Kévin Denkey's Club-Record 13th Game-Winner Caps 10-Man FC Cincinnati's 4-3 Comeback Over CF Montréal

Kévin Denkey scored from point-blank range, ripped off his celebration, and got booked for it. Nobody in orange and blue cared. Not after the afternoon FC Cincinnati had just survived.

Down to 10 men, trailing three separate times, and coming off a week its own players and coach called "unacceptable," per the club, Cincinnati beat CF Montréal 4-3 on Sunday in front of a sellout crowd of 25,513 at TQL Stadium. Tom Barlow equalized in the 80th minute, three minutes after coming off the bench, and Denkey poked home the winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time. According to the club, it was his club-record 13th game-winning goal.

Montréal Lands the First Punch

Montréal looked sharp from the opening whistle. In the sixth minute, Prince Owusu teed up Wiki Carmona, and the newcomer fired a left-footed shot from outside the box into the bottom left corner. Hennadii Synchuk kept testing Evan Louro, firing over in the eighth minute and forcing a save in the 21st, while Efraín Morales headed a corner wide.

Cincinnati found its footing slowly. Thomas Gillier saved from Bryan Ramirez in the 19th and from Ender Echenique in the 33rd, and the leveler finally came in the 40th minute. On what Cincinnati called a brilliant solo effort, Echenique fired from the right side of the box into the bottom left corner, with Alvas Powell credited with the assist. The AP said it was Echenique's first goal of the season.

The parity lasted five minutes. Iván Jaime found Owusu in the center of the box in the 45th minute, and the striker drove a left-footed finish straight down the middle to send Montréal into the break up 2-1.

Chaos in the Second Half

Cincinnati came out flying. Echenique turned provider in the 52nd minute, and Ayoub Jabbari finished from the left side of the box into the bottom left corner for 2-2. The club said it was Jabbari's first goal in MLS action. Gillier then saved an Evander drive from outside the box in the 54th.

Then the afternoon flipped again. In the 60th minute, Miles Robinson was penalized for a foul on Owusu in the box and shown a red card. Cincinnati's own recap called it "a somewhat controversial decision." Owusu settled the argument his own way, smashing the penalty into the top right corner in the 64th for 3-2. It was his second goal of the day and his fourth of the MLS season.

Noonan's Bench Wins It

Here is the turning point. Pat Noonan, down a man and a goal, sent Barlow and Samuel Gidi on in the 77th minute. Three minutes later, Barlow found himself in the right place on a loose ball in the center of the box and lashed a left-footed finish into the roof of the net. Cincinnati said it was his first MLS goal for the club.

Montréal still had chances to restore the lead. Daniel Ríos headed wide from a Luca Petrasso cross in the 82nd, and Louro saved a Morales header at the top right corner in the 88th. The fourth official put up 12 minutes of stoppage time, which felt like a dare.

Cincinnati accepted. According to the club's recap, Nick Hagglund launched a long throw into the box, the ball was flicked up off a Montréal head at the near post, and Denkey pounced from very close range in the fourth minute of stoppage time. His celebration earned a yellow card for excessive celebration, which is the most forgivable booking of the season.

Louro still had work to do, saving a long-range effort from Brayan Vera deep in stoppage time, and Ríos headed a late corner over. Then it was over.

The Standouts

Echenique was Cincinnati's best player: a goal, an assist, three shots and two on target. Denkey only touched two shots, but one of them won the game. Barlow's cameo was as efficient as it gets: one shot, one goal.

"What makes me proudest? The truth is, this team never gives up; we never throw in the towel," Echenique said.

For Montréal, Owusu was outstanding in defeat with two goals and an assist. Carmona added a goal and two shots before coming off in the 74th minute. Gillier made four saves, matching Louro, whom the AP noted was making his first start of the season.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Montréal 19, Cincinnati 15. On target, Cincinnati led 8 to 7.
• Possession: Montréal 53.8 percent.
• Saves: Four apiece for Louro and Gillier.
• Fouls: Cincinnati committed 20 to Montréal's 11 and picked up four yellow cards plus Robinson's red.
• Crosses: Cincinnati completed none of its 7 attempts and still scored four times.

What It Means

Cincinnati improves to 2-0-3 with 6 points and snaps a three-match MLS losing streak that included a 6-1 defeat at New England. MLS listed the club ninth in the Eastern Conference after the win. The defense remains a problem, with 11 goals allowed in five league matches, but Noonan wasn't interested in dwelling on it.

"I don't want to bring too much negativity to the three goals we conceded, but I like the four goals that we scored," he said. He was also blunt about the aesthetics. "It's not about how pretty it looks. Sometimes you just need the feeling of a win."

Louro put it even more plainly. "I know in 10 years no one is going to remember, 'Oh, we played well against Montreal.' No one cares. They care if you win," he said.

The AP added that Cincinnati is now 8-4-2 all-time against Montréal, with eight wins its most against any club. After the international break, Cincinnati heads to the New York Red Bulls and Toronto before returning home on April 18 against Chicago.

Montréal falls to 1-0-4 with 3 points and has lost two straight. All five of its MLS matches so far have come on the road, and the next one does too, at New England on April 4. Blowing three leads stings anywhere. It stings more when you still haven't played a home game.

Closing Take

This one played like a prestige-TV finale with three fake endings before the real one. Cincinnati needed a win in the worst way and got one in the strangest way. As Barlow put it, "We said before the game just put your heads down and grind this one out and work together." That's exactly what happened, eventually.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by FC Cincinnati; additional notes from MLSsoccer.com and the AP recap via ESPN.