After beating rivals Louisville City FC last week, FC Cincinnati could advance to the 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals with a win Wednesday night against Saint Louis FC at World Wide Technology Soccer Park.
Ahead of the match, Interim Head Coach Yoann Damet made three changes to the starting lineup that beat Louisville, 2-1, after extra time.
About the starters
Fatai Alashe, Eric Alexander and Corben Bone replace Frankie Amaya, Justin Hoyte and Emmanuel Ledesma in the Starting XI.
Alashe makes his second start for Cincinnati in 2019, with his first coming in league play on May 4 at the San Jose Earthquakes – his former club.
Alexander makes his 2019 U.S. Open Cup debut and starts for the first time since May 19 at Orlando City SC.
Bone is back with the starters after entering the last match as a sub. His last start was June 6 at New York City FC.
About the bench
Leo Bertone is available for selection after missing the Lou City match because of a prearranged vacation. Bertone arrived in Cincinnati midway through BSC Young Boys’ season, and June is usually free for European clubs.
About the absentees
FCC have four players away on international duty during the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup: Allan Cruz (Costa Rica), Kendall Waston (Costa Rica), Darren Mattocks (Jamaica) and Alvas Powell (Jamaica).
Tommy McCabe is Cup-tied to North Carolina FC of the USL Championship having played in their second-round match, so he’s unavailable to play for Cincinnati and represent two clubs in the tournament. (Side note: North Carolina plays at Saint Louis on Saturday night.)
As for injuries, Greg Garza (calf) and Roland Lamah (hamstring) are unavailable against STLFC. Jimmy McLaughlin (knee) has been ruled out of playing in 2019.
Kenny Saief out of the country awaiting the termination of his loan deal between Cincinnati and R.S.C. Anderlecht, his parent club. The clubs mutually agreed to end the loan but are waiting for paperwork to finalize. Saief has an injury that will keep him out of matches between now and the loan’s completion in early July. His last appearance was May 4 in San Jose.
