If there’s any solace in what happened Saturday afternoon at Allianz Field, where FC Cincinnati lost 7-1 to Minnesota United FC, it’s this: That will never happen again.
Yes, FC Cincinnati will probably lose at some point in their future, but not in that manner.
The Orange and Blue entered the match with 16 available players – their fewest for a league match in club history. Because of players away on international duty, injuries and a single-game suspension, Interim Head Coach Yoann Damet was forced to improvise.
It showed.
FCC came out with a strong first 15 minutes - a period of time that had been troublesome for the team the last few games - pushing play, stringing passes together and asserting themselves on Minnesota.
However, after the next 30 minutes, Cincinnati trailed 3-0 – despite continuing to boss play. When players walked toward the sideline for a water break, Damet and Assistant Coach Pa Modou Kah asked their players for more effort. But when the match ended 7-1 – FCC had never allowed more than six in a match in its history – words weren’t needed. Emotions did all the talking.
Players visibly upset in the silent locker room.
Those players who gave maximum effort had nothing to show, other than Emmanuel Ledesma scoring his first MLS goal and Tommy McCabe making his MLS debut.
For everyone else, Saturday afternoon was one everyone will want to forget, but the result will be seared into everyone’s mind until something changes.
The good thing, though, is things are in fact changing.
Condolences (or gratitude) goes to Costa Rica losing to Mexico on penalty kicks in the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup Quarterfinals. With the loss, Allan Cruz and Kendall Waston will be available for Cincinnati for Saturday’s match against the Houston Dynamo at Nippert Stadium.
Cruz, a regular starter who’s tied with Darren Mattocks for the team lead in scoring, hasn’t played for the Orange and Blue since June 1. Waston, the team’s captain and a starting center back, hasn’t played since May 25.
Because Jamaica beat Panama on Sunday night, the Reggae Boyz advancing means Mattocks and Alvas Powell will likely miss the Houston game, but would return in time for FCC at the Chicago Fire on July 13. Mattocks would be Damet’s second available striker in addition to Rashawn Dally with Fanendo Adi out with a hamstring issue.
As for Powell, the right back’s return eases pressure on the backline – and right back position in particular – which has seen FCC use a center midfielder occupy the position in the last two MLS matches. Powell returning could also give Mathieu Deplagne rest. Before a 57th-minute substitution Saturday, Deplagne had played every minute previously for the club in league and 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play.
All four players away at the Gold Cup are regular FCC starters. Their return should help.
Of course, when they’re back with Cincinnati, Greg Garza (calf), Fatai Alashe (hamstring) and Adi (hamstring) are a week closer to playing again.
Oh, and Leo Bertone’s one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation is complete, so he can play against Houston.
Including all the names listed above, that’s roughly 6-8 normal starters who were absent in Minnesota. That’s not an excuse as much as a statement reiterating the state of the club 18 games into its 34-game season.
Saturday’s game was an ugly result. But looking deeper you can see that there was continued progress toward Damet’s task of instilling a team system, a style of play.
FCC finished by dominating possession, even before the Lions started to grow their lead, much of which came on the counter. Cincy posted a season-best 89.5% passing. These are hallmarks of the system being stalled.
Moving forward, more players will be available, and depth will be deeper for Damet to choose from. And with the summer transfer window opening shortly, that could lead to more player arrivals, too. And as new General Manager Gerard Nijkamp continues to work out of Europe and also help the club hire its next head coach, both of their full-time arrivals will also boost the club immeasurably as well.
Reading this won’t relieve anyone from the 7-1 drubbing, but it’ll remind supporters that things can’t be that bad again, and in fact, have a lot of positives to pull from ahead of the second half of the season starting.
