CINCINNATI — Following Wednesday night’s 5-0 debacle in Philadelphia, FC Cincinnati returned home with two important questions hanging over the club.
How would the Orange and Blue respond to such an embarrassing defeat? And how would they do it without Evander and Obinna Nwobodo?
The answer was not always pretty, but it did include some fight.
Kévin Denkey scored twice in the second half, including the equalizer in stoppage time, as FC Cincinnati battled Charlotte FC to a 3-3 draw Saturday night at TQL Stadium.
Nwobodo was unavailable after receiving a red card during the 16th minute of Wednesday’s loss, which carried an automatic one-match suspension. Evander joined him on the sideline after receiving his fifth yellow card of the season later in that match, triggering a suspension for yellow-card accumulation.
Losing either player would have been a challenge. Losing both meant Cincinnati entered Saturday without the engine of its midfield and its leading scorer.
Still, FCC needed only three minutes to take the lead. Pavel Bucha found space inside the penalty area and delivered a first-touch finish to give the Orange and Blue a 1-0 advantage. That lead lasted only four minutes.
Charlotte answered in the seventh when Liel Abada got behind Cincinnati’s defense and chipped the ball past Roman Celentano. The visitors then moved ahead in the 17th minute after Pep Biel was brought down inside the penalty area and converted the ensuing penalty kick.
Cincinnati entered halftime trailing 2-1 despite creating several opportunities of its own.
Denkey pulled the Orange and Blue even in the 51st minute when Andrei Chirila’s shot deflected into his path. Denkey redirected the ball past Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina to make it 2-2.
Once again, the tie disappeared almost immediately.
Less than four minutes later, Charlotte struck on the counterattack. Rodolfo Aloko kept the ball alive near the right side of the box and sent it toward Idan Toklomati, who headed home the visitors’ third goal.
Kahlina made two crucial saves shortly afterward and finished with six, repeatedly preventing Cincinnati from drawing level.
But he could not stop Denkey forever.
With the match entering stoppage time, Cincinnati earned a corner and pushed forward in search of one final opportunity. Denkey finished it in the 91st minute, completing his brace and rescuing a point for the Orange and Blue.
The result moved FCC to 8-8-8 with 32 points.
A home draw does not solve Cincinnati’s defensive problems, nor does it erase a winless week. But after losing 5-0, then entering the next match without two of its most important players, FCC could have folded when Charlotte took its third lead of the night.
It did not.
Sometimes a draw feels like two points lost. This one felt more like a point saved.
What’s Next: FC Cincinnati travels to face the Houston Dynamo Saturday, September 19, at Shell Energy Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET.
