When I asked Nick Hagglund if he had a new celebration ready after his close calls tonight he said, “I’ve got one ready.” I asked if it was going to be Cincinnati related. “Not exactly. It’s Cincinnati related in a way, yeah, it’s more FC Cincinnati related” #allforcincy #fccincinnati

When Ender was asked about what made him smile the most tonight he said through an interpreter, “The fans. The way they yell my name and cheer for me as I’m running up and down the field. It fills me with joy and makes me smile as I’m running up and down the field.” #allforcincy #fccincy

”I’m interested to see what his running numbers are, because he put in a shift,” Pat Noonan said when I asked about Ender Echenique. “He was a constant threat, but defensively he made a lot of plays as well.”

Final: FC Cincinnati conquers demons of playoff past as they eliminate the Columbus Crew from the MLS Cup Playoffs. They also end the career of Darlington Nagbe, who announced his retirement earlier this year. #allforcincy #fccincy

96': For those who don't believe that Miles Robinson is a good leader, he has been shouting instructions for a majority of the last 10 minutes as The FC look to see this match off. Three minutes to go. #allforcincy #fccincy

90': Columbus is making three substitutions, including taking off Diego Rossi. Daniel Gazdag comes on, along with a few other players. We will see 9 minutes of extra time. Apparently the referees want this to go to penalties. #allforcincy #fccincy

88': Brenner is coming off for Obinna Nwobodo and Alvas Powell is coming on for Ender Echenique. Pat putting the defensive guys on the pitch to see this match out. #allforcincy #fccincy

86': A Brenner brace! He puts FC Cincinnati up 2-1 with probably 10 minutes left in this one. He's going to get a yellow card after taking his shirt off, but the fans here in Cincinnati do not care. #allforcincy #fccincy

82': After showing three cards in the first half, the referee has let a few challenges that could be card worthy go, including a Max Arfsten foul on a charging Ayoub Jabbari. #allforcincy #fccincy

Miles Robinson's game plan this whole match has been to just boot the ball down the field to Echenique and it's really funny that it's worked as well as it has. #allforcincy #fccincy

73': Ender Echenique has taken a lot of punishment to his legs this match and still manages to outrun everyone on Columbus consistently. Ayoub Jabbari is getting set to come in. Obinna Nwobodo is ready but not coming in quite yet. Kevin Denkey comes off.

67': BRENNER! The Brazilian finds the ball in front of goal on a corner and evens the match 1-1. First goal he has ever scored against Columbus in his FC Cincinnati career. #fccincy #allforcincy

Team is going to need the crowd to keep the energy up here. The last thing they want is for the atmosphere to deflate. #allforcincy #fccincy

63': Opening goal goes to Columbus on a fantastic pass from Andres Herrera to Jacen Russel-Rowe. Goal is checked for offsides but is confirmed. #allforcincy #fccincy

60': Pavel Bucha has been leading the attack early in the second half, with Evander finding him in open and with room to run in the box. On the other side of the pitch, Lukas Engel is down and getting medical attention. Luca Orellano is getting ready to come on in his stead. #allforcincy #fccincy

57': Holy save by Roman Celentano. Thought the ball was going towards the upper part of the net, but Hugo Picard headed it low and Celentano narrowly blocked and caught it with his legs. Outstanding stuff. #fccincy #allforcincy

50': Evander finds Nick Hagglund again on a corner, but again it sails over the bar. They seem hell bent on recreating the moment from the Montreal match. #fccincy #allforcincy

47': The second half has kicked off and Max Arfsten was once again beat by Ender Echenique. No one was around to receive Ender's cross into the box but it's still worth noting that the USMNT player has been getting handled tonight. #allforcincy #fccincy

That's the first half. Stalemated at 0-0. Columbus has commanded 61% possession so far, will be interesting to see if FCC can even that out. #allforcincy #fccincy

35': Taha Habroune is booked for pulling Lukas Engel down by his shirt. Columbus is currently leading in fouls 7 to 2. #allforcincy #fccincy

33': I've noticed thus far that the attacking trio of Brenner, Evander, and Denkey have all been pressing high on Columbus's defense. Its made Columbus play short passes instead of ones over the top. Basically, they're playing like every team plays against them. #allforcincy #fccincy

20': Ender again beats Arfsten out on the right side, this time he's able to secure a corner kick for the Orange and Blue. The corner bounced around before Hagglund headed it just over the crossbar and out of bounds. #allforcincy #fccincy

15': A solid counter attack comes to an abrupt end when Evander sails a ball intended for Brenner out of bounds. Pretty even match thus far. FC Cincinnati's defense looks 100% better than last match in Columbus. #allforcincy #fccincy

10': Nick Hagglund gets his yellow card and is booked for delaying the start of play after Pavel Bucha sent an errant pass out of bounds. The ref is not messing around tonight. #allforcincy #fccincy

