There it is hey full time whistle, Hey win against their arrival. That's Cincinnati take a one game advantage here in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs.
They are dancing in the bailey tonight here in the.
Queen City, go baby sounds of victory before twenty three thousand and three seventy one. Last night, FC Cincinnati defeated the Columbus Crew one nill in the MLS Cup playoff, the opener of the series, best of three at TQL Stadium. The breakthrough goal in the seventy eighth minute from Kevin Denke sent the Orange and Blue ahead and on to victory. The Orange and Blue now head to Columbus on Sunday one went away from advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
For more on that, let's go straight to the source. You just heard his voice. Now let's hear more from the voice of FC Cincinnati. That would be the man they call Tommy g Temmy G Letter, Tommy, how are you Lance?
I'm doing.
I got some chicken on the grid tonight. Yes, Cincinnati won last night. I mean the weather's still.
Holding out pretty nice.
Life is good, my friend, no doubt, And it seems only fitting that a guy who delivered game winning goals throughout this season delivered a mighty big one last night.
Yeah.
Absolutely, I mean you could see kind of the hunger in the way that he was playing throughout the match. Kevin made it a comment I think it was late in the first half about how impressed he was the way that Kevin was holding up the ball in the attack, and you know, he was getting the ball with his back to the goal and doing a good job and letting the rest of the attack try to do their job. And you know they hadn't seen the result on it,
but there were positives there. And it was look at the first playoff game for Kevin Denke in his MLS career,
and you could tell that he wanted it. And man, he scored a bunch of game winning goals during the regular season, and he missed one if you remember early in the second half, or was that ball across that he's kind of just timed poorly and got too late actually and missed on it, and it should have been a tapping and and a lead earlier in the half, and instead he gets that one a bit later in the half, and uh, really set that place on fire.
It was.
It was fun to watch, and uh yeah, a very worthy game winner for number nine.
Over the years, the crew has had a pretty annoying habit of finding ways to get back in and make the comebacks. But the D, the Orange of Blue d locked them down last night.
Yeah, I think annoying thing is a is a really good way to put it, you know it. I often feel like, listen, if I'm calling the game, the people who are tuning in, they don't want.
To hear about the history. But it's also my job to explain the history.
Right the Eastern Conference final two nail lead evaporated. There was a lot of two nil leads, Yes, that had evaporated as recently as July, So listen there, that wasn't going to happen last night. And and but still in the back of everybody's heads, they're a little bit concerned about it, and rightfully so, because Columbus had had a pretty good record. It's six previous games in Tikios Stadium
they only lost once, three draws and two wins. So you know, when you factor all that in, you're like, all right, the defense often sets the tone for this team, and I thought they did last night. The back line was very very good Romancell and Tino gets his fifth clean sheet in ten career playoff games.
Think about that, every other.
Game in his playoff career, and it's it's young, only four years in he's had ten games, but every other game he's had a clean sheet basically. So you know, if you're FC Cincinnati had to be really happy with what they did defensively, and I think it's important to remember that they did it no Matt Miosga, No Lucas Engel, who's been playing at left wing back and at left center back, so he's an important part of the defensive unit, and no Luca or Asano, who generally.
Plays at left wing back. So you know, three.
Guys who really could have been starters in this match were not available for pat noon. And I know Luca was on the bench, but he did not feature. So I think I think, all things considered, it was the effort that everybody, as they watched the film today should feel pretty good about Alvis Pwell, big sub in the seventieth minute, and you just referenced the moving parts and injuries.
And I talked with Chris Albright on the show last week about how the depth assembled has certainly continued to pay off for this club.
Yeah it has. And that's his job, right and that's what he's been working so hard on is figuring out all of the right pieces for this f C Cincinnati team. And I think he knew, you know, going into the summer window that there were some holes and some places
where seasons had needed some more depth. Now, Alvis wasn't one of the guys who came on, but Alvis is the guy that he brought back in twenty twenty two after I was left in twenty nineteen, you know, not on good terms obviously with a different you know, different group running the club at the moment. But when Alvis left and then when I was you know, tipped off that he was coming back, I remember my reaction, I.
Went, what why? Like the way he left? How what? What are these new guys doing? Well?
Man shows why they're in their seats and I'm in mind up in the booth lance. But you know, the depth has been great, and listen, I give all the credit. I think I put it out on my social media today, like the Alvis pile to be able to come in and I had talked to Omar Cummings earlier in the day also from Jamaica with what's going on there today with the hurricane, and to have the focus and I think Caleb no from Chanda nine did a good job
of telling a story last night. But listen, like to come in and know that your family is all back in Jamaica and facing one of the most catastrophic storms that country has ever seen, if not the most catastrophic storm, you know they've ever seen, and to come in and have your focus on the match for fifteen to twenty minutes and help your team win. Man, big, big love for Jamaica and Alvis Pole at this moment.
