FC Cincinnati’s home woes continues, falling to Philadelphia Union 1-0

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A good poker player can make use of the cards in their hand, but sometimes that opponent is able to read the deal better. That was the case for FC Cincinnati in their latest home swoon.

FC Cincinnati fell to a playoff-caliber opponent at home for the third-straight game, losing 1-0 to Philadelphia Union on Saturday night. A goal from Bruno Damiani in the 49th minute dented momentum and lasted the rest of the evening at TQL Stadium. Despite a red card to the Union later in the match, Cincinnati were unable to get any offense through the Union’s stout defense.

The loss pushes the Orange & Blue deeper in the standings, while the Union qualify for the MLS Playoffs and take a five-point lead in the Eastern Conference standings.

“It’s a tough stretch, tough moment for the group right now,” Pat Noonan discussed with the media afterwards. “Results, performances—I know it’s below our standard, and we’ll continue to work to try to fight through it. I know the disappointment is there with these players, with the fans, and that’s the way it should be. We’re not getting it done at the moment.”

Cincinnati (16-4-9, 52 pts.) resumed their home schedule in search of a win after two hard 1-0 home losses against Charlotte and NYCFC. However, the offense got a kick in the transfer window with the return of Brenner to the lineup. The Brazilian striker was loaned back to the Orange & Blue from Udinese for the remainder of the 2025 season. Winger Dominik Marczuk and forward Ayoub Jabbari, both also on loan, made their first appearances for Cincinnati, with Marczuk starting at right wing back.

Midfielder Samuel Gidi is not yet ready for work, still waiting out his visa.

Miles Robinson (leg), Yuya Kubo (leg), Obi Nwobodo (quad), and Paul Walters (foot) were still out injured. However, Luca Orellano returned to the bench after an injury concern over the last few weeks.

Philadelphia (17-6-6, 57 pts.) returned to TQL for the first time since head coach Jim Curtin departed the team in the offseason. Despite the switch to new coach Bradley Carnell, the Union had returned to prime form, seated atop the Eastern Conference before the match. Carnell had the Union running strong overall, as demonstrated by the 4-1 demolition job against Cincinnati earlier in the season.

Much of the lineup was unchanged from the Union’s 4-0 win over Chicago last week. Right wing back Nathan Harriel returned to the Starting XI, replacing Frankie Westfield, while Indiana Vassilev (head) returned to the bench after a concussion concern. Goalkeeper Andre Blake remained out with a hamstring injury.

First half

While the shots did not lead to anything in the score column, Philadelphia came to play, displaying a high press and physical marksmanship. Passes from the Cincinnati midfield were often scouted by the prowling Union defense, keeping the ball deeper in the Cincinnati half.

Philadelphia’s best opportunities came on early plays in the first half. Quinn Sullivan’s cross into the box in the 10th minute caromed toward Roman Celentano, only for the ball to ping off the corner of the woodwork. Newly acquired Milan Iloski then had the best look in the 17th minute, only to fire his open attempt wide of net.

While Philadelphia had more command, the opportunities appeared to go Cincinnati’s way on set pieces. Evander’s free kicks twice reached Nick Hagglund in the box over the first twenty minutes, forcing Andrew Rick to make quicker decisions.

The best attempt on frame was a deflected attempt by Kévin Denkey in the 35th minute, only for Rick to dive and palm the shot away for a corner kick.

While the Union had more attempts overall (8-5), their only attempt on frame came in extra time off of a free play by Denley Jean Jacques.

Second half

The press that Philadelphia employed continued to suffocate the Cincinnati defense and finally broke the tie early on.

A stray defensive turnover up the middle was captured by Jakob Glesnes in the 49th minute. The final pass from Milan Iloski reached Damiani, whose header popped over Celentano. Damiani’s fourth goal of the MLS season made it 1-0.

While the game itself was quite physical, the fouls finally accumulated for the Union. Olwethu Makhanya’s foul on Evander in the 60th minute was his second yellow card of the match, giving the Orange & Blue a man advantage.

