CINCINNATI — FCC is dealing with a sluggish start to the 2026 season.
Toronto FC right wing Dániel Sallói found the right side of the net on a sharp dribbler to break a scoreless tie in the 86th minute. It proved to be the game-winner in a 1-0 win, Toronto’s first of the season.
FC Cincinnati (1-2-0, 3 points) had numerous chances to equalize but could not find the net. Cincinnati had 13 shots, including two on goal, while out-passing Toronto 461-346 and winning the possession battle 55.8 to 44.2%.
Last year’s leading scorer and All-Star, Evander, returned from injury and had a good look in the 92nd minute for Cincinnati, but his shot sailed high over the net and into the Cincinnati supporter’s section.
“A lot [is not coming together],” head coach Pat Noonan said. “You can’t pinpoint one thing: how we progress the ball, how creative we are in one-v-one moments, decision making in and around goal. It’s all of it. You can see it. You can feel it. There are not a lot of ideas and confidence when we have the ball. So again, that’s on me, because we got to find solutions.”
Toronto (1-2-0, 3 points) was held in check offensively for a majority of the match. But when it needed to, it started putting pressure on Cincinnati’s backline. It culminated in Sallóis’s game-winning goal, his first goal of the season.
It was a gritty effort by Toronto FC, playing its third straight road match to start the season and coming off two straight losses to start their 2026 campaign.
Toronto keeper, Luka Gavran, stood strong in goal, making two saves and getting help from a strong Toronto backline, which accumulated 19 clearances.
Cincinnati had just 12 clearances and allowed seven shots on goal.
“A lot of things that we saw from the first couple of games were pretty similar tonight, different personnel, but they defended the ball well,” Noonan said. “And it’s hard to discredit what they’re doing and say that wasn’t a factor, because despite how poor we were, they defended better than we had.”
Roman Celentano countered for Cincinnati with six saves. Celentano’s biggest save of the night came in the 84th minute, when he deflected a shot from Toronto forward Deandre Kerr over the net and out of play. Unfortunately, he conceded the game-winning goal just a minute later.
Sunday night’s match featured a lot of physicality, with 25 fouls and two yellow cards on each side.
There were multiple calls, or lack thereof, in the first half that were questionable and caused restlessness within the home Cincinnati crowd. Some caused prolonged stoppages in the action, contributing to the extra time added in the respective halves. Eleven combined minutes of stoppage time were added, four in the first half and seven in the second half.
“Another underwhelming performance,” Noonan said. “The team’s not good enough right now, and that’s on me.”
Cincinnati’s next MLS regular-season match is next Sunday at the New England Revolution.
