Cincinnati ended winless run at ‘a very important time’, says Noonan

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan believes his side ended their winless MLS run “at a very important time”, as they now prepare to take on the New England Revolution.

After a run of six games with a victory (D3 L3), Cincinnati defeated Atlanta United 3-1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Kevin Denkey scored twice for The Orange and Blue in the second half, while Tom Barlow also got on the scoresheet to help secure all three points.

Cincinnati are ninth in the Eastern Conference with seven regular-season games remaining, five of which come at home.

“It came at a very important time, and hopefully it’s a win that can help propel us to a good stretch here, but I’m pleased for the guys, that they get to experience a win,” said Noonan.

“There are a lot of factors that make it feel special. It might be drastic, but it was important.

“It’s about winning on the road, which we haven’t done consistently, beating an Atlanta team that’s right behind us in the table and got a lot of new pieces and you can tell are improving considerably with Tata [Martino] in what they’re doing now, and so they’re a very difficult opponent for us at this moment. 

“So I’m pleased about that. I’m pleased that defensively things are looking better.”

One wasn’t enough. Twice on the scoresheet for Kévin.  https://t.co/J33AUXjouy

— FC Cincinnati (@fccincinnati) October 12, 2026

New England, meanwhile, are fourth in the East and just three points behind second-place Inter Miami.

The Revs, however, fell to a 3-0 defeat at home against the Seattle Sounders last time out.

Denkey’s brace against Atlanta took his goal tally in MLS this season to 16, the sixth-most of any player in the league.

In addition to his goals, he also led his team-mates for shots (six), touches in the box (11), and duels won (7/11), while also completing 100% of his dribbles (3/3).

New England Revolution – Peyton Miller

Miller failed to find the back of the net against Seattle after scoring three times in New England’s prior two games before the international break.

He recorded five shots against Seattle, the most of any Revs player, hitting the target with four of those attempts and racking up 0.38 expected goals (xG).

MATCH PREDICTION – FC CINCINNATI WIN

Cincinnati have the seventh-best home record in the Eastern Conference this season, picking up 24 points from 12 matches at TQL Stadium in 2026.

The Orange and Blue are unbeaten in all five of their home MLS matches since returning from the World Cup break (W3 D2), drawing 3-3 with Charlotte FC in their last such fixture.

New England, meanwhile, have lost both of their last two matches by a 3-0 scoreline, after a run of three consecutive wins in the league.

Nevertheless, when the two sides met back in March, the Revs thrashed Cincinnati 6-1 at Gillette Stadium.

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