FC Cincinnati v Austin FC: Consistency key for hosts, says Noonan

Pat Noonan cited consistency as key for his FC Cincinnati side after their five-game winning run in the MLS came to a grinding halt against New York City FC last time out. 

Noonan watched on as his team lost 1-0 at Citi Field, with Julian Fernandez's ninth-minute strike the difference, with Cincinnati dropping to third in the Eastern Conference.

The Cincinnati head coach acknowledged his players fell below standards in the first half, adding that falling below their standards will come back to hurt them this season. 

"Poor first half," Noonan said. "A good response in the second half, but on the night, just not enough. Not enough composure with the ball, and then when we did find some good moments to create, I think we rushed a lot of those plays.

"So, plenty to look at and work on. But not a good enough night. This was, I think, a level below some of the other performances.

"We're looking for consistency and reaching a higher bar than we have. So, [we] continue to search for that.

"Our pressing. Our pressing wasn't good enough for the first half, and it caused us to have to defend in unnecessary ways closer to goal."

Cincinnati face Austin FC this weekend, with Nico Estevez's team surviving a scare against El Paso Locomotive FC in their U.S. Open Cup clash in midweek. 

Roberto Avila's first-half brace had the MLS outfit two goals down, but three goals in seven minutes for Austin turned the tie on its head as they held on for the win. 

While head coach Estevez was happy with the result, he said his players must learn from the game as a whole and carry that into their upcoming league fixture. 

"I always say that the cup is very difficult to analyse," Estevez began. "These games are, if you win you are in if you lose, you are out. It's difficult, but we have to learn from that.

"Also, I told the guys at the end that we were coming from two tough games. Tough games we couldn't do our best performance and we didn't show who we are.

"With those missed chances at the start of the game, it put the team in a difficult situation and I think we can use this as something we have to believe in ourselves.

"We have confidence and the players who can make the difference. We have make those plays with the determination we showed in the second half and it will be better."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Cincinnati – Evander

Evander is Cincinnati's top scorer in the MLS this season with six goals in nine appearances since his blockbuster move from the Portland Timbers earlier this year.

The Brazilian has four goal involvements (two goals, two assists) in four outings against Austin, only managing more against the Vancouver Whitecaps (six) and the San Jose Earthquakes (five) in his MLS career.

Austin FC – Brandon Vazquez

Though not able to add to his two MLS goals for Austin this season, Vazquez was a shining light in their defeat to Minnesota last time out, and did score two goals in midweek for his team in the U.S. Open Cup. 

He ended his last league game with team-high totals for chances created (three) and touches in the opposition box (seven), and he will need to be at his best once again this weekend.

MATCH PREDICTION: CINCINNATI WIN

The only previous meeting between the two clubs was a 5-0 home victory for Austin in February 2022. The win remains their largest-ever margin of victory. 

Austin, however, have lost three of their last four regular-season matches (W1), conceding 10 times in those games. They had lost two of their first seven matches in 2025 (W4 D1) while allowing just three total goals.

Cincinnati, meanwhile, are unbeaten in nine consecutive home matches in all competitions (W5 D4) dating back to the start of last season's playoffs. Noonan's side have allowed just five goals over those nine matches, keeping clean sheets in five of those games.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Cincinnati – 54.6%

Draw – 23.4%

Austin FC – 22.1%