round One: February 4-6 (Week 1), 18-20 (Week 2), 11-13 (Week 3) and 25-27 (Week 4)
• Round of 16: March 4-6 (First Legs) and 11-13 (Second Legs)
• Quarterfinals: April 1-3 (First Legs) and 8-10 (Second Legs)
• Semifinals: April 22-24 (First Legs) and April 29-May 1 (Second Legs)
• Final: June 1

Round One will have 22 teams, with the following 5 teams receiving byes for that round:

• Cavalier FC, Jamaica
• Club America, Mexico
• Columbus Crew, USA
• LA Galaxy, USA
• LD Alajualense, Honduras

The Round of 16 will then include the 5 teams that had byes. Subsequent rounds will continue with reciprocal visits, except for the final which will be held on June 1st.

This is what the final brackets look like, with 13 teams on the left bracket and 14 on the other one.

CONCACAF Champions Cup 2025 – Final Brackets

What stands out is that three MLS powerhouses, LAFC, Columbus, and Miami, all wound up in one bracket while Liga MX standouts (Pumas, Monterrey, Cruz Azul, Tigres, and Club America) are more or less evenly distributed between the two brackets.

Some key matches to look for are the potential for Club America to face their arch-rivals Guadalajara (think of it as Hell is Real at the national level). Another potential barn burner would be Club America against Cruz Azul. Club America has Cruz Azul’s number in the Liga MX playoffs so it should make for a very entertaining game. And of course we have the possibility of Inter Miami against Columbus.

FC Cincinnati, which is one of the top teams in the league, is in the bracket with a strong Seattle team but Liga MX has heavyweights Club America, Cruz Azul, and Tigres of Nuevo Leon. Despite the presence of these three Liga MX heavyweights in FCC’s bracket, the team seems to have landed in a place where they have a good chance of making a deep run, with some caveats which I will touch on.

FCC’s first leg match is against FC Motagua from Honduras in Honduras on February 19th. The second leg match will be on February 26th at TQL Stadium. Motagua have had strong success in the last 10 years, winning league titles, playing finals, or reaching the semi-finals in their league tournaments. They seem to be a very well-run club. Despite those accolades, FCC on paper will be the stronger team due to personnel, tactics, skills on pitch, coaching, and in general, experience playing stronger teams in international play such as Guadalajara, and Monterrey.

Here are some of the caveats for FCC specifically for their matches against Motagua. Playing in Honduras is always very tough. The fans get very hostile against non-Honduran teams (more than one CONCACAF team has fallen in Honduras, even at the national team level, due to the pressure from the fans). Honduran teams in general are very physical and rough. They know that skills wise, teams from the USA and Mexico have better individual skills overall so they will try to disrupt and intimate with hard physical play. Finally, there is the issue that FCC will be rusty since MLS season will not have started and they will have new faces on their roster. In other words, playing against Motagua will not be easy and the team will need to dig deep to make up for all these challenges.

Assuming they get by Motagua, they would probably face Tigres de Nuevo León in the round of 16. Tigres is always a tough opponent in international play, having reached the final of the Copa Libertadores in 2015, the final of the FIFA Club World Cup in 2020, and done well in CCC. In Liga MX they have also been very successful, winning multiple league titles and cup tournaments.

All in all, it was a favorable draw for the Orange and Blue but not having started league play and having new faces on the roster will be the key things to watch as they embark on this new challenge.

One last thought, wouldn’t it be fun to watch a Hell is Real CCC final? One can dream!

The post FCC to face FC Motagua from Honduras in first CCC Match appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

The draw will be taking place. Twenty-seven clubs are placed into a bracket that determines the path to the final. Each round is two legs with one match taking place at each club’s home ground. A total of 9 matches will be played for the finalists.

The winner of MLS Cup, the winner of Liga MX with the most points, the winner of Leagues Cup, and the winners of Concacaf’s regional club competitions are given a bye to the Round-of-16. Those clubs are: LA Galaxy, Club América, Columbus Crew, Alajuelense, and Cavalier FC.

The top 3 next highest-ranked are pre-seeded into a Round One spot on the bracket. The 19 remaining clubs will be placed into pots; 8 higher-ranked clubs into Pot A and 11 lower-ranked clubs into Pot B. FC Cincinnati is in Pot A, and will face a lesser opponent. These rankings are based on today’s Concacaf Club Rankings.

The tournament features some familiar faces and foes. Jamaican club Cavalier FC, whom FCC faced in Round One, has once again qualified after winning the 2024 Caribbean Cup. CF Monterrey will be competing with club legend Brandon Vazquez, while Saprissa has former club captain Kendall Waston. Competitive rival Inter Miami will be hoping to win the tournament with Messi and friends.

The Orange and Blue’s chances of making a deep run are dependent on how the path to the final looks. Their last run in the tournament ended with a Round-of-16 loss to Monterrey. Within that side of the bracket, Miami would have awaited them.

The live event will occur at 7 PM ET on Concacaf’s YouTube channel.

The post FC Cincinnati awaits their 2025 CCC path appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.