However, that advantage did not provide much in terms of quality shots on goal. The biggest opportunity came in the 75th minute, but Brenner’s final open shot after passes from Evander and Denkey could not be directed on goal.

The lone shot on net in the second half was a furtive header from Matt Miazga on a set piece in the 79th minute, but Rick was able to handle the shot cleanly.

The loss gives the Orange & Blue little life support for their Supporters’ Shield chances with five matches left to play. While the team is still in second and will likely make their fourth postseason in a row, Philadelphia becomes the first team to outright qualify for playoff competition.

“It’s a tough one,” Evander said after the match. “Against Philadelphia, they are a good pressing team, and when they play low, they show it down every time. Charlotte was the same. You know, some games like that, we’re trying to push, we’re trying to do everything we can to score, but sometimes it just doesn’t work.”

Miazga was frank with the result afterward. “We’ve got we got to look back in depth on what happened tonight. Obviously, things aren’t clicking so so we have to really reassess what’s happening and try to fix it because, like I said, today was a massive game for the Supporters Shield, and we lost it, so we need to figure it out and figure it out quick. There’s five games left in the season, and we’re obviously trying to fight for trophies. If we play like we’ve been at home, it’s not going to be enough.”

When asked about the chances with gaining the Supporters’ Shield, Noonan still sees opportunities.

“Sure, if we improve our performances. I think the pieces we’ve added are really good pieces. You see glimpses of it tonight with Brenner, with Dom (Marczuk) and with Ayoub (Jabbari). We have a little stretch here to work on some things and get these guys acclimated with the group. But of course, there’s belief in that group, despite being down.”

The international break gives Cincinnati some time to recover and lick wounds. However, the squad still has quality opponents in the future, with Nashville SC coming to town in two weeks. Philadelphia has a difficult opponent upcoming as well—the Union must travel to Vancouver to take on the Whitecaps next.

Major League Soccer, Match #29

FC Cincinnati vs. Philadelphia Union
TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
Attendance: 24,462
Result: FC Cincinnati 0, Philadelphia Union 1.

BOX SCORE

FC Cincinnati Starting XI (5-2-1-2):

Roman Celentano (GK); Dominik Marczuk (Luca Orellano 65′), Nick Hagglund, Matt Miazga (c), Lukas Engel (Kei Kamara 89′), Ender Echenique (Ayoub Jabbari 74′); Pavel Bucha, Brian Anunga (Gerardo Valenzuela 64′); Evander; Brenner, Kevin Denkey.

Bench: Evan Louro, Alvas Powell, Gilberto Flores, Teenage Hadebe, Stiven Jimenez.

Philadelphia Union Starting XI (4-4-2):

Andrew Rick (GK); Nathan Harriel, Jakob Glesnes (c), Olwethu Makhanya, Kai Wagner; Quinn Sullivan (Francis Westfield 63′), Jovan Lukic, Danley Jean Jacques, Milan Iloski (Jeremy Rafanello 83′); Tai Baribo (Indiana Vassilev 63′), Bruno Damiani (Mikael Uhre 74′).

Bench: George Marks, Cavan Sullivan, Jesus Bueno, Alejandro Bedoya, Oliver Mbiazo.

Scoring summary:

PHI – Bruno Damiani 49′ (Iloski)

Discipline:

YC – Dominik Marczuk 21′ (CIN, poor sportsmanship)
YC – Olwethu Makhanya 21′ (PHI, poor sportsmanship)
YC – Jakob Glesnes 45+4′ (PHI, foul)
YC – Nathan Harriel 51′ (PHI, foul)
RC – Olwethu Makhanya 60′ (PHI, foul)
YC – Francis Westfield 85′ (PHI, poor sportsmanship)
YC – Kevin Denkey 90+1′ (CIN, poor sportsmanship)

Next up:

MLS Regular Season: vs. Nashville SC, 7:30 pm, Saturday September 13th; Apple TV+