WESTFIELD, Ind. — FC Cincinnati head coach Alan Koch stood beside his team’s locker room and repeated the words he said to his team:
“You don’t earn three points in the preseason and you don’t lose three points, either,” Koch said.
His point was simple: Preseason wins and losses don’t mean anything more than giving players minutes, implementing a style of play and comparing those aspects against another opponent. In the case of Tuesday afternoon, that meant FC Cincinnati lost 3-2 to Indy Eleven inside the Grand Park Events Center, but learned more about itself in the process.
“We certainly didn’t get carried away when we beat Colorado and we don’t get too low when we lose to Indy,” Koch said. “It was a good exercise. I’m glad we got as many players minutes as we did.
“I think some individuals rose to the challenge today and some players definitely didn’t, and that’s probably what led to a few of the opportunities we gave to Indy. Most importantly, it was another exercise. It gives us another opportunity to reflect.”
In FCC’s first three preseason games, the club scored three goals and only conceded twice. Against the Eleven, they conceded a preseason-high three goals, including two inside of five minutes.
But the score line doesn’t fully replicate the match. That’s not to say FCC allowed Indy to have chances and the home side capitalized — it did. But the Orange and Blue also created chances routinely throughout the afternoon match.
When center back Nick Hagglund scored in the 12th minute to give Cincinnati a 1-1 lead, the goal came off a corner kick swung in by midfielder Victor Ulloa. The second goal, which leveled the match at 2-2, was a well-worked routine that started in the midfield and worked up the middle of the field, where Corben Bone eventually found Darren Mattocks for his second goal of the preseason.
Ultimately, those moments couldn’t prevent three Indy goals, but they showed opportunities on the other end and marked the first time FC Cincinnati scored two goals in a match during preseason play. All of these moments just add more to analyze, Koch said.
“In preseason, reflecting in good exercises is a positive and reflecting on bad exercises is also a positive, too,” he added. “There were a few disappointing moments in the game today. That gives us a bigger body of work today to now go reflect on.”
FC Cincinnati’s full squad didn’t travel Tuesday. Players who stayed in Cincinnati did train, though, Koch said. He also highlighted there were no fresh injuries sustained during the loss.
But moving beyond this match, the Orange and Blue train again Wednesday before another trip to South Carolina to play in the Carolina Challenge Cup.
