Cincinnati defender Gidi insists 'there's no time to back down'

FC Cincinnati defender Samuel Gidi insisted "there's no time to back down now" as they look to secure their place in the playoffs.

Cincinnati are eighth in the Eastern Conference, occupying one of the two wildcard spots, but are level on points with Orlando City in seventh.

Pat Noonan's side were held to a 2-2 draw with Inter Miami midweek, despite Gidi scoring his first goal for the club in the 86th minute to give them a 2-1 lead.

Cincinnati have now dropped points in three of their last five games (W2 D1 L2) ahead of hosting the Philadelphia Union on Saturday.

But they are still four points clear of 10th-place New York Red Bulls, and Gidi has encouraged his team-mates to knuckle down and reach the postseason.

"I'd say it was good, but we are disappointed because we could have got the whole three points," Gidi said about their draw with Miami.

"But fortunately, it's still one point, and we are still happy with that. But we just need to move on to the next games.

"We've got a good team. The results haven't been good for us, but there's no time to back down now. We just have to keep our heads up.

"We've got two games, six points to get, and we need them."

Philadelphia booked their place in the playoffs with a goalless draw with Supporters' Shield winners Nashville SC.

The Union could still finish as high as fourth in the conference if they win their last two regular-season games.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

FC Cincinnati – Evander

Evander had two assists in their 2–2 draw with Miami, bringing his season total to an MLS-leading 17 assists this season.

Evander had 18 assists with Portland in 2024 as he is the third player in MLS history to have 17+ assists in a season with two different teams, joining Lucho Acosta and Steve Ralston.

Philadelphia Union – Bruno Damiani

Damiani has five goals in three career matches against Cincinnati, including a hat-trick in their meeting on September 9, scoring at least once in all three matches.

No player has scored in four straight regular-season matches against Cincinnati.

MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

Cincinnati's draw with Miami was the club's 20th match this regular season with at least four combined goals.

The only team with more such matches in a single regular season in MLS history are the San Jose Earthquakes in 1997 with 21.

The Union became the third team in MLS history to reach the postseason after collecting 10 or fewer points in their first 15 matches of a season, and the first since the Miami Fusion in 1999.

Philadelphia have won three straight meetings with Cincinnati by a combined score of 10–1, including a 5–0 home win on September 9. The Union had won only two of their previous nine against Cincinnati in all competitions (D2 L5).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

FC Cincinnati – 37.1%

Draw – 26.4%

Philadelphia Union – 36.5%