Pat Noonan described FC Cincinatti's 2-1 defeat to the Columbus Crew as one of the most disappointing defeats he has overseen during his five years in charge of the club. 

Noonan watched as his team were beaten 2-1 at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field last week, with quickfire goals from Jamal Thiare and Daniel Gazdag cancelling out Kevin Denkey's early opener. 

Cincinnati's misery was further compounded in second-half stoppage time when Gerardo Valenzuela was given a straight red card for a needless foul on Taha Habroune. 

It was a result that ended Cincinnati's three-match unbeaten run in MLS play, undoing the good work they produced in a 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps in their first game since returning from the World Cup break. 

Columbus ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.35 from their 13 shots to Cincinnati's 1.06 from one fewer attempt, and Noonan was fuming at full-time.

"Deserved," Noonan said when asked for his thoughts on the defeat. "Columbus were better, and I think just the last action encompassed our complete lack of discipline. 

"Super disappointing. Our decision-making really let us down. We were as poor on the ball, with time and space and good options, as you can be. We just looked like individuals. 

"We couldn't get into any rhythm because of the decisions we made with the ball. That was as disappointing a defeat as we've had in the five years that I have been at this club."

Noonan will be hoping to return to winning ways at TQL Stadium this weekend, but his team face a stern test against the Western Conference high-flyers, the San Jose Earthquakes.

San Jose are third in the standings and level on points with Vancouver and Los Angeles FC, having missed the chance to pull clear of their rivals in their last league outing. 

Bruce Arena's team played out a 1-1 draw with the LA Galaxy at Stanford Stadium, with captain Timo Werner missing a 95th-minute penalty for the victory.

San Jose dominated the xG battle with a tally of 3.55 to the Galaxy's 1.31, and Arena conceded that his team needed to improve in the final third against Cincinnati. 

"I think the Galaxy were a little bit fatigued because we had a lot of the ball during the game, and over the last 30 minutes I thought you could see the difference," Arena said.

"They were a little tired. We had the momentum in the game and got into our attacking third, but give them credit. They did an outstanding job defensively.

"They got eight, nine players behind the ball at times. We just had to execute better technically, play a little quicker in the final third to be able to put a little more pressure on them.

"And I think we were able to do that, although we walked away with only one goal, so that's the difference in the outcome."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Cincinnati – Evander

Evander has scored in each of his last three regular-season matches against San Jose, with all those goals coming as a member of the Portland Timbers.

Denis Bouanga in 2024-25 is the only player in the last decade to score in four straight league matches against the Earthquakes.

SJ Earthquakes – Reid Roberts

Roberts scored San Jose's lone goal last time out from a set-piece, the eighth non-penalty set-piece goal scored by the Earthquakes this season and the sixth by a defender.

No other team has more than four non-penalty set-piece goals scored by defenders this season, and Roberts will be hoping to make a similar impact here.

MATCH PREDICTION: CINCINNATI WIN

Cincinnati have won their last two meetings with San Jose, scoring 10 goals in those victories.

It's both the only time Cincinnati have scored 10 times in a two-game span against a single opponent, and the only time the Earthquakes have conceded 10 times in a two-game stretch against a single opponent.

However, Noonan's side suffered just their second loss in 11 regular-season matches last time out. It marked the seventh straight match where Cincinnati conceded at least two goals, though they have outscored opponents 22-19 over that time.

But after winning eight straight matches in all competitions in March and April, San Jose have won just one of their last eight (D3 L4). The only win over that time came in the Earthquakes' last away game, a 3-1 victory at Portland in May.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Cincinnati – 46.3%

Draw – 26.6%

SJ Earthquakes – 27.1%