SKC falls 2-1 in Cincy

FC Cincinnati earned their fifth straight win with a 2-1 result over the visiting Sporting Kansas City side. Sporting KC played well against one of the top Eastern Conference squads but could not hold Kevin Denkey in check. The FC Cincinnati Designated Player scored both goals for the home team. Zorhan Bassong scored just before stoppage time to narrow the lead to one.

Denkey was easily the star of the match with two goals. His first came late in the first half after SKC had restricted their opponent’s chances for most of the first half. Cincinnati’s Lukas Engel was able to get a shot from the edge of the box. John Pulskamp dove to make the save, but the ball rebounded to Denkey, who drove the ball low to his near post for the goal.

Sporting KC was able to stop an initial attempt from a corner kick but did not clear the ball out of danger. The ball cycled back out to the corner kick taker Luca Orellano. He controlled the ball and was able to put another cross into the SKC box. Denkey scored his second of the match with a spectacular bicycle kick in the 78th minute.

Ridiculous bicycle kick from Denkey for the brace. #SportingKC #CINvSKC #FCCincy pic.twitter.com/sRKfo0PawG

— Chad Smith (@PlayFor90) April 26, 2025

The visitors made it close in the 89th minute. SKC was applying late pressure when Erik Thommy was able to slide the ball out to Bassong. The Sporting KC midfielder lasered a shot into the goal. It was Bassong’s first goal as a professional.

Bassong with the first goal of his professional career! 1-2 #SportingKC #CINvSKC pic.twitter.com/xgqO7QWope

— KC Soccer Journal (@KCSoccerJournal) April 26, 2025

Sporting KC has been trying to find themselves under Interim Head Coach Kerry Zavagnin. It was just his fourth match in charge, and despite the loss, he is seeing positive signs. “I believe that was our best game of the year,” Zavsgnin told media after the match. “You can never control the result. Although we think we can, it’s tough to control the result. It took a goal of the year to beat us today. We came in and we knew it was going to be a very difficult place to come. They’re a good team, a really good team. The environment is intimidating if you walk in with any sort of fear. And they’re exceptional in transitions. They have an MVP type player who’s on pace for that kind of year in Evander. I told the guys it was our best performance organizationally from the defensive perspective. It was one moment, the goal that they scored. It was one moment. But we’re getting better and better in how we’re looking at defending the game, so I’m really proud of the guys top to bottom. It doesn’t feel good. It doesn’t feel good when you want to be a championship-caliber team. It doesn’t feel good, but the progress that they’ve made is noticeable.”

Let us know your thoughts in the comments. Was it their best match so far? Are they showing progress?

The data:

Sporting Kansas City: John Pulskamp; Khiry Shelton (Andrew Brody 86′), Jansen Miller, Robert Voloder, Logan Ndenbe; Jacob Bartlett, Manu Garcia, Nemanja Radoja (Zorhan Bassong 66′); Shapi Suleymanov (Stephen Afrifa 86′), Dejan Joveljic, Daniel Salloi (C) (Erik Thommy 73′)

Subs Not Used: Ryan Schewe, Ian James, Tim Leibold, Memo Rodriguez, Mason Toye

FC Cincinnati: Roman Celentano; DeAndre Yedlin, Miles Robinson, Matt Miazga (C) (Sergio Santos 63′), Nick Hagglund, Lukas Engel (Brad Smith 86′); Pavel Bucha, Brian Anunga (Obinna Nwobodo 63′), Evander; Luca Orellano (Alvas Powell 85′), Kevin Denkey (Corey Baird 90+1′)

Subs Not Used: Gilberto Flores, Evan Louro, Stefan Chirila, Gerardo Valenzuela

Scoring Summary:
CIN – Kevin Denkey 5 (unassisted) 43′
CIN – Kevin Denkey 6 (Luca Orellano 2) 78′
SKC – Zorhan Bassong 1 (Erik Thommy 2, Andrew Brody 1) 89′

Misconduct Summary:
CIN – Brian Anunga (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 17′
SKC – Dejan Joveljic (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 65′
CIN – Kevin Denkey (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 79′

Referee: Allen Chapman
Assistant Referee: Logan Brown
Assistant Referee: Giani Facchini
Fourth Official: Thomas Snyder
VAR: Fotis Bazakos
AVAR: Craig Lowry