Welcome to “Down The Hatch,” a weekly mailbag about FC Cincinnati and their time in MLS. This is Charlie Hatch, the club’s Digital Host and Writer.
Questions can be submitted here or on Twitter by tweeting to @charliehatch_.
Here’s our sixth addition. Thank you for the questions and feel free to send more!
Tom: Keeping possession was a big problem last game. Several bad passes plus a lot of boom ball. Why do you think possession was a problem & why so many boom balls that always ended up going to Philadelphia?
It’s worth noting the weather wasn’t exactly ideal for a passing approach. That won’t be the norm moving forward, though. That said, some of the issues came from Philadelphia overloading the midfield and FC Cincinnati struggling to break that press and create something.
In 2018, FC Cincinnati often overloaded the midfield – they aggressively outnumbered the opposition’s mids – and found success. The Union did the same Saturday night.
Rob: What do you think the chances are we’ll see Cruz and Saief paired as attacking midfielders this weekend against Sporting KC? I can see this duo working well, having a lot of chemistry and generating offensive opportunities that seemed to lack against Philadelphia last week.
Head Coach Alan Koch seems open to using Allan Cruz and Kenny Saief together. Previously, he’s mentioned those who look the best in practice will play in matches.
One interesting point about Cruz and Saief, however, is both have seen limited field time either from fitness (Saief) or international duty (Cruz). There simply hasn’t been much time to build chemistry during games. Their 17 minutes together against the Union was the only time they’ve featured at the same time through five games.
Personally, I think they’ll play together against Sporting. That doesn’t mean both will start, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the pairing on the pitch and creating attacking opportunities.
Tim: I never understood why Paul Brown Stadium had green seats. If it was supposed to be the "Jungle,” they should have had a grass/tree pattern when viewed from the cameras. Please tell me FC Cincy's stadium will have seats in their team colors or at least incorporate the team's theme.
The seat color for the future West End Stadium hasn’t been determined yet. One distinct difference between the “WES” and “PBS” is the county owns the Bengals' stadium, whereas the club owns the FCC stadium. That should give the team a bit more flexibility for customizing the inside of the stadium.
Greg: Can you convince Mother Nature to keep the storms away on Sunday?
I wish. If they happen, hopefully they're after the game.
It was amazing seeing and hearing the support through last Saturday night’s monsoon. The press box has really thick glass (it blocks a lot of the stadium’s atmosphere), but chants and drums were heard clearly. I know the players appreciated the support in the terrible conditions.
Luke “3 Scoops” Sassano: Why do you wear the same outfit as Alex Stec?
Why did you wear the same outfit as Yoann after I said he was best dressed? What happened to Two Scoops?
Jacob: I would like to change My school computer screen to reflect the FCC logo. Is there a free 1 available?
Currently, there’s no link on our website to wallpapers for phones or computers. However, there are photo galleries that have great photos you can use as well. Here’s a selection: https://www.fccincinnati.com/photos
