Atlanta United begins the final stretch of their 2026 season at home against FC Cincinnati, a team that beat them 2-0 to open the campaign. While few people are talking playoffs at this point, it’s at least a chance for Atlanta to keep itself at least somewhat in the hunt. For more on FC Cincy, we chatted with Geoff Tebbetts from Cincinnati Soccer Talk.
We know this is a side that can definitely put the ball in the net. Evander is on 13g/13a this season while Kevin Denkey is on 14 goals and on pace to surpass his total from last year. But they’ve given up 64 goals as well (second-worst in MLS). Why has this defense struggled so much?
I think the defense is playing worse than the “sum of their parts.” While the defense was good in the past under Pat Noonan, there has been reliability on the returns of glory days. Both Matt Miazga and Nick Hagglund had debilitating injuries over the past few years, and there hasn’t been much added value from both this season. Miazga had his contract bought out, and Hagglund has fallen down the pecking order, to the point that non-center-backs such as Sami Gidi and Kyle Smith have been favored.
There also seems to be a void regarding leadership in the back line. While Miles Robinson still exhibits talent to shut down players one-on-one, his style of leadership appears to be more from leading by example and less as a vocal presence. That puts a lot of demand on players who are not used to being vocal.
In the end, there’s also a discipline concern. Cincinnati are second in the league in red cards, uncharacteristic of a Noonan-led squad. They have also given up a league-leading 10 penalties and have saved only one. Those nine goals are the difference between a positive and negative goal differential.
Hindsight is 20/20, but FCC have dropped seven points from penalty kicks alone. It’s hard to blame all of the penalties for that, but those lost points would put Cincinnati safely in the playoff hunt.
What’s the sentiment around Pat Noonan among Cincinnati fans? Just a few years back, the club won its first trophy in the MLS era, but now it sits in 10th place in the East and outside of a playoff spot going into Saturday.
It depends on the megaphone you hear the sentiments from. If you ask people who frequent the matches and follow the team from the stands, they will likely support another season with Noonan and general manager Chris Albright at the helm, as long as sensible changes come to the roster for the 2027 sprint season.
However, the voices on social media are more panicked, as they are seeing madness from the same things happening over and over again in 2026. We’re not too far from the Wooden Spoon years—we did come in last in 2021, even with great offensive output from the likes of Lucho Acosta and Brenner.
It doesn’t help that the city of Cincinnati has been an underdog for so long. The Reds underperformed this year, and the Bengals couldn’t get their defense figured out last season. At some point, fans are going to look at Pat Noonan and see the ghosts of Dusty Baker and Marvin Lewis—managers known for getting teams to the playoffs, but never further.
From what you can see right now, is Cincinnati a playoff team? If so, where do you see its ceiling?
At this point, FCC look to barely qualify for the playoffs at best and miss it completely at worst. The Noonan teams from the past four years had been solid in squeezing out wins and draws on the road. They were in the Top 3 in away points the past three seasons. In 2025, they took 11 of their 20 wins on the road.
This year, the leaky defense is turning close wins into losses. They have only one road win in 14 attempts — only CF Montreal is worse on the road in the East this season, and they have a game in hand.
It doesn’t help that Evander’s status to close out the season is cloudy. He’ll miss Saturday’s match against Atlanta, and it’s not clear if he’ll be back quickly. Considering that he has yet to score in the MLS Cup Playoffs, it’s hard to predict if we get the MVP caliber Evander or the playoff-caliber Evander going into the final months of play.
The ceiling will depend on how the summer-window transfers mesh with the squad. Right-back David Doudera should work well with fellow Czech Pavel Bucha, but we’re not sure how center-back Julian Malatini or left-back Tyrell Malacia will do. This is a team that badly needs protection at the back, and further lapses will make 2026 a lost cause.