Cincinnati, Red Bulls enter clash off matching 4-4 ties

Field Level Media|published: Fri 24th April, 20:02 2026

Apr 22, 2026; New York, New York, USA; FC Cincinnati midfielder Gerardo Valenzuela (22) celebrates a goal with FC Cincinnati forward Kévin Denkey (9) against New York City FC at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Smith-Imagn Images

The New York Red Bulls and FC Cincinnati spent Wednesday scoring four goals in their respective matches.

Most times, that's enough to register a win, but neither team could clamp down defensively, each settling for one point.

Two teams coming off differing types of draws and trying to gain ground in the Eastern Conference standings get together Saturday night when the Red Bulls visit Cincinnati.

New York (3-3-3, 12 points) is 1-3-3 in its past seven matches since starting this season with one-goal wins over Orlando and New England. The Red Bulls have allowed 22 goals over that stretch, including eight in the past two.

On Wednesday, New York settled for a 4-4 tie against visiting D.C. United after blowing a two-goal lead by allowing three goals after the 54th minute. Jorge Ruvalcaba scored twice after Julian Hall and Ronald Donkor tallied in the first half.

"At the moment, we're giving away too much," New York coach Michael Bradley said. "The chances and goals we give away in certain moments are broken plays where a little bit of chaos -- if we don't take care of the chaos, then they're going to start running guys through and our ability to deal with that wasn't what was needed."

Cincinnati (2-4-3, 9 points) is winless its past four games (0-1-3) and scored four goals for the second time this season when it rallied from a two-goal deficit in the final minutes for a 4-4 tie at New York City FC.

Kevin Denkey scored his second goal of the contest in the 65th minute, and Cincinnati added on twice in stoppage time when Andrei Chirila and Evander scored in a span of three minutes. Denkey leads the team with four goals and Evander notched his second of the campaign.

The comeback occurred after Cincinnati overcame a two-goal deficit and earned a 3-3 draw with the Chicago Fire last Saturday.

"He's certainly confident in himself and what he's capable of," Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan said of Evander. "Production-wise, didn't start the season the way I'm sure he would have liked, or maybe what we would have expected. But we needed him to step up and Kevin to step up on a night where you need your biggest players to carry the team."

--Field Level Media

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