Teenage Hadebe scored the tiebreaking goal in the 55th minute to deliver FC Cincinnati a 2-1 victory over visiting D.C. United on Wednesday in a matchup of sides that will play again on Saturday in Washington.
Newly acquired David Doudera also scored for Cincinnati (10-11-9, 39 points), which gained sole possession of eighth place in the MLS Eastern Conference.
Roman Celentano made two saves to help Cincinnati earn just its second win in the past 10 matches (2-5-3).
Kimito Nono scored for slumping D.C. United (7-11-12, 33 points), who remain in 13th place in the East, three points shy of the postseason cut line with four games left. D.C. is 1-4-2 in its past seven matches.
The eighth- and ninth-place teams advance to the wild-card game with the winner moving into the first round of the MLS playoffs.
Making his first MLS start in two years, Alex Bono stopped four shots for D.C., which has won just two of its past 13 matches (2-6-5) in pursuit of its first postseason appearance since 2019.
Doudera, who was acquired from Czech side Slavia Prague last month, scored for the first time in a Cincinnati jersey in the 14th minute.
His low, right-footed shot from the right side of the penalty box went inside the near post and just out of the reach of Bono.
Doudera cashed in when the ball came to his feet after a Cincinnati shot was deflected by a D.C. United defender. The goal came in Doudera’s fourth appearance with his new team.
D.C. United got the equalizer in the 38th minute, taking advantage of lackadaisical defensive play by Cincinnati.
As Joao Peglow dribbled unchecked in the center circle, he delivered a long pass to Nono, who bolted past FC Cincinnati defenders and into the right side of the penalty box.
Celentano was slow to react to the long ball and offered little challenge as Nono slotted a low, left-footed shot just inside the left post for his third goal of the season.
Cincinnati regained the lead off a set piece. From the left flank, Evander delivered a long free kick that curled toward the far post.
Bono was slow to come off the goal line and Hadebe got to the ball first, scoring with a sliding right-footed shot inside the left post. It was the defender’s his first goal in his three seasons with FC Cincinnati.
–Field Level Media
