Preview: FC Cincinnati, New York Red Bulls resume rivalry at TQL Stadium

Where did you direct your anger after FC Cincinnati's 2023 MLS Cup playoff run fell short?

The abrupt end to FC Cincinnati's pursuit of its first postseason championship was cause for strong and raw emotions, and few emerged blameless.

Some in the FC Cincinnati community blamed refereeing decisions and the resulting suspension of Matt Miazga. Some pointed inward, holding Miazga accountable for his actions. Others pointed to the front office, and a perceived drop-off in center-back depth in Miazga's absence.

Hardcore "Hell is Real" believers blamed arch-rival Columbus Crew for eliminating Cincinnati. The anger was justified but it was hard to really hold anything against the Crew after they hoisted MLS Cup one week after FC Cincinnati's ouster.

And then there was the New York Red Bulls. They were an afterthought for many by the time FC Cincinnati was eliminated Dec. 2, but the truth was that much of FCC's postseason torment could be traced back to a Nov. 4 playoff match at Red Bull Arena.

FC Cincinnati eliminated the Red Bulls that night but did so at great cost. Of course, that was the scene of Miazga's layered situation − a weeks-long ordeal that sapped energy from the playoff push.

Harrison, New Jersey was also the scene of a rock fight of a playoff soccer game. The tackles were brutal. FC Cincinnati was pushed to the brink just to survive the match. One player, Obinna Nwobodo, missed the next playoff game due to an injury sustained on a hard tackle, and was limited to coming off the bench at less than full fitness when he reappeared against the Crew.

All that is to say some FC Cincinnati fans look to "RBNY" as the source of some of their playoff frustration, even as FCC itself didn't discuss any of the clubs' five encounters from 2023, as Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan stated was the case on Thursday.

"There's too many things that have taken place since that moment to cause me to be upset about something different," Noonan said. "I understand that that's going to be talked about because it's our next opponent, but there's no reason for me to bring that into play unless I'm trying to motivate the guys. I would like to think that they haven't lost sight of how the series ended. We were fortunate enough to move on, but if guys want to look back at that, in their own ways, so be it. It's just not how I care to approach this particular game because I just think there's enough out there to inform them about with this new (Red Bulls) group."

Noonan moved on. It will be interesting to see after the match if others shared in his detachment from the 2023 postseason.

Celentano to miss RBNY match

FC Cincinnati starting goalkeeper Roman Celentano is set to miss a match due to injury for the first time in his career after sustaining an ankle injury sustained last weekend against Charlotte FC.

After Celentano missed practice sessions at the Mercy Health Training Center all week, Noonan on Thursday confirmed Celentano was out for the game. The ankle injury occurred during the first half of Saturday's 1-1 draw with Charlotte at Bank of America Stadium.

"Roman will be out long-term. Depends on how you view 'long-term' but it will be a couple weeks," Noonan said. "Certainly this weekend, he's not available and then we'll kind of see where he's at next week in his availability for next weekend's matchup (at Montreal)."

Alec Kann, who was unable to train with his hands until recent weeks due to recovery from an offseason medical procedure, is a possibility to start in goal for FCC against New York. Evan Louro, who was initially signed by FCC toward the end of the 2022 regular season, has been healthy throughout 2024 and dressing in Kann's place on match days.

Can FCC jumpstart its attack?

The conversation regarding FC Cincinnati's attack hasn't changed much in recent weeks. The club is still waiting for its goal-scorers to hit their stride offensively.

FCC has scored six goals through six MLS matches. Of the eight other clubs with six goals or fewer, only three, including Cincinnati, are in playoff positions.

As the club awaits an offensive spark that most expect will eventually arrive, the discussion about the lack of scoring continues to be blunt.

"I think you can see where we’re struggling in front of goal," Noonan said. "I do think we continue to get into good spots but we have enough of a sample size to say that we need to improve in front of goal, on an individual level and collectively . . . Everybody sees it. If you talk to guys individually, they know. It's also guys that are putting pressure on themselves to produce, that are accustomed to doing that but aren't. We're trying to find ways to take the pressure off them and understand not to try to do too much."

New-look New York

The Red Bulls are part of an early, three-team tie for second place in the Eastern Conference, which points to the successful decisions made during a busy offseason.

Now under new head coach Sandro Schwarz, who is a veteran manager of the German top-flight, the Red Bulls are scoring plenty of goals and considered by some pundits to be playing some of the best-looking soccer in the east.

Lewis Morgan is leading MLS in scoring (six goals) and forward Dante Vanzeir is tied for the league lead with assists (five).

Emil Forsberg, the 32-year-old Swedish midfielder and offseason arrival, has also made waves early in his MLS career.

In sum, this year's Red Bulls team looks like a safe bet to continue the club's 14-year streak of qualifying for the MLS postseason − the longest such streak in American sports.

"I think they have a really good way of getting pressure to the ball and making teams uncomfortable," Noonan said. "How they've done it has looked a little bit different in games, whether it's in more advanced positions where they're initiating that pressure, or you see in moments in the Orlando game, where it's a little bit deeper.

"But still tough to break down. They still have ways where they look to press teams to create transition moments and they still do a very good job of getting out in transition. On the ball, there's, I think, subtle differences in terms of maybe the build structures in some of these games, where you can see a new coach that has different ideas. A lot of their strengths are still their strengths, but I also think they're adding a couple pieces. You look at (Emil) Forsberg and he's a very strong player. Whether he's available or not remains to be seen, but he's one of the few additions that you can look at and say that they have some game changers with the ball."

The game

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. | TQL Stadium; Cincinnati

Broadcast: Apple TV

All-time series: FC Cincinnati and New York Red Bulls have played to an all-time series tie of 5-5-5.

Cincinnati.com prediction: FC Cincinnati 1, New York Red Bulls 1.

FC Cincinnati

Record (MLS): 3-0-3, 12 points; first place in Eastern Conference

Goals for: Six.

Goals against: Three.

Head coach: Pat Noonan, third season as head coach

Projected starting XI: Evan Louro, goalkeeper; Luca Orellano, left wing back; Ian Murphy, center back; Matt Miazga, center back; Miles Robinson, center back; DeAndre Yedlin, right wing back; Yuya Kubo, midfielder; Pavel Bucha, midfielder; Luciano Acosta, midfielder; Corey Baird, forward; Aaron Boupendza, forward.

New York Red Bulls

Regular season record: 3-1-2, 11 points; Fourth in Eastern Conference

Goals for: Nine.

Goals against: Six.

Head coach: Sandro Schwarz, first season as Red Bulls head coach

Projected starting XI: Carlos Coronel, goalkeeper; Kyle Duncan, left back; Sean Nealis, center back; Andrés Reyes, center back;Dylan Nealis, right back; Wikelman Carmona, midfielder; Peter Stroud, midfielder; Frankie Amaya, midfielder; Dennis Gjengaar, midfielder; Dante Vanzeir, forward; Lewis Morgan, forward.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati, New York Red Bulls resume rivalry at TQL Stadium