Sitting in his post-match press conference after beating the Montreal Impact on May 11, Yoann Damet said to not get carried away with the result. After all, FC Cincinnati were in the process of developing a new identity. While that result was a win, others might go differently.
So, it wasn’t a surprise last Sunday when the club’s interim head coach stood in the bowels of Orlando City Stadium and reiterated the same message – after a loss.
The point is FC Cincinnati are in the process of reinventing themselves midway through their season. Damet wants to implement new tactics and a new team identity. New, of course, means new. There’s still a learning period.
What matters now – and when FC Cincinnati host New York Red Bulls on Saturday night at Nippert Stadium – is that the Orange and Blue continue building on Damet’s plans.
“It’s a process,” Damet said Tuesday morning about the Orlando result. “When you want to play, you need to move to be connected. I think we lacked a bit of that.”
Saturday’s match is a chance for a response, Damet said.
“We are in a tough place,” he added. “We know it. The win against Montreal was a good thing, but we knew we were still in a tough place. I’m looking forward to seeing the reaction on the field today and in the coming days.
“We sometimes have to go through some obstacles and we have to keep working and moving forward.”
Moving forward means finding success against the Red Bulls, a team who are unbeaten in their last three matches. On Wednesday night, they drew Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2-2.
When Cincinnati last played the Red Bulls, they lost, 1-0, on April 27 at Red Bull Arena. Now back in Cincinnati – and using a new playing style – the Orange and Blue’s playshould resemble the performance against Montreal rather than at New York last month.
“They’re a very good team,” forward Fanendo Adi said. “They like to press, so we just have to do the things that give us the opportunity to score. I think it’s going to be a good game. I think when people count us out, we tend to step up and do the right thing.”
Match Info
FC Cincinnati vs. New York Red Bulls
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Nippert Stadium
Weather Forecast: Partly Cloudy, 81 degrees
TV: WSTR Star64
Local Video Stream: FloFC
Out of Market Video Steam: ESPN+
Local Radio: WDJO (99.5 FM | 107.9 FM | 1480 AM)
Audio Stream: TuneIn App, fccincinnati.com
Player to Watch and his Health Carousel Player Resume
Opponent’s Player to Watch: midfielder Daniel Royer
Having played in 11 of New York’s 13 matches so far this season, Royer has two goals and four assists. Of those assists, three were game-winning assists.
Royer provided an assist to Connor Lade in FC Cincinnati’s 1-0 loss to the Red Bulls in the April 27 meeting at Red Bull Arena.
Club Connections:
- Hassan Ndam played for New York Red Bulls II in 2017 and 2018. FC Cincinnati drafted him from New York Red Bulls with the No. 5 pick in the 2019 MLS Expansion Draft.
- Eric Alexander played for the Red Bulls in 2013 and 2014.
- In 2015 and 2016, Tim Parker was in the Vancouver Whitecaps FC organization with Kekuta Manneh, Darren Mattocks, Spencer Richey and Kendall Waston. In 2017, he was with Richey and Waston.
- Alvas Powell played with Aaron Long in 2014 with the Portland Timbers.
- Caleb Stanko played at SC Freiburg in 2012 with Amro Tarek.
- Powell and Mattocks have played with Kemar Lawrence on the Jamaica National Team.
- Technical Director Luke Sassano played 38 regular-season matches for the Red Bulls between 2008-2010. Additionally, he helped sign Connor Lade on loan to the New York Cosmos in 2014. Sassano was the club’s Assistant Technical Director.
