The duality of a draw: mixed emotions.
Some can feel like wins, others like losses. FC Cincinnati’s 2-2 result at Houston Dynamo on Saturday falls somewhere in between.
FC Cincinnati headed to Shell Energy Stadium below the Eastern Conference playoff line, and the hard-earned point was enough to put the Orange and Blue back in control of a Wild Card position.
How they did it, and who they did it against, could make Saturday’s result feel like more of a statement than a silver lining in their bid to earn a little more cushion come Decision Day.
“I think it could be a deciding moment in this stretch run,” head coach Pat Noonan said postgame. “We have nine games left in the season, and every game is going to be so important to pick up points, and that's because of the position that we're in, where we're fighting for a playoff spot.”
Like last week’s 3-3 draw with Charlotte FC, Saturday’s trip to Houston was rare in dull moments. Also like last week, Kévin Denkey and Bryan Ramirez came up clutch for a gritty comeback.
Denkey got a foot on a ball to Ramirez to start the rally, and once again, had nerves of steel from the spot for a stoppage-time equalizer.
But the path there left a lot to overcome, and that might be an understatement.
Finding themselves down 2-0 via a wonderstrike free kick from Dynamo star Guilherme and a penalty conversion from Mateusz Bogusz, FCC had to throw caution to the wind and get something out of the game.
With 39 minutes to undo the deficit, the possibility of escaping Houston with a point ranged from feeling improbable to frustratingly impossible at times.
Also worth noting, it all had to be staged against a Houston side with the fourth-fewest goals allowed in the league.
It all added up to a lot for Noonan to unpack.
“I would say slow first half as far as engagement, ideas, trying to be a little bit more assertive,” he explained. “And Houston was good on the counter and caught us in a couple of moments, but it was the difference of a nice free kick, and we go into the break in a worse state than we would like. But in the second half, outside of the goal we concede from a throw-in and how we let the play get behind us, just a couple of moments where we overcommit.
“That, for me, I would say, is on the disappointment side.”
Seizing the opportunity to make it a tale of two halves, though, the Orange and Blue outshot their host 20-3 in the second frame. Despite dominating possession at a 62% rate, they did not hit pay dirt until the 73rd minute when Denkey connected with Ramirez for the breakthrough.
A second goal felt far from promised as Cincinnati threw the proverbial kitchen sink at Dynamo goalkeeper Jonathan Bond, who tallied six sizzle-reel-worthy saves on the evening, but ultimately came up short against Denkey, who buried the equalizer for his now team-leading 14th goal of the season.
“The rest of the half was as good as we played all year,” Noonan continued. “And to do it on the road and against an in-form Houston team, a consistent Houston team, a team that doesn't concede a whole lot, the chances that we created in that second half, and to find two goals…I was really pleased with the group because I think that's an important point.”
As Cincinnati relentlessly challenged Houston’s box in the sweltering Texas summer heat, the second-half hydration break halted some serious momentum, but also offered Noonan a chance to instruct his group to keep swinging.
“How can I sit there and be mad at the group and talk about adjustments? There was nothing to adjust,” shared Noonan. "...The play was excellent. They pushed the game in a really good way, and so I wanted them to feel in that moment that yeah, you're on the front foot, but you have to keep pushing and not be too concerned with all these chances that we were missing.”
Visibly about as animated as he gets, anyone watching could see Noonan’s conviction in that message.
“...Keep pushing the game, and maybe something good happens, and it did,” Noonan continued. “And so I was really pleased with that aspect of it because sometimes I'm not that animated, and I want them to see my calm for them to feel calm, and in that moment I wanted them to feel that there was something there for us to get out of this game.”
FC Cincinnati kept their feet on the gas in the response, ending in special moments for Saturday’s scorers.
Denkey’s equalizer, albeit from the spot, was well-earned after a night of frustrating near misses, including a point-blank opportunity that could have started Cincinnati’s comeback in the 60th minute.
“He has the moment where he's in on goal, and Bond makes a really good save,” Noonan described. “And you're kind of thinking this is kind of how the season's been. In moments like that, where immediately the momentum can change, we don't find that last action.
“But because he has a strong mentality and desire to continue to work and help the team, he still finds two moments to help us get two goals and a draw out of the game.”
Persistence also paid off for Ramirez. The Ecuador international opened the year as a regular starter, but has seen a steady dip in workload over the last several weeks.
Opening the scoring in Saturday’s comeback, and playing super-sub in back-to-back weeks, is a positive response to a recent pep talk.
“It felt like there was a drop in confidence and engagement a little bit, and so we had a really good conversation a couple of days ago,” Noonan explained. “Helping him to understand that the expectation is more as far as the positioning and the attack, and I wouldn't say urgency, but the confidence to be more productive for us…That was a lot of what we've been speaking about. And I think tonight we saw a much better performance and level of engagement from Bryan.”
The result leaves the Orange and Blue in ninth place with an 8W-8L-9T record, a game in hand over the majority of their Eastern Conference peers, and a home-heavy remaining schedule as they aim to close a 10-point gap to get back in the picture for a hosting seed.
“This isn't about everything being pretty now, or style,” Noonan said of the opportunity. “...We were able to get an important point, and so for the psyche of the group and how to be on the road, like I said, against a strong opponent and push the game like that.”
“How do we get more of that urgency, but not recklessness?”
Up next, FC Cincinnati travel to CF Montréal on September 26, a side they bested in a 4-3 win in March, almost fittingly on a comeback capped off with a stoppage-time winner from Denkey.
