“When somebody’s dead, somebody else has his bread.”
That’s the grim Dutch proverb Head Coach Ron Jans delivered to a “sparkling-eyed” Tommy McCabe when the rookie, who was supposed to be a substitute, learned he was starting for FC Cincinnati less than an hour before kickoff on Saturday night.
But the message was clear: If someone is missing their opportunity, someone else can take it, and that’s exactly what McCabe did against the Chicago Fire.
With Caleb Stanko a late scratch from the starting XI because of an illness, Jans called upon his young rookie – who only just made his first start earlier this month – to face an opponent captained by a World Cup champion and desperate to gain three points for a late playoff push.
So, how did McCabe respond?
He was FC Cincinnati’s best player in the 0-0 draw against the Chicago Fire at Nippert Stadium and was named the Heineken Star of the Game.
McCabe completed 58 passes with an 83% accuracy, while also winning three tackles and making six clearances.
The rookie from Notre Dame played in a deeper holding midfield role behind Leo Bertone and Frankie Amaya. While Amaya surged forward creating attacking opportunities, McCabe sat behind as a fallback option and to Chicago pinned into its own territory.
It was a good performance by any player, but considering McCabe’s MLS inexperience and limited mental preparation ahead of the start, the rookie displayed an admiral performance that impressed his coach.
“I think he played very, very mature and wasn’t losing a lot of balls,” Jans said. “I think (Nicolás Gaitán) is a very good player and he defended him well.
“He shows that he’s comfortable on the ball,” Jans added. “I think he can look back at a good game, and maybe even better because he only heard he was starting maybe 45 minutes before the game started.”
After the match, McCabe kept answers short but acknowledged that he played well and felt comfortable.
“I wasn’t expecting (the start) when I walked into the locker room, that’s for sure,” he said. “But you just got to take the opportunity when you can get it, even in a circumstance where you find out an hour before. I just had to make the most of it.”
McCabe acknowledging he seized the opportunity is the main takeaway from Cincinnati’s scoreless draw.
The rookie midfielder has only made four appearances this season. His first was in a club-worst 7-1 loss at Minnesota. His first start was a 5-1 loss, which is the worst home defeat in team history.
Basically, important moments for him came in games everyone else wanted to forget. Saturday against the Fire was hardly that. The clean sheet was FCC’s fourth this season and second in the last three games.
So, in a match that mattered, McCabe stepped in and played well. And as Jans and General Manager Gerard Nijkamp have mentioned the importance of players seizing opportunities, McCabe just delivered a display that shows he should be part of FC Cincinnati’s present and future.
Does that come at another player’s expense? It did Saturday night … just without anyone actually dying.