You mentioned Roman cellentitle. That was his second match back from that quad injury he suffered in US national camp. No ill effects continue to show up, and he was certainly on it last night.
Yeah, he looked great, didn't he.
You know, he's been he just continues to be great in his fourth year. You know, we talked about it during the pregame show last night because they honored Alec Cann before the match, and Alex was brought in to be the starter for FC Cincinnati. This was his big opportunity coming to Cincinnati. You know, they had had some
goalkeeping issues. Alex was going to stabilize all that, and to be fair, he did through seven matches and then he was warming up to be the backup for a US Open Cup game back in what it was that April of twenty twenty two. He had just had a clean sheet against Atlanta and he got hurt warming up, and.
So Pat had a decision to make for the next game.
Are you going to go with you know, Kenneth Romire, who was in the mix of the second stringer, You can go to your third string guy, Roman selling Ton will give him a chance against LAFC. And he went with Roman, and Roman was so good and Alec had a little bit of a setback.
Was unlucky that by the time that Roman came back, or I mean by the time.
Alec was healthy, there's no way you could say Roman and that's nothing you know to say about ale it can but Roman was that good and he never looked back at four years later, He's a guy who has five playoff shutouts and you know, ten starts. So yeah, I think Roman, you know, just just keeps getting better and better and you kind of forget he's still young, you know, as far as goalkeepers are considered in this league, but yet I'd still refer to him as a veteran goalkeeper.
We heard the roar of the crowd on that highlight. I bumped in with, how about the energy of twenty three thousand plus last night?
Yeah, it was pretty fun. Lance. You know, it's just listen.
All the games of Tiko Stadium are fun because our fans here in the city are unbelievable. But that playoff energy and then you bring in Columbus on top of it.
You didn't crank it up one notch. It was like six or seven notches.
I would say as far as the energy was turned up last night, But no, I think listen, these fans are so so important to the players. They feel that energy that place erupted when when the goal was scored, And listen, we're going to continue to need it right whether you know there's a game three or the next game is not for a couple of weeks at home.
I know a lot of.
People, my families making them drive up north one hundred miles, will be there on Sunday at six thirty for Game two. And the players appreciate, the coaches appreciate that everybody evoll does.
And man, it sure makes those highlights sound sweet, doesn't it. It absolutely does.
Look ahead, give me a thought on Sunday, a chance to close it out in their house would be sweet and beneficual.
Yeah, yeah, no doubt. I think you know you don't want to come home now. You got to find a way to replicate the game plan, as Pat Newton said, and get back to Cincinnati and then you get some rest.
You still, you know, Mami Asa it sounds like he's going to be out for a bit, but then you can start to get some guys healthy, right and ready for what would you know, potentially it's not guaranteed that it's Miami, but we know that that's what's kind of lurking there, right and we could see Miami in that conference semi final. But the good news is it will be here. Right then we'll see what happens if they win that
one and how it plays out. But I would say for this Sunday, like now, Columbus is feeling the pressure and they didn't score in the game, so they're gonna have to try to find a way, you know, to get better opportunities in front of the goal and Listen, they're one of the best coach teams.
In the league.
Will for Nancy does a fantastic job. They'll tweak a few things. They're not going to stray from the game plan. I don't think they're gonna make any wholesale changes, But I do think the pressure is on the crew on Sunday night, and if Sea think they can go in with that same mentality and follow the game plan like they did last night, then they should be able to
go get the win. They're the better team and you know, come back, celebrate and enjoy a little bit of time off before they continue that stretch of the playoffs that hopefully goes all the way to the first week of December.
Final thought, Did I detect? Did I spy a double high five between you and Kevin and the booth last night?
Yeah? You just called that right as you came on the air.
Huh, Yes, he double I mean, listen, come on, Kevin Deankaks scores that late in the match to win, you know, potentially a score game win against your arrival.
I mean, I just spelled like sometimes you gotta you gotta go first. Listen.
Kevin was happy that I didn't try to body check him out of the boot like a couple of weeks ago.
So he was.
He was very happy that that there was no charges of assault.
Or anything along those lines.
For now, the Double High five, we'll see, we'll see where things land going forward. Especially uh, if the Ones of Blue can get this win on Sunday, well we'll take the booths cam North for sure.
I like that. I like that very much.
Hey, I appreciate you making time as always, always enjoyed the conversation.
Thank you anytime. Lance, appreciate you all right, take care