ATLANTA -- In a season so defined by the defensive prowess of FC Cincinnati -- the aspect of their game that has been most reliable all year and, in many ways, got them to this point in their season – it was exactly that strength that left The Orange and Blue wanting. FC Cincinnati conceded four goals to Atlanta United FC on Sunday night, two in the span of five minutes in the first half and another two in the later stages of the second half, to fall on the road for the third time this season and bring their overall record to 9-4-2.
The heartbreak of the night, which happened in a game otherwise filled with a largely valiant effort to push back after an early deficit, came in the 14th minute and will likely come to define the FC Cincinnati space in the coming days as well.
Nick Hagglund, FC Cincinnati's native son and standout CB star in 2025, was removed from the match in the 14th minute and sent to the hospital with a fractured rib and damage to his lung after an on-field collision. Atlanta United forward Emmanuel Latte Lath barreled into an unexpecting Hagglund away from the ball, leaving the local star down and in pain with play going on around him. The referee did not deem this play to be a foul, let alone a bookable offense. After FCC had cleared away danger (minutes later) on the ensuing play, the FC Cincinnati medical team was able to attend to the defender and remove him from the game.
The injury for Hagglund, which at this point is still too early to imply any further ramifications, would be his second significant bone break in a year after he suffered a broken tibia in 2024 that left him out for the season.
Hagglund was able to eventually leave the field under his own power (with some assistance from the medical staff), and Teenage Hadebe came on to replace him; what followed was a punishing stretch of play that ultimately defined the match.
Atlanta United scored twice in the proceeding five minutes of action, the first coming on a set piece cross just moments after the substitution for Hadebe, created by a moment where Miles Robinson was booked for interfering with a run by Latte Lath. The second goal came just three minutes later when Atlanta winger Saba cruised into the box and tapped a pass to the middle that three FC Cincinnati defenders couldn't react to and was punched in on the goal line.
That left FC Cincinnati, who had been controlling the game and dominating play prior to all that drama in the fives prior, down 2-0 just 20 minutes into the game and chasing a lead.
In those five minutes, with Hagglund coming off, the momentum of the game shifted. First slightly, then radically. The defender's exit left FC Cincinnati looking disorganized and perhaps a little frazzled. The sight of seeing not only their teammate, but also a prominent team leader, exit the match shook them up a little and left the door open for Atlanta to step in and capitalize.
"Maybe it threw us off a little bit," Pat Noonan said on if he thought his players looked impacted by Hagglund’s injury. "The way that we conceded the first goal with the errant pass and poor marking on the set piece, you lose that rhythm and then they capitalized on the aftermath of that with the momentum they had."
"I still thought we pushed the end of the half in a good way," Noonan continued. "That stretch is essentially where we lose momentum after a pretty decent start and find ourselves trying to dig out of a hole."
Noonan said after the match, he had received no feedback from the officials on the play, and that he didn't expect to. However, he was left disappointed in the handling of a play that (he felt) clearly warranted consideration. Even if only considering the aftermath being a hospitalization. "It's strange. There's nothing going on in that area of the field where Nick's moving and with the ball," Noonan explained. "It was obviously enough force where Nick's not expecting it, and now he's punished for it."
In a pool report, PRO (the organizing body responsible for referees in MLS) provided an answer from referee Guido Gonzalez Jr. on the play after a request from Cincinnati media, stating:
The referee saw the situation clearly and deemed it to not be a foul. The play was checked by the VAR for a potential red card to make sure that no clear and obvious error was made on the field. The VAR confirmed that no error was made.
Regardless of the details of the incident (which, if the VAR had intervened and a Red Card was considered or given, it would have changed the match in material ways), FC Cincinnati was now facing a deficit of two goals, but they did have 70 minutes to make that up. It was in that effort that, despite the poor defending, FC Cincinnati felt they could leave with their head held high.
"We definitely fought to the end, but I think we ended up just shooting ourselves in the foot a lot," FC Cincinnati defender Miles Robinson said. Robinson, a former member of Atlanta United, would score the first goal of the match for FCC, rising to meet a corner kick and heading in his first goal of the season. "A lot of their chances, I think, we could have prevented. The fight is still in there, but it just wasn't good enough from us."
FC Cincinnati never conceded the match, regardless of the lead or the time on the clock. After giving up the two goals FCC regrouped and put together a strong effort to close the half and challenged Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan to the tune of 27 shots, a MLS club record. They couldn't find a goal in the first half to cut the lead to one. Still, quickly after returning to the pitch for the second half, Robinson would rise and score his aforementioned goal.
Then again, in the 67th minute, FC Cincinnati would concede a goal from a corner kick stemming from a poorly passed ball from the midfield that gave Atlanta a set piece after not having been in the FCC half. But three minutes later, Gerardo "Dado” Valenzuela slid in to kick a centering pass from Lukas Engel into the netting to return things to a one-goal affair.
Time and time again, FC Cincinnati looked to punch back. Even if, when all was said and done, the hole was just too big to climb out of.
"Even after the going down two-nil on the road, I thought there were a couple really good sequences where we create," Noonan explained. “(In the second half) We push the game…I thought we were as strong as we've been, because if you look at just where on the field … with some of those guys on the ball and the way the ball was moved, I thought there was some really good play."
It wasn't a "perfect response," It was not as if after that 2-0 lead, FCC completely dominated, and the defense that had woe’d them was solved. There were still too many awkward moments on the back line that led to the general assessment of "uncharacteristic" being the most fitting word to describe the game. The usual rock-steady defense had an off night, but the offensive connectively showed promise in the wake of that.
"The defensive side of the ball let us down tonight," Noonan said in his opening statement before going on to point out how the direct balls Atlanta plays challenged the center backs and the way they tried to clear balls out of their box may not have been assured enough.
"We allowed them to control way too many of those plays," Noonan explained. "And credit to them, they did a good job of those moments. But we could be more physical, anticipate plays better to not allow them to then attack with space."
The dagger came in the 94th minute, with only four minutes of added time shown in the first place, where the FC Cincinnati high defensive line that had been pushing for a goal was exposed and left Jamal Thieré alone for a breakaway that he would convert. A moment born from the fact that FCC was sending all they could forward to try to find an equalizer.
"At the end of the day, it's a loss," Valenzuela said. "But I mean it was just really based off our mistakes. How they scored, the whole game, I think. We were the better team, but at the end of the day it's a loss…and we will learn from that."
What comes next for FC Cincinnati is hard to interpret, but the answer will certainly come quick. Rather, what's literally next is quickly approaching, but the approach to it is unclear.
While this outcome was, by their own admission, a disappointment, it was also a bit of an anomaly. There is no pattern of behavior to suggest the defense, regardless of who has played in it, will perform like it did on Sunday again. But the desire to learn from these moments is understandable.
The alternative, and equally possible path forward, is that with a game just 68 hours after this one, you can take that understanding of self and move on from this. Flush it away and refocus for Wednesday against Dallas.
"I don't think we were sharp enough, whether it be on defensive set pieces or just moments in the final third. I think it's just one of those games where it's kind of a wakeup call and we just have to bounce back," Robinson said, providing his opinion on that. "Luckily we can in two days, so we just have to shift the focus to Dallas."
"We'll have time to dissect that. I think it's still too early to talk about what we take from this game," Noonan said, closing his press conference. "Got to let it settle a little bit, but we will look for a quick turnaround and prepare for Dallas."
