Kévin Denkey Wonder Goal Secures FC Cincinnati 3 Points in Toronto as Orange and Blue Down TFC 1-0

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Kévin Denkey Wonder Goal Secures FC Cincinnati 3 Points in Toronto as Orange and Blue Down TFC 1-0

May 15, 2025 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Cincinnati News Release


TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA -- As Kévin Denkey streaked down the right side and into the Toronto FC box, the sideline boards lit up in purple with streaks of lightning and the words 'THIS IS PURE ENTERTAINMENT' in a stylized font.

The bolts of lighting stretched out and pulsed as the lettering became bolder and bolder before exploding and revealing the ad for an online casino. It was an unfortunate bit of timing for the advertiser. But it was a serendipitous moment of cosmic honesty. A message from the soccer gods of what was coming just moments later.

FC Cincinnati's Togolese striker would dance into the box, out dribble two defenders, then pick out the perfect corner for a quick as a whip shot and beat the Toronto FC keeper to give his side a 1-0 lead. A lead they would never give back and would go on to win their seventh in eight games to go further atop the table.

The forward said when he received the ball his first instinct was to go directly towards the box. That he had the pace and momentum to get there, and so when he was in the box he knew defenders would become more conservative with their challenges with the risk of conceding a penalty kick more prominent.

He said he wasn't sure if he surprised the defense or the keeper with his footwork, or if they were just being conservative. But if he did surprise them, that's ok. He doesn't mind surprising people, the last time he surprised people he pulled off a bicycle kick.

"If I can keep surprising people, like this, we are going to have fun this season," Denkey said with a smile.

Denkey's goal, which only adds to his portfolio of jaw dropping individual efforts that seems to be growing by the week and somehow diversifying, was unfortunately the end of that "pure entertainment" mantra the ad boards advertised, as while FCC kept finding opportunities but could not score. As the night went on the quality fell on both sides, and although FC Cincinnati put in a performance that Pat Noonan said did not reach the standards of the club, eventually FC Cincinnati saw out a victory.

"Pleased about the result, but certainly not our best performance. I don't think even close, anywhere close to the standard that we expect. But we know we have a quick turnaround and an important game, so we'll try to keep the mood right going into a tough matchup," Noonan said to open his post-match press conference. "Our entire team, for the most part, was not at the level that we need to be.

"We're in this long enough where everybody in the locker room knows it. I don't need to go raising my voice," Noonan explained as to his reaction and post-game chat with the team. "And I don't like criticizing these guys too much when they're doing good things...all I have to do is look at them and (I) know how they feel."

The match in Toronto presented unique challenges, but not ones that Noonan (or really anyone for that matter) looked to for excuses. Not only is the midweek match a quick turnaround coming off the weekend, but the upcoming weekend match also factored into who could or would be available and how you monitor the workload of certain players. In all, six starters rotated out of the lineup - two of which were unavailable due to injury - from Saturday's home win versus Austin, and only one player played a full 90 between both games. But, given the amount of experience the team has in training and playing, the shuffling of the lineup combined with getting fresh legs off the pitch took away any kind of excuse in the eyes of the FCC Head Coach.

"I don't know if you can use the excuse of the turnaround from the weekend, because we had enough time to recover and we had fresh legs," Noonan opined. "So hopefully one that we can throw away, as far as the (play) with the ball. I still think that's been a struggle of our team, as far as doing the simple things right.

"When we do the simple things right, we're pretty good, and tonight, I don't think we did that. But like I said, the defensive side of the ball was strong, and we limited them from creating a lot of dangerous chances over the course of 90 minutes, so that part has certainly been a constant, I would say."

In an honest moment in the press conference after the match in the depths of BMO Field, a room that still holds many memories of clinching glory of 2023, Noonan confessed that in the moment he did not have answers he felt were sufficient to explain the lack of quality he had just seen over the last 90 or so minutes. But there were common themes among the answers provided by Noonan and a handful of his players.

The most repeated diagnoses were that while the defensive side of the ball was solid, and FCC again defended a one-goal lead for nearly the entirety of the match, the offensive side of the ball was "too casual" and got away from the little things that make them a strong team. So, while the defense was strong, and the pure talent of some of the forwards in the group helped FCC generate nearly three times as many offensive chances as their opponents, the lack of intensity put FCC in troubling situations.

So, a vicious circle starts. The strong defense creates positive momentum going forward, but a casual or unsure moment on offense turns it around and sends the opponent the other way, which then forces the defense to scramble and creates undue pressure, making it harder to recreate the offensive opportunity each time.

"I think the defense was very solid, very organized. I just think we are all together as a group. But, I don't know if we maybe took the game lightly, maybe a little bit casual at times, and that made it harder on ourselves and made us defend in moments where I really think they should have been defending us," midfielder Brian Anunga said. "We put ourselves in difficult spots, and I think there were times where we fixed that a little bit, but it was, it was also just hard under some pressure.

