FC Cincinnati came back to TQL Stadium on Saturday night to host Chicago Fire FC in an Eastern Conference match in the Queen City, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. and the game airing as the MLS Walmart Saturday Night Showdown on Apple TV. It was Pride Night at TQL Stadium, with the club and community planning to celebrate, support and honor the LGBTQIA+ community.
The return home mattered because FC Cincinnati had not played at TQL Stadium for nearly a month, and Pat Noonan said the team needed to be more consistent at home and away. Cincinnati entered at 4-1-0 at TQL Stadium in all competitions this season and had scored twice in the final 10 minutes to beat CF Montréal in its previous home match. Noonan said that result showed the team could finish, but not that it had solved its inconsistency.
The numbers around the roster made the night more delicate. FC Cincinnati had received a red card in each of its last four matches, and the club was again dealing with absences. Miles Robinson was available as of Thursday after injury, Matt Miazga was out because of injury, and Kévin Denkey was suspended after the red card he earned last week. Noonan said the group had to be more consistent in availability and that injuries and suspensions had left the team with different pieces week to week, which is not a recipe for success.
That was the tension facing Cincinnati against a Chicago side it handled well last season, when FC Cincinnati earned its first ever season sweep over the Fire. Noonan said the squad would be tested by its depth in this game, and he wanted to see which players treated the moment as a chance to step up. For a team trying to turn home form into something sturdier, Saturday offered both a reminder of what has worked at TQL Stadium and a warning about how quickly the margins can shift.
