Kévin Denkey’s second-half brace, including a late 90’+1 equalizing goal, earned FC Cincinnati a point in a 3-3 draw with Charlotte FC Saturday night at TQL Stadium.
The Orange and Blue moved to 8-8-8 (32 points) while Charlotte moved to 11-7-7 (40 points).
Cincy struck first when Pavel Bucha scored the fastest goal for FC Cincinnati this season in the 2nd minute of action. Charlotte responded with two early goals of their own and took a 2-1 lead into halftime.
A shot by Andrei Chirila ricocheted off Kévin Denkey to even the score in the 51st minute. CLTFC pulled ahead a few minutes later to regain a one-goal lead with Idan Toklomati scoring in the 55th minute.
Cincinnati rallied to tie it up in second half stoppage time when Denkey registered his second goal and team-leading fourth brace of the season off a corner kick from substitute Bryan Ramirez.
The Orange and Blue are back in action next Saturday, September 19 at Houston Dynamo FC. Kickoff from the Lone Star State is set for 8:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. CT. The match airs globally on Apple TV and over the radio locally in English on iHeart Media Fox Sports 1360 and Spanish on La Mega 101.5 FM.
FC Cincinnati return to TQL Stadium on Wednesday, October 14 against the New England Revolution. Tickets for all remaining home matches are available at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or by calling 513-977-KICK.
AS IT HAPPENED
CIN: Pavel Bucha, GOAL – 2’ (1-0) – FCC couldn’t get a clean shot off on a first look but capitalized on a second attacking chance. Ender Echenique played a ball into the right corner for Tom Barlow, who found Pavel Bucha cutting across the box to bury the one-time finish for the opening goal.
CLT: Liel Abada, GOAL – 7’ (1-1) – A failed Cincy clearance off a dangerous cross toward the edge of the box allowed Liel Abada to chip Roman Celentano and equalize for the visitors.
CLT: Pep Biel, PENALTY KICK GOAL – 17’ (1-2) – Tom Barlow was whistled for a foul in the box to send Pep Biel to the penalty spot, where he converted to give Charlotte a 2-1 lead.
CIN: Kévin Denkey, GOAL – 51’ (2-2) – Both teams whiffed trying to control a Miles Robinson header inside the box, but Andrei Chirila pounced on the loose ball. The defender ripped a shot through traffic that deflected off the back leg of Denkey, tying the match at two goals apiece.
CLT: Idan Toklomati, GOAL – 55’ (2-3) – Rodolfo Aloko kept a long far-post cross in play with a volley back across the net for Idan Toklomati, who scored Charlotte’s third goal from point blank range.
CIN: Kévin Denkey, GOAL – 90’+1 (3-3) – The Orange and Blue converted a set piece finish in stoppage time to secure the draw. Bryan Ramírez crossed it in from the right corner, and Denkey positioned himself well in front of his marker to equalize and secure the brace.
GAME NOTES
- Kévin Denkey netted his 12th and 13th goals of the season, now tallying 35 in all competitions in his FC Cincinnati career. He surpassed Brenner for fourth on the club’s all-time leaderboard in goals scored.
- Denkey’s brace was his fifth-career two-goal performance for FC Cincinnati, his fourth in all competitions this season.
- FC Cincinnati has scored 12 stoppage time goals in all competitions this season. Denkey's 90'+1 goal marked FC Cincinnati's fourth stoppage-time equalizer this season (April 11 at TOR; April 22 at NYC; May 16 at SD).
- FC Cincinnati set an MLS club record with 29 shots.
- Pavel Bucha’s 2nd minute goal was the fastest goal scored of this season for FC Cincinnati. FCC have now scored in the 2nd minute three times in club history (Calvin Harris vs TOR – 5/4/22; Own Goal – Joel Waterman vs MTL – 5/17/23).
- Andrei Chirila recorded his first career assist on Denkey’s first goal of the evening.
- Kristian Fletcher made his MLS Regular Season debut for the club.
- Nick Hagglund logged his 10th start of the season, making him one start shy of 150 total starts for FC Cincinnati across all competitions (second in franchise history). With 176 career appearances for FC Cincinnati, he approaches Yuya Kubo’s club appearance record (179).
FC CINCINNATI GAME REPORT
FC Cincinnati vs Charlotte FC
Date: September 12, 2026
Competition: MLS Regular Season
Venue: TQL Stadium | Cincinnati, Ohio
Attendance: 25,513 (sellout)
Kickoff: 7:40 p.m. ET
Weather: 76 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
CIN: 1-2-3
CLT: 2-1-3
CIN – Pavel Bucha (Barlow, Echenique) 2’, Kévin Denkey (A. Chirila, Robinson) 51’, Kévin Denkey (Ramirez) 90’+1
CLT – Liel Abada 7’, Pep Biel – PK 17’, Idan Toklomati (Aloko, Saint-Maximin) 55’
LINEUPS
CIN: Roman Celentano, Kenji Mboma Dem (Ayoub Jabbari 85’), Andrei Chirila (Kyle Smith 74’), Nick Hagglund (Teenage Hadebe 74’), Miles Robinson (C), Ender Echenique, Samuel Gidi (Kyle Smith 85’), Pavel Bucha, Gerardo Valenzuela, Tom Barlow (Bryan Ramirez 56’), Kévin Denkey
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Alvas Powell, Stefan Chirila
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
CLT: Kristian Kahlina, Nathan Byrne, Tim Ream (C), Henry Kessler, Will Cleary (Morrison Agyemang 78’), Pep Biel, Luca De La Torre (Brandt Bronico 70’), Djibril Diani, Allan Saint-Maximin, Liel Abada (Rodolfo Aloko 44’), Idan Toklomati (Tyger Smalls 78’)
Substitutes not used: Tyler Miller, Andrew Privett, Baye Coulibaly, Jack Neely, Nathan Richmond
Head Coach: Dean Smith
STATS SUMMARY: CIN/CLT
Shots: 29 / 8
Shots on Goal: 9 / 4
Saves: 1 / 6
Corner Kicks: 12 / 3
Fouls: 6 / 10
Offside: 0 / 0
Possession: 66.7 / 33.3
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Samuel Gidi (Yellow Card) 76’
CIN – Kenji Mboma Dem (Yellow Card) 81’
CLT – Rodolfo Aloko (Yellow Card) 83’
OFFICIALS
Referee: Pierre Luc-Lauzière
Ast. Referees: Adam Garner, Jeffrey Greeson
Fourth Official: Filip Dujic
VAR: Allen Chapman
AVAR: John Krill
