CINCINNATI — On Saturday, the Philadelphia Union wrapped up their final road trip of the 2026 MLS regular season as they traveled to TQL Stadium to take on FC Cincinnati in an afternoon matchup.
This would be an important test for Philadelphia after clinching a berth in the MLS Cup playoffs following a midweek draw with Nashville. The Union were looking to prove they could get another result on the road against a team that, while not officially in the playoffs yet, could clinch a spot with a win over Philadelphia. Playoff seeding implications were also on the line.
And while one could argue that Philly was the better team on the day, a second-half goal from Ayoub Jabbari handed the Union their first road defeat under interim head coach Ryan Richter, as FC Cincinnati clinched a playoff spot with a 1-0 victory.
“I think it’s, we didn’t take our chances in the first half, and a couple good saves by the goalkeeper,” Richter told members of the press. “But a couple moments where if we’re a little sharper, we probably leave the first half with at least one goal. So nights like that can happen, but that’s one thing we have to definitely take away, is when we have the momentum, we have to take advantage of that.”
Prior to the match, Philadelphia reached another short-term loan agreement with defender Jordan Griffin for his second loan spell with the first team this season. He would go as an unused substitute.
Cavan Sullivan, Jesús Bueno, and Bruno Damiani returned to the squad, with Damiani earning the start alongside Ezekiel Alladoh. Cavan and Jesús began the match on the bench.
As for the partnership between Bruno and Ezekiel, it seemed there was a little frustration between the two at times as they tried to get on the same page.
But Richter did not see it that way.
“I didn’t see any frustration between the two. I saw them working very hard together and creating a lot of chances, he said. “Frustrated maybe that they didn’t take some of the chances, but I didn’t see any frustration between the two. So I think that [Alladoh] in both these last two games, he did his job in a really good way. Of course, he wants to get in on the goals and scoring and creating something, but he did the job that the team asked, and that was a real positive for him from today and from the game Wednesday.”
Other changes from the midweek match against Nashville featured Ben Bender slotting in for Indiana Vassilev on the left, as Vassilev dropped back into the midfield to partner with Jovan Lukic.
Frankie Westfield also returned to the starting eleven, with Nathan Harriel sliding back to center back alongside Neil Pierre to begin the afternoon.
Kai Wagner took the first corner of the match in the second minute. Both teams battled for position on the delivery, which was ultimately controlled by Roman Celentano.
Cincinnati returned the favor by going down the field and forcing the Union to defend a series of crosses. While Philadelphia defended the initial deliveries, they struggled to clear the ball with a series of headers until Lukic finally booted it out of danger.
Alladoh’s first real shot of the match came following a throw-in that found his foot off a header, but his attempt was ripped wide of the net.
Wagner had another quality delivery off a corner that Harriel was able to win and get his head on at the far post. Unfortunately, the chance was saved by Celentano, but it was Philadelphia’s best scoring opportunity of the half, 23 minutes into the match.
Pavel Bucha’s first shot for Cincinnati was a rocket over the net, perhaps serving as a wake-up call for the Union. Facing a club that had scored 66 goals so far on the season, Philadelphia was reminded that while it had been solid defensively, the home side could score at any moment.
Cincinnati continued building pressure on the Union as the teams approached halftime. First, Samuel Gidi’s shot took a friendly deflection that went just wide of Andre Blake. Then, moments later, after the Union were unable to clear the ball, Pavel Bucha found himself in on goal. However, Blake was able to react just quickly enough to prevent a shot.
The Union had two corner opportunities right before halftime but were unable to convert before the whistle blew.
Overall, Philly’s defense was strong on the afternoon, especially the midfield pairing of Lukic and Vassilev.
“They both had a great game, and they did their job exactly what was asked in the game, he said post match of the pair. “So happy with both of their performances.”
There were no changes for the Union at halftime. However, Evander, who was battling an illness, came on for Gidi for Cincinnati as the second half kicked off.
The Brazilian DP’s impact was felt immediately as he and Kevin Denkey played off one another, winning Cincinnati its first corner of the match, which the Union were able to clear.
Philly had another set-piece opportunity moments later, with Damiani getting his head on the ball, but it clanged off the post.
Richter’s first move to the bench was to bring on both Bueno and Cavan Sullivan for Bender and Alladoh.
Evander continued to create problems for the Union with a few quality set-piece deliveries from corners, followed by a shot that flew over the net as the home side grew into the half.
FC Cincinnati struck first in the 70th minute as Ayoub Jabbari collected the rebound from Evander’s shot. While Blake made the initial save, Jabbari was right there to finish the rebound, once again demonstrating the impact a player like Evander can have on a match.
“We’ll go through it and talk with some of the guys in the play and try to reflect on and see what we can do better, Ryan said. “And especially, yeah, with a player like Evander, you know, and a number of teams have a quality attacking player like this, they have to make sure that you close down when he gets anywhere around the goal. So for us, we have to look at it again and talk with the guys and just maybe adjust one or two things and see how we can defend that one a little bit better.”
Agustin Anello came on for Indiana Vassilev in the 74th minute, with Richter moving him alongside Damiani and pushing the Sullivan brothers out to the midfield.
Anello had a shot on goal in the 79th minute that forced Celentano to make a diving save, but Anello was eventually ruled offside.
Malik Jakupovic came on for Lukic as six minutes of stoppage time were announced.
The Union had a few late chances, including a corner that Cincinnati’s goalkeeper swiped clear of danger. Cavan also had an opportunity toward the end of the match but could not get a quality shot on net. Richter later said during his post-match press conference that he would speak with Cavan about the opportunity.
With the final whistle, the Union dropped their first road match under Richter since he took over as interim head coach. And while their previous road success was an impressive feat, the club has now gone winless in its last four matches heading into the playoffs, scoring just one goal in its last three matches.
But Bender is not as worried about the lack of goals.
“I think we were creating the chances,” Ben said. “It’s just about finishing them. So I think we have the opportunities. We had the crossbar. We had very many chances that were near goals. So I think it’s just put that in, and then we gain momentum throughout the game, and then punish the other team, but we let them get back into it.”
As for what has made the Union so successful on the road since the World Cup break, Bender had this to add.
“I think just having guys that aren’t afraid to go 1v1 at people before the World Cup break, I think we were a little bit timid playing away, but just going 1v1, being brave, making things happen,” he said. “I think we have players that can do that, that start and that come off the bench, and then yeah, it’s just having that mentality that you know wherever we go we have we have that Philly mentality where we’re gonna get stuck in and and be on the front foot.”
Philadelphia remained in sixth place following the match but is still not clear of the play-in game. With Columbus defeating D.C. United 3-0, there will be a lot at stake next week on Decision Day.
Should Philadelphia lose and both Columbus and FC Cincinnati win, the Union would most likely host Orlando City in the play-in game. That makes Saturday’s match against Toronto even more important.
“Definitely unnecessary loss, I think definitely deserve the point today. I think it was three points after chances,” Kai Wagner said. “What we saw today, what we had in front of goal. I think in the first half we didn’t work clean enough to finish our our ball wins in the front, and like we had a lot of 3v2, 4v3 situations where we just have to be smarter and play the right man and just bring a shot on goal. And I think we were really good on set pieces today. I think we had two really big chances on set pieces today, maybe even three, where we just have to score a goal. And these are the small margins. That’s what people will learn now when you go into the playoffs. Like these are the little things that have to go right, have to go your way. And I think at the end we were just not smart enough to pick up a point and lost.”
That match is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 7, at Subaru Park. The match will be available on Apple TV.
Jillian Almoney contributed to this article.
Main article photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union.
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