FC Cincinnati Make Themselves 'Our Own Worst Enemy' in 1-0 Loss to NYCFC
MLS FC Cincinnati

FC Cincinnati Make Themselves 'Our Own Worst Enemy' in 1-0 Loss to NYCFC

Published on August 24, 2025 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Cincinnati News Release


CINCINNATI - Nick Hagglund summed up the night at TQL Stadium Saturday pretty plainly and concisely when he spoke to the press after the match.

"Bad day...we just weren't good tonight."

FC Cincinnati fell at home Saturday night to visiting New York City FC 1-0 in a game that left FC Cincinnati struggling for answers. It wasn't necessarily a performance where they were terrible, in a manner of speaking, but it certainly wasn't one they would like to remember for very long.

While conceding just the one goal, from the opening to closing whistle FC Cincinnati failed to generate much of anything for themselves. Inconsistent passing and poor decision making sapped any semblance of rhythm from their play and ultimately one defensive lapse in the second half gave the visiting NYCFC side all they needed to secure the victory.

In all, it wasn't the kind of game where you left feeling like FC Cincinnati were a bad team...more a game where the team you've watched all season be good, never really got themselves out of neutral and ultimately dropped three points at home. Three points in a tight table battle that makes the loss feel only more painful.

"Yeah poor performance, that starts with me," FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said postgame in a statement to the press. "We weren't up for it, and for various reasons, the game looked like it did because of poor play on our end. Credit to New York City, they were the better team and deserved to win."

"Our whole team struggled, there wasn't a position (specifically). Our whole team struggled tonight," Noonan continued. "I think we don't handle pressure particularly well, our passing, our decision making under pressure was poor, careless turnovers that don't allow you to get into a rhythm with the ball and have you defending in transition. And then we defended in those moments pretty well to keep them from, I guess, more goals. But then you have to defend deep. You have to get recovery runs, and it wears you down. And that's what the game looked like. It was on the ball where we were nowhere close."

Despite a late push - one that Noonan largely dismissed as being, at least a little bit, Fool's Gold - FC Cincinnati was held to just 47.8 percent possession and five shots on target. It was a night on the whole that left FCC players searching for answers and not fully understanding why, at the end of an otherwise fine week of training, they didn't come out with more energy.

"We just did ourselves and did the fans a disservice by not putting on a better performance," keeper Roman Celentano said postgame. "But I don't really have an answer for that, but everyone knows it just wasn't our best."

"It wasn't our day," Celentano, who made three saves on the night to keep it a one goal game, continued. "We were kind of our own worst enemy."

The best opportunities that FC Cincinnati had were shots from Evander, who on two occasions was able to get a clean look from outside the box and force a diving save from NYCFC keeper Matt Freese, and a pair of headers on set pieces. The first set piece chance was ultimately ruled offside after Nick Hagglund put his effort onto frame, and the second, from Gerardo "Dado" Valenzuela late in the second half was punched over the bar by the keeper as well.

"In the end, I don't think the creativity and the understanding of the moment and the right decision to pass, to shoot (was there)," Noonan explained postgame of where he saw the offense struggle most. "A lot of guys, I think in moments where it seemed clear of 'this is the next pass' or the next movement, we struggle to find that, the right decision. And that's why, I think, in the final third, you see a lack of cohesion."

By not finding an offensive edge, FCC left themselves open to NYCFC and in one breakout moment where the defense wasn't sharp enough, the visitors capitalized. After a throw-in in the NYCFC half, a soft pass forced Hagglund to try to clear the ball out of danger. That clearing kick went directly towards a New York midfielder who sprung Alfonso Marntinez on a break.

"The whole goal, from the throw to Brian (Anunga), doesn't need to be even close to the situation if we play the ball to Matt, Matt out to Nick and yeah, we make a total mess of it," Noonan explained. "The clearance, the touch, everything about it is a really low level play."

The loss comes at an increasing high cost in the chase for trophies in the 2025 season. With just seven games to go in the season entering this game, every match is an opportunity to secure your place in the table. FCC entered Saturday top of the Supporters' Shield table, but with the loss surrendered that position.

What immediately springs to mind coming out of the loss is what the implications presented in this game mean for the rest of the season. It was a bad night, as Nick Hagglund explained, and it was a performance that left them at a loss for answers, as Roman Celentano explained, but what's key is that FC Cincinnati ensure it's just one night. Not a string of them.

With so few matches left in the season, there are fewer opportunities by the week to rectify a problem or reestablish form. But with the table so tight in both the Eastern Conference and Supporters' Shield race, one loss does not seal your fate. It certainly doesn't make things easier, but it doesn't put you out of the running.

The next opponent on the calendar is Eastern Conference leading Philadelphia Union, so there is an opportunity right away to retake the lead in the conference. So going into that match with a renewed attention to detail and sense of urgency will be key for the team going forward.

"Not let this happen again," Hagglund said post game as to what the squad plan to do to move forward. "It's unfortunate how this one unfolded, I think you pick your pants back up and go again. Be confident in all the things that we have done this year, and put the right foot forward. Make an off day an off day. Just make it an off day and not a thing that's lasting."

"Every game is important. We said it before this one, it's all going to feel like games that you have to get results, and that wasn't the case," Noonan added of how they move on. "So it shouldn't change as far as urgency, it's just attention to detail, and each game will look different. And hopefully we get a couple pieces back to continue to push the depth and the competition and have a better performance against the next opponent."

"I think we've seen this year, I think, that we often respond well after a loss, and I think it'll be a good week to look in the mirror," Hagglund added in his final remarks to the press. "I think the sky's the limit for us, as long as we can get everyone on the same page and doing the right things. I think that this is a great team, we've been showing that we've been a great team for the past three years. We just have to step on the field and do it."

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Major League Soccer Stories from August 24, 2025


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