"I mean, I think we were not our best, not at all today," Anunga continued. "Sometimes on the road it happens, and you have to grind together to get a win when you're not at your best. Good teams will find a way to win, and I think we did that today."

While the rotation certainly was not to be used as an excuse, the changes to the lineup certainly played a role. In the 58th minute Noonan went to his bench for the first time and made three subs, pulling out Brad Smith for Lukas Engel, Yuya Kubo for Evander, and Sergio Santos for Denkey. The substitution, in effect, effectively kept FC Cincinnati competitive while also conserving the energy of all six players for the next match...which looms just 72 hours after this one.

In a smaller way, the sub also ensured that the goal scorer in Kévin Denkey remained eligible for the match as one yellow card would have pushed him over the accumulation limit of five and suspended him for the following match.

Later Teenage Hadebe would also sub out for Alvas Powell and newcomer Kei Kamara would come on for his Orange and Blue debut for Dado Valenzuela, but effectively keeping the team fresh while also earning the three points is a game well rotated. But further points to the win column for FC Cincinnati as despite all that rotation, and slight injury concern, FC Cincinnati had the depth to make tactical choices in match and feel strong about their options all while playing with a weakened starting position.

"That's so, so, so important," Denkey said from the locker room post match. "That means everyone is involved in the team in a win like this. It's not just my goal that makes us win. No, I think it's all the team. It's experienced people helping a lot, and with the rotation, because we got the three points, we are a real team, and it's the most important to build as a team."

"It wasn't tough. I mean, we have a deep roster. We have guys that we trust and believe in, and certainly (Denkey and Evander) have carried the load this year as far as our attacking production," Noonan explained when asked if there was any hesitation or challenge to pulling Evander and Denkey when they did. "This is the second game of three in the week, and we anticipate those guys are going to be on the field on Saturday. So, it was a little bit of performance, managing the minutes and trusting the fact that we have guys that could come in and, I think, elevate our performance on the night."

It has felt like a long time since Noonan has had a full stable of options in his proverbial bullpen to select from and can impact the game in unique ways. With injury and other availability dynamics at play so present in the FC Cincinnati ecosystem for not only the start of 2025 but much of 2024, it has felt like Noonan has (at times) not been able to play with a full array of options. But on this night in Toronto, he was able to.

An example of this dynamic at play came late in the match when Noonan elected to use Kei Kamara as his final substitute rather than Obinna Nwobodo. There are nuances at play here like all choices a Head Coach have to make, but in this case Noonan elected to go with the newly brought in forward - who has only been with the club for two days - over Nwobodo. Who himself was coming back from injury and missed last Saturday's match as part of his recovery. Noonan, reading the game, decided that Valenzuela was becoming too fatigued to go on in a way he was comfortable with and opted to take him off rather than Pavel Bucha to make way for a defensive stopper in the midfield. Bucha, who Noonan said he could have considered for an early sub to help keep him fresh for Saturday, was helping the team see out the victory and still had the energy to impact the game for another 10+ minutes.

The sub for Kamara, per Noonan, was not pre planned in any fashion. It was a choice in the moment for what the game called for. He could have gone to the "Defensive specialist" because he felt like a forward would help them see out the game in a more impactful way.

And it worked. Kamara, playing in his 331st career regular season game, came on and helped stretch out the Toronto defensive so they couldn't play too high or hem in the FC Cincinnati attack without exposing themselves.

"You're not always protecting a lead with a defensive sub, or a defense minded player. Sometimes, you know, even tonight, we put Kei [Kamara] at the end of the game and Obi [Nwobodo's] sitting over there on the bench, and I was thinking about ways to get Nwobodo on the field and maybe go with a different midfield structure," Noonan dissected. "But we felt like we needed something to allow us to hold the ball, to move up the field and change the game that way. So, it's Kei going in for Dado [Valenzuela], when you have a defensive specialist Obi that could have very easily been on the field."

What awaits FC Cincinnati after a return flight to Ohio from the Great White North is a quick turnaround, again, for a trip up the highway. In the buildup to this game, on Wednesday night at BMO Field, everyone ensured they were not focusing on the weekend match in Columbus or overlooking an opponent. And, in fairness, FC Cincinnati took care of business and earned the three points on the road. But if the takeaway from the match, the place to improve, was not being so casual...FC Cincinnati should have no problem with that given the emotional stakes of what comes next.

Hell is Real looms large. The shadow it casts now fully engulfs the coming days and in time could come to define the Eastern Conference this season. The Orange and Blue finish the night top of the Supporters' Shield table, the Crew lurk just two points behind, and a win represents a six-point swing.

It is hard to be casual about Hell is Real. So, perhaps, a wakeup call on a dewy Wednesday night in Toronto can be a good thing. A reminder of what casual can look like, and what it will take to go into Lower.Com Field and earn a result.

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Major League Soccer Stories from May 15, 2025


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