Fresh off Saturday’s 1-0 win against the Montreal Impact, FC Cincinnati play their final midweek match of the season tonight when they host Atlanta United FC at Nippert Stadium.
Ahead of the match, Head Coach Ron Jans spoke with the media, and these were the key talking points:
The win over Montreal was Jans’ first leading the Orange and Blue and was significant for everyone mentally, the Dutchman said.
“It’s difficult to scan the brain, but if it’s possible and you would’ve scanned my brain Sunday in comparison to other Sundays, I think there was a lot of difference,” he said. “I felt relaxed.
“What I enjoyed most was after the game in the locker room, the staff and the players, their happiness and the joy and they put so much effort in,” he added. “I have a lot of appreciation for how they deal with the disappointing season. They fall and have to stand up again and again.”
Jans offered an injury update Tuesday morning and said Darren Mattocks will miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury.
Mattocks was injured during the Montreal match and immediately signaled for a substitution. After this ankle was evaluated, the diagnosis was worse than hoped, and Mattocks’ 2019 season is finished.
In addition, after a head-to-head hit against Montreal, Allan Cruz is in concussion protocol and will miss Wednesday night’s match against Atlanta.
One of FCC’s biggest challenges Wednesday is to stop Josef Martínez, the 2018 MLS MVP, who has 24 goals in 26 games. While this is a difficult task, it’s even harder with Cincinnati captain and center back Kendall Waston suspended for his red card against Montreal. So, how does Jans plan on stopping Martínez?
“I think it’s the best to prevent to get him into scoring positions,” Jans said of the Venezuelan forward. “I think we can build on what we did against Montreal (if) we don’t give away a lot of space. He’s very good in the box, but he’s very, very good in transition. So, in transition, we hope tactically that we don’t give away a lot of those moments.”
Wednesday night is the first MLS match in history to feature two Dutch head coaches.
Once the match starts, Jans will coach against Frank de Boer in their first meeting on the touchline since Eredivisie matches in the Netherlands.
Two of the biggest wins in Jans’ coaching career – a Dutch Cup and the Johan Cruijff Shield – were won against de Boer when PEC Zwolle upset Ajax Amsterdam.
“I think it’s very regular that a lot of Dutch coaches work in other countries, so it’s not new, but it’s it’s always good to be part of something that happens for the first time,” Jans said. “I think we have a good academy for coaches, so I hope (teams) chose us because of quality.”
