Red Bulls Surge in Second Half, Top FC Cincinnati, 4-2
MLS NEXT Pro FC Cincinnati 2

Red Bulls Surge in Second Half, Top FC Cincinnati, 4-2

Published on April 4, 2026 under MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro)
FC Cincinnati 2 News Release


HARRISON, NJ - FC Cincinnati fell to New York Red Bulls, 4-2, Saturday night at Sports Illustrated Stadium. The Orange and Blue (2-4-0, 6 points) return to action next Saturday, April 11, when they face Toronto FC on the road.

New York and Cincinnati exchanged first half goals to send the match into the break level at a goal apiece. Pavel Bucha struck for the Orange and Blue in the 17th minute to match Julian Hall's 12th minute goal. The goal marks Bucha's first of the MLS season.

Red Bull New York found three second half goals to earn three points on the night. Kyle Smith scored his first goal for the club as he brought Cincinnati within a goal in the 72nd minute, but a late stoppage time goal for Mohammed Sofo erased a chance for a late Cincinnati equalizer.

FC Cincinnati are back in action next Saturday, April 11 at Toronto FC. Kickoff from BMO Field in Canada is set for 1 p.m. ET with the match airing globally on Apple TV and radio to be carried on iHeart Media ESPN 1530 in English and in Spanish locally on La Mega 101.5 FM.

The Orange and Blue return to TQL Stadium on Saturday, April 18 when they host Chicago Fire FC. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET and tickets are available at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or by calling 513-977-KICK.

GAME NOTES

- Kyle Smith, Cincinnati native and LaSalle High School graduate, scored his first goal for his hometown club off a throw-in from Cincinnati native Nick Hagglund.

- FC Cincinnati are 9-2-4 since the start of the 2023 season in matches immediately following FIFA International Windows.

- Two former New York Homegrowns (Evan Louro, Matt Miazga) and a third former Red Bull player (Tom Barlow) started Saturday.

FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT

FC Cincinnati at Red Bull New York

Date: April 4, 2026

Competition: MLS Regular Season

Venue: Sports Illustrated Stadium | Harrison, New Jersey

Kickoff: 7:40 p.m. ET

Weather: 51 degrees, clear

SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT

RBNY: 1-3-4

CIN: 1-1-2

RBNY - Julian Hall (Cowell, Marshall-Rutty) 12', Emil Forsberg 48', Kyle Smith (OG) 66', 90+3' Mohammed Sofo (Donkor, Voloder) 90'+3

CIN - Pavel Bucha (Denkey, Gidi) 17', Kyle Smith 72'

LINEUPS

CIN: Evan Louro, Bryan Ramirez, Matt Miazga (C) (Ayoub Jabbari 84'), Nick Hagglund (Teenage Hadebe 75'), Kyle Smith (Alvas Powell 75'), Pavel Bucha, Samuel Gidi (Tah Brian Anunga 67'), Evander, Tom Barlow (Kenji Mboma Dem 75'), Kévin Denkey, Ender Echenique

Substitutes not used: Fabian Mrozek, Gilberto Flores, Obinna Nwobodo, Andrei Chirila

Head Coach: Pat Noonan

RBNY: Ethan Horvath, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, Dylan Nealis, Robert Voloder, Matthew Dos Santos (Omar Valencia 70'), Ronald Donkor, Emil Forsberg (C) (Eric Maxim Chupo-Moting 86'), Adri Mehmeti (Nehuén Benedetti 80'), Cade Cowell (Tanner Rosborough 70'), Jorge Ruvalcaba (Mohammed Sofo 80'), Julian Hall

Substitutes not used: John McCarthy, Juan Mina, Tim Parker, Rafael Mosquera

Head Coach: Michael Bradley

STATS SUMMARY: RBNY/CIN

Shots: 19 / 16

Shots on Goal: 6 / 6

Saves: 4 / 2

Corner Kicks: 2 / 6

Fouls: 13 / 12

Offside: 1 / 5

Possession: 53.1 / 46.9

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY

CIN - Bryan Ramirez (Yellow Card) 37'

RBNY - Ronald Donkor (Yellow Card) 57'

CIN - Matt Miazga (Yellow Card) 80'

RBNY - Omar Valencia (Yellow Card) 83'

CIN - Alvas Powell (Red Card) 90+5'

OFFICIALS

Referee: Victor Rivas

Ast. Referees: Corey Rockwell, Tyler Wyrostek

Fourth Official: Muhammed Kaleia

VAR: Kevin Stott

AVAR: Robert Schaap

FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan

Postmatch Press Conference at Red Bull New York

Thoughts on the match against Red Bull New York

Pat Noonan 00:07

"In a game where there was a lot of attacking opportunities for both teams, more moments, they took their chances better than we did, because there was certainly enough out there as far as our attacks and moments to finish plays off, and they got more of those moments right.

