February 24 – After a comfortable 4-0 away win in the Dominican Republic, FC Cincinnati already have a rematch with Mexico’s Tigres UANL in their sights.
Last season the two sides also met in the last 16 round, with Tigres securing progression on the way to the Champions Cup title.
Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said that they are hungry to go deeper in the Champions Cup with the ultimate prize being qualification for the next Club World Cup in 2029.
“I think now there’s an expectation to be in this competition each year, which is certainly a sign of the growth of the club,” said Noonan. This is Cincinnati’s third appearance, the first being in 2024.
“I would say, from the previous experiences, (we are) coming up short of our goal of advancing further in the competition and competing for a trophy. So, the biggest takeaway is we’ve had success in the first round and in the second round, we haven’t been able to capitalize on our home performance to better position ourselves for the second leg…so that’s something that we’re going to look to surpass this year.”
The trip to Santiago de los Caballeros to take on O&M FC saw Cincinnati come away with a 4-0 win, with a brace by Ayoub Jabbari in the final 10 minutes boosting the goal margin for the home leg.
If O&M are to stay in the game they will have to start stronger than they did at home. Cincinnati were ahead at 12’ with Tom Barlow while Kevin Denkey added a second 19 minutes later after a prolonged period of pressure.
Omry Bello in O&M’s goal made a succession of saves to keep them in the game, including a penalty save from Jabbari.
O&M are not without talent but they are reshaping their formation and have struggled in their domestic season having lost their 2025 top scorer Frantzety Herard..
Center forward Anyelo Gómez has stepped to lead the attack but has yet to put together a goal scoring run.
While most of their players are home grown they have recruited Jon Trincado, 26, and Julen Olasagasti, 25, from Spain’s lower leagues. But the bulk of the work by this young team will come from the players they provide to the Dominican Republic national team that is fast improving and showed ambition and competitiveness at the Gold Cup in 2025.
Notable among them are twins Josue and Isaac Baez, both 23, who have been standouts for the club. Josue, is a winger with an eye for goal, while Isaac is a creative midfielder, a key contributor in the club’s Caribbean Cup success.
He has not played this season, but could be available for the return leg.
But whether this is enough to combat Cincinnati’s seasoned and physically larger line-up remains to be seen.
Cincinnati’s star attacking midfielder, Brazilian Evander, joined the club at the end of their 2025 Champions Cup campaign and reflects a team expectation for the Champions Cup.
“I think it’s not just me. I think the whole thing is the team wants to succeed and go further in the competition,” he said.
“I think last year we could have gone further, we had the chance to go further. We want to play to win. You want to play to go as far as possible in the competition and, hopefully, win a trophy.”
FC Cincinnati vs O&M, second leg, Round 1 (agg. 4-0)