FC Cincinnati took a tough loss in its playoff efforts Oct. 14 against New England Revolution at TQL Stadium, falling 3-2 to one of Major League Soccer’s best teams.
Cincinnati falls to 9-10-9, for 36 points. New England is now 15-10-4 for 49 points and clinched a playoff spot with the help of other results from tonight.
Cincinnati took an early 1-0 lead then allowed three unanswered goals to trail 3-1. After Kévin Denkey scored in the 66th minute, the team had plenty of opportunities to tie the game but couldn’t summon their last-second magic. Cincinnati has tied the game five times this year in stoppage time to earn draws, and three times to earn wins.
New England got a great game in goal from one of the league’s best keepers, Matt Turner. Turner, a member of the United States national team in the 2026 World Cup, made eight saves. He made two tough ones in the closing minutes and grabbed a corner kick from Evander near the goal line.
Cincinnati had 24 shots, 10 on target and an expected-goal mark of 2.5. New England had 10 shots, five on target and an XG of 1.6.
“We concede goals again,” Denkey said. “To win, we need to stay strong, try to not concede, and then goals will always come the way we play, but it's tough.”
Eastern Conference standings update
Cincinnati remains in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, tied with Red Bull New York, who has the tiebreaker. Orlando and Toronto drew 3-3 tonight, which leaves Orlando in seventh with 38. New York City lost to Miami and stays three points behind Cincy with 33. Toronto’s point against Orlando gives them 33. D.C. United beat the Red Bulls and also has 33, and Columbus beat Charlotte to move up to 32.
Cincinnati has a game in hand on everyone listed except D.C. United, who they play twice in four days next week.
“We are looking to get into the playoffs,” Denkey said. “We still have six games, so we just need to push. We have two more at home before we go away (on the road). It's not easy. There is always pressure. There is always urgency to every game. So the standard is really high. So we need to understand it and keep pushing every game.”
First half highlights between FC Cincinnati and New England
Tom Barlow scored his ninth of the season in the 13th minute. Tyrell Malacia tried a long throw-in forward to Kévin Denkey near the corner of the 18. The ball went over Denkey's head and into the 18, where no Rev was. Barlow sprinted into the open space beat Matt Turner inside the near post.
The Revs tied it 1-1 in the 21st. Peyton Miller got the ball in space on the right side, fired a cross to Dor Turgeman who one-timed a rocket inside the near post off Evan Louro's hand. It was Turgeman's eighth of the season.
New England took a 2-1 lead in the 43rd. Josh Wynder scored from close range on a header from a corner kick by Carles Gil. Wynder was left open and beat Evan Louro inside the near post with great timing on his run to the ball. It was Wynder’s first goal of the season.
The stats and the flow of play made it seem like a defensive stalemate, but the score reflected three goals that were tough shots from the few opportunities either team had.
Cincinnati had seven shots, four on goal. The Revs had five shots, three on target, and an expected-goal mark of just 0.52 to 0.36 for the home team.
Julian Malatini got his first start
Center back Julian Malatini started in the back line for his second appearance with Cincinnati, replacing Miles Robinson, who is out with injury for at least the next two weeks.
“We're a little bit depleted, obviously. We're losing Miles on the back line,” Noonan said. “I thought it was a good opportunity to get Julian in the middle of the back line. And there was some decent things there. I think overall with the ball in the first half, we lacked some ideas when we were able to play into our front line, didn’t have support or ways to break them down.”
Second half highlights
At halftime, Cincy made three subs. Pavel Bucha, Kenji Mboma Dem and Sami Gidi come in for Obi Nwobodo, Julian Malatini and Tom Barlow.
In the 51st minute Dor Turgeman scored easily for the Revolution on a great timing play. He received a pass in the box and was all alone against Louro, dribbling around the Cincinnati keeper and tapping in the ball for his second of the game and ninth of the season. The goal was waved off by offside but the call was reversed by video review.
Turgeman and Peyton Miller were a tough matchup for the Cincy defense.
“I think the speed, the timing of the runs behind. That was the first goal with that combination. And then, you know, Peyton does a good job with his inside dribble on the third one and the timing of the run from Turgeman obviously causes a problem,” Noonan said. “Two talented players that obviously causes problems over there.”
Denkey got one back in the 66th minute. He scored near the penalty spot off a great cross from Tyrell Malacia, his second assist of the night. Sami Gidi got a hockey assist for it.
A Denkey header was saved by Turner from close range in the 89th which gave Cincinnati a corner kick.
Tyrell Malacia shines in second start
In his second start for FC Cincinnati, Tyrell Malacia notched two assists before coming out for Evander in the 68thx minute. Malacia continually made things happen with his speed, dribbling ability and patience.
The consecutive starts tested his fitness but he was fine with it.
“I feel good,” he said. “It's been a long time that I've played two games like this in a row, so I feel good. I'm happy to be here, happy to play.”
Malacia’s cross to Denkey was a key moment.
“Kevin is the type of striker that's always hungry for goals, so I know he's going to be there in front of the goal,” Malacia said. “So I know sometimes when I get past my player, I can just whip it in front of the goal and Kevin will be there.”
Noonan was pleased with his performance.
“Pretty solid,” Noonan said. “When he's in advanced positions, he's got the ability to see things in the last moment that could help break pressure and create chances. So I thought that aspect of his game was pretty strong.”
Statisical notes
Cincinnati dropped to 1-5-1 all-time at home to the Revolution. The only win came last year.
FCC are 7-3-3 at home this season. Under Noonan, since 2022 in all competitions, FCC dropped to 22-8-8 in 38 matches falling on a Wednesday, including 4-3-1 this season.
With 83 goals in all competitions, Cincinnati extended its MLS-era club record and passed the 2018 USL side for the all-time team mark.
Kévin Denkey scored his sixth goal in his last four games. He is now one goal shy of matching the all-time club record for goals scored in all competitions (22 - Evander, 2025) and in MLS play (18 - Brandon Vazquez & Brenner, 2022; Evander, 2025). He has 21 and 17.
What’s next for FC Cincinnati
Round 2 of Hell is Real will be played at TQL Stadium as Cincinnati hosts the Columbus Crew. Kickoff is 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18. Note the start time was recently moved up from its original 7 p.m. kickoff. It is the MLS Sunday night showcase game on Apple TV.
Columbus beat Charlotte 3-1 at home tonight. The Crew, now 9-15-5 for 32 points, picked up a 2-1 win over Cincy July 25 in Columbus.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Lessons learned from FC Cincinnati's loss to New England Revolution