5': An early yellow for Columbus, as Male Amundsen fouls Evander near midfield. The ensuing free kick sees Ender Echenique fake Max Arfsten out of his boots, but then send the ball behind Evander in the box. Columbus eventually would clear. #fccincy #allforcincy

Simple yet elegant. Wonderful tifo again tonight #allforcincy #fccincy

Andrew Abbot is pulling the sword tonight. A big reaction for the Reds starting pitcher. The pregame presentation tonight has been spectacular. #allforcincy #fccincy

It’s game day and the Columbus Crew fan march has entered TQL Stadium #allforcincy #fccincy

🆕📰 | “That was a tough night and one to quickly forget about.” ~ Pat Noonan What went wrong? What adjustments can The FC make ahead of the final match in this series? @damongumbert.bsky.social | #AllForCincy www.thepostcincy.com/stories/colu...

🆕📰 | RECAP: “Win game 2.” ~ Pat Noonan Coach Noonan shares what went into this crucial victory over Columbus, the atmosphere at TQL and how the team plans to approach game 2. @damongumbert.bsky.social | #AllForCincy

I should have written this before they announced they announced the finalists but 🤷‍♂️

🆕📰 | RECAP: The FC dominates Montreal, but faces Columbus Crew in the first round of MLS Cup Playoffs Presented by Audi as Discussed by The Post™️ **Not AI-generated** @damongumbert.bsky.social | #AllForCincy

"It's fan appreciation night, I feel like this goal is for them," Nick Hagglund said about scoring tonight. "I just appreciate all the things that they have done and supported us this year." #allforcincy #fccincy

"We know, no matter where we finish, even if we win the Supporter's Shield and Columbus is in 9th, against Columbus is still like the finals...There is still this fire, this intensity that comes when a game like this comes," Obi said ahead of the playoff series against the Crew. #allforcincy

Obinna Nwobodo said of playing for the first time in nearly three months, "I feel good, but of course I've been out a while...no matter how long you practice you can't compare with such the play. It feels good to be on the pitch and...to see where I'm at physically in a match intensity."

“Evan certainly made the conversation difficult,” Noonan said of the choice to start Roman Celentano. #fccincy #allforcincy

I asked Pat about Teenage Hadebe coming out at halftime after we were told it was concussion protocol. “He cleared the concussion protocol. I think the physical toll of the first half and that play as well, it just looked like he was affected by a few knocks”

“What a great opportunity,” Pat Noonan said about the looming playoff series with Columbus. “You get to play a rival in the playoffs and meaningful games, in the best of three”

New England scores against Chicago, going up 2-1. FC Cincinnati will be playing Columbus in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs. Possibly three games of Hell is Real. God help us all. #allforcincy #fccincy

Brenner decides to do it himself this time, outrunning the Montreal defense and putting FC Cincinnati up 3-0. Columbus is currently leading 3-1 against RBNY but Chicago has come back to tie NE. About 5 minutes of extra time left there. If Chicago wins they jump Columbus into 7th. #allforcincy

Gorgeous pass from Brenner nearly gets Brian Anunga his first goal in Orange and Blue, but it's blocked. It was a great play though. #allforcincy #fccincy

Brian Anunga comes on for Nick Hagglund. Alvas Powell will move to Center back and Pavel Bucha will move to wing back. #allforcincy #fccincy

Kei Kamara did not come off. Samuel Gidi was down briefly but is back up. I'm getting juked out on these subs. #allforcincy #fccincy

Teenage Hadebe was officially subbed out under concussion protocol, meaning there can be a sixth sub for both teams. #allforcincy #fccincy

🆕📰 | RECAP: Denkey scored, but the shirt stayed on in a 1-0 victory over RBNY. PLUS: See what Noonan had to say about Evan Louro’s first MLS clean sheet. @damongumbert.bsky.social | #AllForCincy

That’s a win for FC Cincinnati. They take care of the Red Bulls in a 1-0 victory. Evan Louro with his first (i think) clean sheet against his former academy club. Fantastic match from him and great work to see the game out at the end. #allforcincy #fccincy

Philadelphia Union officially clinch the supporters shield with a 1-0 victory over NYCFC. FCC will have nothing but positioning to play for in two weeks when they take on Montreal. #allforcincy #fccincy

Philadelphia has scored and is leading NYCFC 1-0 at the end of the first half. A win and they clinch the supporters shield #allforcincy #fccincy

Someone want to let the Apple broadcasters know that wasn’t Teenage Hadebe and was in fact Samuel Gidi #allforcincy #fccincy

12’: an absolute rocket from Kevin Denkey puts FC Cincinnati up 1-0 early. A perfectly placed shot just roars past Coronel. Good lordt #allforcincy #fccincy