In this edition of Oppo Research, Hudson River Blue spoke with Laurel Pfahler of Queen City Press to learn more about FC Cincinnati, New York City FC's opponent in the final 2024 Leagues Cup group stage match on Monday night. Here is your NYCFC vs Cincinnati preview.
• Recent Form (All Comps): L-L-L-W-W
• MLS Record: 15W, 3D, 7L | 48 points, 2nd place
• Scoring Leader: Luciano Acosta, 11 goals
• Assist Leader: Luciano Acosta, 15 assists
1. Missing defenders = losing streak
Hudson River Blue: After dominating Inter Miami 6-1 in early July, Cincinnati went on to lose their last three Major League Soccer games, two of which were on home soil. Cincinnati are only five points behind Miami heading into the Leagues Cup break, but what’s been going on with last season's Supporters Shield winners?
Laurel Pfahler: You could point to a lot of issues that were piling up even before that, but for some reason, suddenly, it all became unmanageable in that three-game stretch.
FCC lost MLS Defender of the Year Matt Miazga to a season-ending knee injury on June 15, then fellow centerback Nick Hagglund went down the following week – all while Miles Robinson was away for Copa America. Coach Pat Noonan moved some players around, and FCC still managed to win five of six games in that time, including that “statement” Miami game. (The players and coaches were humble about that one, knowing Messi and several others were missing, but the Herons had been winning games without them leading into it, so it still felt like a nice win.)
Then the three-game losing streak followed. It was like they had put everything they could into getting through that stretch right after the injuries, players knew they needed to step up and they were managing results, though some were ugly wins. And, the energy just ran out.
The bandaids they had in place to fix the defense could only hold up for so long. Robinson was back for the Charlotte match on July 13 but got a red card and couldn’t play the next match before leaving for the Olympics. At the same time, Noonan switched up the formation to a 3-4-2-1 (from a 3-4-1-2) and started almost exclusively using Luca Orellano at right wingback or as a dual 10 so he could get his best midfielders and defenders available on the field together, and it seemed the attack lost its identity trying to figure out who worked best at forward in that new setup.
U22 forward Kevin Kelsy had gotten off to a strong start as an addition at the end of the primary transfer window, but suddenly was not playing as much, and then Luciano Acosta injured his other foot (he had been playing through some pain in one foot) and did not play against Chicago on July 17 and only played the second half against Red Bulls on July 20, not looking his best.
FCC finally got a new center-back in with the acquisition of Chidozie Awaziem, and he looked solid in his debut Thursday, playing a full 90 minutes despite having only one week with the team and this essentially being his preseason. I think the biggest issue right now is the lack of identity on offense and Acosta not being available as he tries to get fully healthy (which he should). It also doesn’t help that DP forward Aaron Boupendza just hasn’t meshed with the group this year and is wasting away on the bench and currently not even with the team, due to what Noonan says is an extended illness.
2. Winning Leages Cup is a clear-cut goal
HRB: With Cincinnati looking to win MLS Cup this season, will head coach Pat Noonan also be trying to win Leagues Cup? Or does he see this as a chance to rotate his squad and give some other players a chance instead to avoid injuries?
LP: Sort of both.
The goal is to keep playing games because the two-week break after losing in the Round of 32 last year seemed to take the wind out of the sails in the return to MLS play (bad loss at Columbus and lost a two-goal lead to Miami in the US Open Cup semifinals), and Noonan believes the team needs to be playing well going into the final nine league games. And yes, he would like to win Leagues Cup because there are fewer chances to earn Concacaf Champions Cup berths this year with no US Open Cup participation and the Supporters' Shield race is looking really tough as well.