On aggressiveness in the attacking third and missed opportunities

Pat Noonan 00:47

"The pass. And there's, you could pick out a lot of plays where the last pass, closer to goal, further from goal, where we're in, we break pressure and we're in behind and we just fouled up a lot of those moments. And it wasn't one or two players, it was a variety of guys in different moments and that was the difference, because then we had to defend in space, in transition, and they were throwing numbers forward, we were throwing numbers forward, and so, when the game got open they did a better job in the open space that we did.

On the changes to the normal formation and personnel selection

Pat Noonan 01:35

"Yeah, a combination of personnel, performances and how we thought we could attack New York tonight, and so, with the ball, a lot of good things despite only scoring two goals, probably our best attacking performance of the year in regular season play. Defensively, we obviously leaking too many goals, and that's happening in a variety of ways. The free kick, which is well taken, an example there. I think their speed along the front line caused us problems with our personnel tonight, which we knew would be a challenge if the game was opened up and final action. Like I said, defensively and defended the box. They didn't put too much pressure on Evan [Louro] and our back line with how we conceded some of those transition moments.

On Pavel Bucha's performance

Pat Noonan 02:39

"Pavel [Bucha] played pretty well. I mean, the goal he takes very well. I think there's some actions with the ball and moments with the ball where the pass can be better still for his level, where we can be a little bit more composed, or it's just the final pass, but you never question his work rate and his commitment, he contributed on the score sheet, which is a positive, and it can still be even better.

Expanding on the back four moving forward

Pat Noonan 03:34

"Of course. I mean, we concede four goals, and we concede four goals in a different formation, so, yes, I think whatever formation we set up, and I think we have the players in the group to do a lot better defensively. And it's not just the back line. I think the first goal, how they break our first line of pressure, it still comes down to being harder to break down in that moment, and we need to do better job there from how we start our pressure to how we finish the play, and so it's not just the back line. Our front two, three, whatever the group is, the midfield group, we can do better to prevent how they get into our box. And so that's a collective. But whatever the structure is, I'm confident we can be better defensively.

On defending crosses and similar set pieces

Pat Noonan 04:50

"Well, it depends. It happens in a variety of ways. That first goal, how we, how we in the run of play allowed to break our pressure and get wide, so it becomes challenging. You want to defend narrow in those moments and not let them play through you and, so, for me, I'd rather have the cross than the play that gets through the middle, but we have to defend the box better. I think how we lose the ball in open space and with a huge opportunity to attack goal, we miss those opportunities, we left ourselves exposed in transition. So, we have to take a look at that and see how we can be better organized and more prepared for those transition moments, but, the way Red Bull presses at times, and they threw some numbers at our build up, and when we were able to break the pressure there's a lot of space, and it's tempting to make the final pass, or see the space and try to make that play and when you don't, now all of those numbers that were putting pressure on our build line, now they are moving back into the play and they have a numbers advantage there, that's where it gets very challenging when you when you don't make that pass. And so, we could have looked at five or six moments I think and talked about how we had a chance to attack goal or could have been talking about scoring a goal. Instead we've missed that pass in that moment and we've conceded a chance in a transition moment, so, those are the details right now that you know with a difference in the game tonight and with the group.

On the difficult start to the season and the positives taken despite results

Pat Noonan 07:09

"Well tonight, I thought how we were able to play through pressure at times was some of the best actions that we've seen thus far, in all of our games. They're an aggressive team and they step up the press at times, and I thought we found some really good solutions to breaking that pressure and attacking with space. And like I said, then we got that moment wrong where I think the chance creation, the outcome, could have been different in all those moments that we missed out on. I think set pieces have been strong for us. So, there's a couple positives that I take away from tonight in those areas.

On Matt Miazga's status and his ability to get back to former form

Pat Noonan 08:29

"Yeah, I guess the opinion of what people think about the performances and getting back to where he was, that comes with time and fitness and sharpness, which he certainly needs, but, if you look at the goals we're conceding and the plays that he's making in the box, a lot of those are not on Matt [Miazga]. Like I said, it's a collective of how we are conceding the goals. The first one is a perfect example of that, so, yeah, of course he can play better, but I don't look at him as the problem right now for a lot of the goals that we're conceding, but it's a collective and we can point to a lot of guys and say, you know, the standard of how we're defending isn't good enough.

On Evander

Pat Noonan 09:41

"He's got plenty of chances to score, but, I think we're accustomed to seeing him finish off plays that isn't happening in the moment, that happens to every player at different stages of the season of their career, so, a little rut as far as the goal scoring right now, but if you see the chances that he was in tonight. [Ethan] Horvath makes a good save on one, the one in the second half, it bounces up on him in the last second, so, I don't know if that'll be seen, but that's the way it's going right now and we got to put our heads down and continue to work and if we can get him in those spots consistently, I think the goal production will improve.

On Evander and if it is a confidence issue

Pat Noonan 10:40

"No, I wouldn't say it's accurate, you don't know, each player is different when they're scoring, when they're not scoring. So, we just have to continue to push in the right ways. He has to continue to push himself in the right ways and we have to find ways to get him in spots to make plays. And I think if we're able to do that, like I said, he'll finish off more plays as we move forward.

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