Kevin Denkey scored tying goals twice in the second half in FC Cincinnati’s 3-3 draw with visiting Charlotte FC on Saturday night
Denkey’s second goal came in extra time off an assist from Bryan Ramirez after a corner kick. Pavel Bucha also scored for Cincinnati (8-8-8, 32 points).
Idan Toklomati’s go-ahead goal for Charlotte came in the 55th minute on a header off a cross from Rodolfo Aloko. It was his ninth goal of the season.
Liel Abada and Pep Biel scored in the first half for Charlotte (11-7-7, 40 points), which ran its unbeaten streak to seven games (4-0-3). With the draw, Charlotte jumped into fourth in the Eastern Conference standings, passing Chicago ahead of the Fire’s home match against the New England Revolution on Sunday.
Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina made six saves, while Cincinnati’s Roman Celentano made just one save.
It’s the second time these teams played to a tie this year, following a 2-2 draw May 9 in Charlotte.
After Bucha opened the scoring in the second minute — almost immediately preventing what would have been a third straight scoreless output for Cincinnati — Abada leveled the score with his fifth goal of the season in the seventh minute.
Biel then gave Charlotte its first lead when he converted his team-high 12th goal on a penalty kick in the 17th minute after he drew a foul on Tom Barlow in the penalty area.
Denkey’s first tying goal came six minutes into the second half off a delivery from Andrei Chirila.
–Field Level Media
