Following a big week for the club off the pitch, FC Cincinnati re-focuses on the USL season with a 1 p.m. trip to Harrison, New Jersey, to face New York Red Bulls II this Saturday, June 2.
Saturday’s contest comes after a rare, full week off between matches. The Orange & Blue take to the road in league play for the first time in two weeks as they make their second-ever trip to Red Bull Arena.
Tomorrow’s game is the weekend’s main event at RBA – the MLS Red Bulls are playing on the road at New England -- tickets for the match are still available online and the box office. The match will also be broadcast live back in Cincinnati on Star64 (WSTR) and across the country on ESPN+.
A LITTLE BACKGROUND
Second-place Cincinnati is looking to rebound from last Saturday's loss at Nippert Stadium with a visit to New York, which is tied for fifth place in the USL East.
But, Red Bulls II are a side that they've never defeated on the road. FCC have lost both previous away matches at New York -- the first a 3-2 loss at Red Bull Arena in 2016 and the second a 5-0 setback on the campus of Montclair State University last season.
In fact, FCC's only win over Red Bulls II in four previous meetings was a 4-2 win in Cincy in USL play in September 2016.
Saturday's matinee meeting doesn't appear to get any easier for head coach Alan Koch's squad either. Red Bulls II have yet to lose at home in 2018 and have scored an impressive 17 goals in five home fixtures.
But if there's one team that seems well-suited to challenge New York's home superiority, it's the FCC side with whom they're tied with atop the Eastern Conference's scoring charts.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Further complicating things heading into the match is the task of figuring out which New York side will take the pitch Saturday. Only three players have started each of NYRBII's last four matches, all either at defense or midfield. With the luxury of having MLS-rostered players available, plus the deep Red Bulls Academy at his disposal, fourth-year head coach John Wolyniec can - and frequently does - rotate his squad.
And with the Red Bulls USL-squad not burdened with the additional Open Cup matches -- professional MLS reserve teams are not permitted to partake in the competition -- it's likely a well-rested NYRBII team, too.
As for Koch's traveling troop, two familiar faces will be missing on Saturday afternoon.
Captain Dekel Keinan will be unavailable against NYRB because of yellow card accumulation. The veteran Israel international centerback picked up his fifth caution of the campaign last weekend against Louisville, so Koch will likely have a decision of which two of his three available center backs – Paddy Barrett, Forrest Lasso and Sem de Wit – to start on the road.
Koch will also have to do without assistant coach Yoann Damet following the Frenchman's dismissal early in the second half of last Saturday's loss.
However, while there will be key personnel losses for the Orange & Blue, the week between matches has given a few members of the squad carrying knocks some extra time to heal.
And a healthier FCC squad that boasts one of the league's best road records could make this a big-time battle outside the Big Apple this weekend.
