Tom Barlow's 98th-Minute Equalizer Earns FC Cincinnati 3-3 Draw at San Diego FC

Marcus Ingvartsen thought he had won it. San Diego FC thought so too. Snapdragon Stadium was celebrating a 96th-minute winner, and FC Cincinnati players were on the turf in disbelief. Then Tom Barlow arrived.

Moments after Ingvartsen's second goal put San Diego ahead, Barlow tucked home an Ayoub Jabbari knockdown in the 98th minute, and FC Cincinnati escaped Southern California with a 3-3 draw on Saturday night. It was the first meeting between the clubs, according to Cincinnati, and it ended with both sides sitting on identical records and wildly different emotions.

Trading Punches

San Diego had the ball early and often, but Cincinnati struck first. In the 11th minute, per the club, Cincinnati broke out of pressure: Matt Miazga found Gerardo Valenzuela, Valenzuela chested it to Evander, and the Brazilian sent Kenji Mboma Dem in down the left. Mboma Dem finished with his left foot into the bottom left corner for his second career MLS goal.

San Diego kept knocking. Anders Dreyer nearly leveled in the 16th minute, Roman Celentano had to save a Dreyer shot bound for the top right corner in the 29th, and Ingvartsen headed over a minute later. The equalizer arrived in the 32nd minute, when Kieran Sargeant played a low cross from the left and Ingvartsen finished with his left foot. It was 1-1 at halftime.

Both coaches made double changes at the break, and Cincinnati's paid off almost immediately. Evander forced Duran Ferree into a save with a long-range effort in the 49th minute, and on the resulting corner the Brazilian put the ball onto the foot of halftime substitute Barlow, who finished from close range in the 50th.

San Diego answered again. In the 66th minute, substitute Pedro Soma slipped a through ball behind the Cincinnati back line and Amahl Pellegrino beat Celentano from outside the box. The hosts kept pressing, and Celentano made a key save on Onni Valakari in the 86th minute.

Chaos Mode

Six minutes of stoppage time were posted. Cincinnati, by its own account, turned the ball over while trying to see the game out, and San Diego pounced: Anisse Saidi slid a through ball to Ingvartsen on the break, and Ingvartsen hit a right-footed shot from the right side across Celentano and into the top left corner in the 96th minute.

Cincinnati's response took about 13 seconds of game time, according to the club. Miazga played forward to Samuel Gidi, Gidi lofted a ball into the box, and Jabbari, a 91st-minute substitute, won the header and laid it into the path of Barlow, who finished into the bottom right corner. The goal was confirmed after a brief review, and the referee ended the match.

"Credit to the guys for that last action to make something out of it," head coach Pat Noonan said, per Cincinnati. "You're in the moment, you concede a goal, there's despair, there's guys that are on the ground because they feel like we let one go."

The Difference-Makers

Tom Barlow came on at halftime and scored twice on three shots. Cincinnati said his 98th-minute goal was the latest equalizer in an MLS regular-season match in club history, and that he became the third substitute in the club's MLS era to score multiple goals in a match.

Evander assisted both of the first two Cincinnati goals. The club said they were his 22nd and 23rd assists for FC Cincinnati, moving him past Emmanuel Ledesma into third in club history, in his 100th career MLS appearance. "We knew we didn't have much time to score, so everyone was going forward to try and do something," Evander said, per the club.

It was a milestone night elsewhere in the Cincinnati lineup, too. The club said Matt Miazga became the 14th player in its history to make 100 appearances, and Nick Hagglund made his 200th career MLS start.

For San Diego, Marcus Ingvartsen scored twice on four shots, and Pedro Soma changed the game off the bench with his assist. Anders Dreyer took four shots and was a constant threat.

The Turnover

The defining moment came at the very end, in a sequence that flipped twice. Cincinnati's turnover in the 96th minute handed San Diego what should have been the winner. Then San Diego could not deal with one long ball from the restart. Noonan was blunt about the first half of that story. "We certainly can see out the game in a better way," he said.

Noonan said he had expected San Diego to dominate the ball. "I anticipated we weren't going to win a possession battle tonight," he said. The club added that he saw fatigue as a factor, with Cincinnati playing its third match of the week and its second on the road.

Stats That Mattered

• Possession: San Diego 63.3 percent, Cincinnati 36.7 percent.
• Shots: San Diego 16, Cincinnati 8. On target: Cincinnati 6, San Diego 5.
• Passing: San Diego completed 646 of 715 passes; Cincinnati completed 359 of 428.
• Crosses: San Diego attempted 31, Cincinnati 2.
• Saves: Ferree 3, Celentano 2.

Even Records, Uneven Feelings

Both clubs sit at 4-5-5 with 17 points. San Diego is unbeaten in four league matches: draws with LAFC on May 2 and at Seattle on May 9, a 5-0 rout of Austin FC on May 13, and now this. Its next home date is against the Vancouver Whitecaps on May 23.

Cincinnati lost 5-3 to Inter Miami CF at home on Wednesday, which MLSsoccer.com noted is its only defeat in eight matches over the past month-plus. In league play alone, this was its fifth draw in its last eight. Noonan's side hosts Orlando City SC on May 23 in its final match before the World Cup pause. Evander summed up the mixed feelings. "When you cannot win, you just don't lose," he said.

Final Boss Energy

This one played like a video game boss fight that refuses to end: San Diego landed the hit that should have finished it, and Cincinnati still had one button left to press. The point will feel better in the morning than the possession numbers do.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and match notes as reported by FC Cincinnati (fccincinnati.com); context from MLSsoccer.com.