FC Cincinnati hopes for a resurgent Evander to make noise in the midfield when they travel to New York City Football Club.
FC Cincinnati and New York City will square off from Yankee Stadium on April 22. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET with the match airing globally on Apple TV. The Official English Radio home of FC Cincinnati, iHeart Media ESPN 1530, and the official Spanish Radio home – La Mega 101.5 FM – will broadcast the match.
Evander, a MLS MVP finalist last year, scored his first goal of the season on a penalty kick late in FCC’s last game, a 3-3 draw against Chicago. He had his season high for total shots, seven. Some of them early on were well off target, and he admitted he was anxious in the first half.
“I’ve been challenging myself to to get back on helping the team, get back on scoring the goals,” he said. “Hopefully it opens up for a lot of goals this season. I’m trying to manage the most chill way as possible. Kind of anxious in the first half. I had a couple chances that I could have scored. You get a little bit anxious and sometimes it just needs to be calm.”
He was not credited with an assist on the night, but his playmaking was a big part in setting up all three goals.
His setup pass to Bryan Ramirez in transition led to the team’s first goal by Tom Barlow, when Ramirez fired a hard shot from the wing and the rebound went to Barlow in front of the goal.
Evander set up his own penalty kick by delivering a well-placed pass to Gerardo Valenzuela in the box, allowing him to draw a foul from Chicago. Evander then set up the tying goal in stoppage time, delivering a free kick near the goal line that pressured a Chicago player into deflecting the ball into the net for an own-goal.
“We know how what a special player he is and how important he is for us,” said Barlow. “So, I think our job is just keep feeding him, and we know what he can do, and it’s just a matter of time before he finds the net, and he did tonight. So just keep feeding him, and letting him do his thing.”
Goalkeeper Roman Celentano enjoys watching the offense when they’re on the other side of the pitch.
“A lot of times when he has the ball and we’re going forward in the attacking third,” he said. “You’re looking at the play, and it’s all right, there’s an easy option here, an easy option here. And then he has the confidence and the vision to go for a difficult option, which ends up being a better chance on goal. So he sees stuff a lot of us can’t see and do things a lot of us can’t do. So it’s just, really cool to watch him play the game and be effective for us in that final third.”
Evander makes Brazilian history, talks Neymar rumors
Evander scored the 43rd MLS goal of his career against Chicago, tying Wélton (1996-2000) for the most goals (43) by a Brazilian in the league’s history.
Evander celebrated his goal by mimicking a trademark gesture by fellow Brazilian Neymar, putting an outstretched hand on each side of his head to look like antlers. The 34-year old superstar has been linked with FC Cincinnati on contract talks.
“I saw the same news as you guys,” Evander said. “I don’t know nothing about it, but, of course, if the club can make this happen, I think it will be very, very helpful for all the players. All the players got excited, and it’s a chance for us to play with one of the big names in the past few years. As a Brazilian, of course, one of my idols, it would be nice.”
Kenji Mboma Dem does well in first MLS start
Fresh off his first Major League Soccer goal at Toronto, 24-year old Kenji Mboma Dem drew his first MLS start up front against Chicago.
After being selected with the No. 56 overall selection in MLS SuperDraft 2024 by FC Cincinnati, the France native signed an MLS NEXT Pro contract with FC Cincinnati 2 ahead of the 2024 season. Mboma Dem scored seven goals and five assists across 18 appearances, 17 of which were starts, in his first season with the team.
He played four MLS games with the team last year and also played in the Leagues Cup games in August. He scored twice in the 9-0 laugher over O&M FC in February in the Champions Cup.
“Kenji was strong,” Noonan said. “What he brings is a level of calm and composure on the ball. He’s taking in information in training and has good game understanding. You saw that on display tonight, because a lot of the things that we talked about in the leadup that we thought we could be effective with and causing some problems with, he recognized a lot of those things. That part was good, and with our group, there are still a lot of careless turnovers. There are a lot of moments where it’s an isolated decision where we lose possession in ways where it’s really difficult to defend in transition. I didn’t think Kenji was involved in very many of those moments. I thought he had a really good idea of how to play with his back to goal, how to switch play, how to control the ball and play under pressure.”
Mboma Dem said it’s the confidence of putting what he learns on the training grounds to use in the game.
Said Mboma Dem: “We’re a team. We practice together every week. So we kind of get those connections going during training, and then it comes again and it’s being comfortable enough and trusting in them, and them trusting in me. That’s how it kind of clicks together.
Cincinnati player availability issues
Cincinnati will not have starting left wingback Bryan Ramirez available, as he is suspended because of yellow card accumulation.
Matt Miazga and Obinna Nwobodo will likely not be available for NYCFC or for this weekend’s home game against Red Bull New York due to injury issues. Miles Robinson is day to day with an undisclosed injury taken against Chicago.
A look at New York City Football Club
NYCFC (3-3-2) is tied for seventh in the Eastern Conference with 11 points. Cincy is 2-4-2 for 8 points, tied for ninth.
NYCFC hasn’t won in MLS play since March 14, a 3-1 win over Colorado. They have lost to Miami (3-2) and Charlotte (2-1) at home, and 2-0 at Supporters’ Shield leader Vancouver. They have also drawn St. Louis 1-1 at home.
While they have been struggling at Yankee Stadium of late, they have won three straight home games over Cincinnati. Cincinnati lost a pair of 1-0 decisions to NYCFC in 2025, and have lost four straight overall counting the 2024 playoffs, though one of those went to penalty kicks after a 0-0 draw. .
Nicolas Fernandez, a 26-year old from Argentina, leads the offense with six goals. The team is tied for third overall in the Eastern Conference with 15 goals scored, two off Nashville for first. The defense has allowed 11, sixth in the conference.
The universal constant for New York has been Kevin O’Toole, who has played every minute of every match this season. The New Jersey native is in his fifth season with the club and has been a staunch defender for them in his 88 appearances. He starts at left back for the side. Center back Thiago Martins, who is also in his fifth season with the club and has logged over 25 league appearances in all of them to this point. Martins is a Brazilian born defender who had made his name known in his native Brazil and Japan before coming to Major League Soccer.
In net for New York is another star in Matt Freese, who, of late, has become the goalkeeper of choice for the United States Men’s National Team and is off to another hot start in Major League Soccer. The keeper is in his third year as starter for NYCFC and in 2025 the Pennsylvania native was named a Finalist for MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati facing another road test at NYCFC
Reporting by James Weber, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
