FC Cincinnati wants to reward its fans at TQL Stadium against NYCFC
FC Cincinnati owes its fans a good performance at TQL Stadium. The club knows it, and perhaps it will finally deliver in its fifth attempt this year at its West End home.
All things considered, FC Cincinnati is off to a strong start across the board. It showed well in CONCACAF Champions League against powerhouse CF Monterrey and is probably ahead of where many expected it would be in Major League Soccer via an undefeated, 2-0-2 record.
The absence of a home win at TQL Stadium has colored early perceptions of FCC locally, though. Fans saw with their own eyes as FC Cincinnati sputtered at home in MLS play against Toronto FC and D.C. United, as well as in a tight Champions Cup loss to Monterrey March 7.
The lone home win came against an overmatched Cavalier FC team in Champions Cup. Suffice it to say that didn't go far toward satisfying supporters.
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FC Cincinnati can send its fans home truly happy with their club for the first time in 2024 when New York City FC on Saturday visits TQL Stadium (7:30 p.m.).
"We would like to win in front of our home fans," FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said during a Thursday news conference. "We made up for it on the road in our first two games but that doesn't justify us not getting results at home. It helps us with where we're at in the table and not dropping too many points but we've played to two scoreless draws in front of our fans. It would be nice to reward them, which I've said many times, with a good performance (and) something that is more exciting than the first two games, and seeing us score some goals and win the game."
After Sunday's 2-1 win against New England Revolution, FC Cincinnati enjoyed its first true off day since preseason on Monday, plus its preferred, four-day buildup toward the weekend's game.
That's closer to the club's normal, preferred cadence for games. For the past four weeks, Cincinnati was forced to focus on rest and recovery in the short spaces between Champions Cup and league games.
"(Wednesday) we probably had our most intense training session in a month. It was refreshing," Noonan said. "I think for the entire group, it was something we were looking forward to. But it allowed us to work on some transition stuff that, based on the schedule, wasn't the case . . . It's been nice to get to a normal flow of the week."
Cincinnati won't play any midweek games until May 15 when it hosts Atlanta United FC. That means two months' worth of matches spaced apart by a full week.
One-win New York City FC comes to TQL Stadium having seen three players called up for international duty, including Algerian forward Mounsef Bakrar and Jamaican defender Tayvon Gray.
NYCFC is coming off its first victory of 2024, a 2-1 win that saw Toronto FC defeated for the first time this year. In the process of obtaining the win, New York lost midfielder Keaton Parks to a red card, which will result in him being suspended for the date with Cincinnati.
NYCFC manager Nick Cushing said during his pre-match remarks that he was unsure of how his team would line up based on the absences he's facing, although he said the construction of his 2024 roster appeared to be giving him good options to replace the missing pieces.
“I’ve still got some selection headaches. I don't know the starting 11 that I'm picking," Cushing said. "There are two or three (players) that are really fighting (for minutes). I think you get an opportunity in these moments . . . You can see in the training that some guys have a huge desire to play because the opportunity is there and they haven't played so much. I think that is confirmation that we built a roster that can cope in these moments.”
Twenty-four-year-old Santiago Rodriguez, who should be available for Saturday, leads "the Pigeons" in scoring with two goals.
The game
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. | TQL Stadium, Cincinnati
Broadcast: Apple TV
Cincinnati.com prediction: FC Cincinnati 2, New York City FC 0.
FC Cincinnati
Record (MLS): 2-0-2, Eight points; third place in Eastern Conference
Goals for: Four.
Goals against: Two.
Head coach: Pat Noonan, third season as head coach
Projected starting XI: Roman Celentano, goalkeeper; Luca Orellano, left wing back; Ian Murphy, center back; Matt Miazga, center back; Kipp Keller, center back; Yuya Kubo, right wing back; Obinna Nwobodo, midfielder; Pavel Bucha, midfielder; Luciano Acosta, midfielder; Corey Baird, forward; Aaron Boupendza, forward.
New York City FC
Regular season record: 1-3-0, three points; Tied for 12th in Eastern Conference
Goals for: Three.
Goals against: Six.
Head coach: Nick Cushing
Projected starting XI: Matt Freese (GK), Mitja Ilenič, Thiago Martins, Kevin O'Toole, Birk Risa, Andrés Perea, James Sands, Santiago Rodríguez, Julián Fernández, Jovan Mijatović, Hannes Wolf.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati wants to reward its fans at TQL Stadium against NYCFC
