FC Cincinnati Beat: Orange and Blue survive to beat Portland in “playoff environment,” regain first place in Eastern Conference

CINCINNATI — FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan wasn’t mincing words when describing the environment at Providence Park in Portland Saturday night.

“That was a playoff environment,” Noonan said. “Credit to the fans tonight, the energy in the stadium was outstanding. It makes the game more enjoyable and more meaningful, because they were in it from the beginning, even when we took the lead, even when we got the third goal.

“The second half was what a road game feels like in a great environment in the playoffs. So, it’s good experience for us.”

Playing in his first match in Portland since being traded to FC Cincinnati this past season, Cincinnati All-Star midfielder Evander scored in the 36th minute to give the Orange and Blue what seemed like a commanding 3-0 lead.

Facing a boisterous Providence Park crowd that was chanting explicitly at their former All-Star, Evander and Cincinnati were able to withstand it and survive a second-half rally from the Portland Timbers for a 3-2 road win and a much-needed three points.

“I think tonight just showed that we are together as a group. Like a team for real, because I think they felt the same way that I did, like, I think that they had the same feelings,” Evander said about his team being able to overcome adversity on the road in a raucous environment. “Even before the game where we were together on the pitch, they’re like, ‘Let’s do this for Evander, let’s play, let’s win this game’ because I think (the chants) was a little bit too much.”

With Philadelphia losing on Saturday, Cincinnati is now back in first place in the Eastern Conference at 16-7-4 (52 points), which is also tied with San Diego FC for the most points in MLS overall.

“There’s so many strong teams that are pushing for a Supporter’s Shield. The margins are small. You can see with results tonight just how difficult it’s going to be for teams going on the road to get results, teams fighting for playoff spots,” Noonan said. “This is what the games are going to feel like all the way through. And you’re not guaranteed anything because you’re at the top of the table playing against teams that are behind you or even towards the bottom.

“Every game is going to feel like this for us if we want to be in the same position when it ends.”

But having a player like Evander that can go out and set the tone in a match with as much intensity as Saturday night had is what can propel Cincinnati to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and the Supporter’s Shield.

In the second minute Saturday night, Evander gave an extra shove to Portland goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau as he was kicking the ball away. The foul was called, but the tone had been set.

“To be honest, I feel like the way he went out there and played the way he did, for me, he’s always so confident and I feel like there was just like an extra edge to what he was doing,” FC Cincinnati defender Nick Haaglund said. “He’s like, I’m gonna prove to you all that I made the right decision. He was gonna do everything tonight to put the team on his back and carry us in a way to victory. I saw that in his eyes from the beginning. I think he wanted to make a statement, and we wanted to make sure he knew we had his back the whole way.”

Backed by earlier goals by Kevin Denkey and Pavel Bucha, FC Cincinnati led 3-0 36 minutes into the match with boos from Portland’s supporters’ section, “The Timbers Army,” raining down.

Portland got on the board two minutes later and cut the deficit to 3-2 in the 68th minute, and they had multiple chances to draw even in the final 22 minutes and eight minutes of extra time.

Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano made three saves to preserve the win, the ninth road win for Cincinnati this season to lead Major League Soccer.

“Another good showing on the defensive side of the ball in the box, with how much Portland threw at us,” Noonan said. “They were technically strong, physically strong, and trying to push the game. And that’s normal when you’re on the road.”

FC Cincinnati now returns home for three straight matches against Eastern Conference playoff hopefuls in New York City FC, Philadelphia and Nashville SC.

The homestand starts next Saturday against NYCFC (12-8-5, 41 points), currently in eighth place in the Eastern Conference but coming off a 2-1 home win against Nashville SC.

NYCFC beat FC Cincinnati 1-0 at Citi Field back on May 4th, so FC Cincinnati will be looking for revenge in a crucial home match.

“It’s good pressure,” Noonan said about FC Cincinnati’s one-point lead atop the Eastern Conference and Supporter’s Shield standings. “The players understand it. I’ve said this through the whole process, when we were at the top, when we when we dropped off, it’s going to be that way all the way through.”