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Preview, prediction for FC Cincinnati's CONCACAF Champions Cup debut

pat brennan, cincinnati enquirer
·4 min read

A new-look FC Cincinnati will make its first impression of 2024 in a high-stakes environment.

An FC Cincinnati team that's faced significant year-over-year turnover involving key players, including the late-preseason departure of wing back Alvaro Barreal, plays its first competitive match of the year on Thursday at Jamaica's national stadium against Cavalier FC in a CONCACAF Champions Cup match.

The game is part of a two-leg series that concludes Wednesday at TQL Stadium. The aggregate score winner over the two matches will advance to face Mexican giant Monterrey FC in the Champions Cup, a tournament that crowns a club champion for North and Central America, and the Caribbean. The winner of the tournament represents the region in the FIFA Club World Cup.

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FC Cincinnati will put to the test a roster that's still in flux and likely awaiting additional new arrivals. The club will also be tested by an unfamiliar team in a completely new environment on Thursday as it figuratively carries banners for Major League Soccer and Cincinnati on foreign soil.

"It's great for our club to be now observed in more than just league play and our cup competitions domestically," FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said during a Wednesday news conference via Zoom. "We get to challenge ourselves against the best in the region and I think we're excited about the opportunity. We'll see tomorrow what that looks like but I think the group's ready. It's been a long preseason but we're ready to compete. I like the fact that we get to start the year off with an unfamiliar opponent in a tough atmosphere."

"We obviously know that they're a good team," center back Matt Miazga said of Jamaican side Cavalier on Wednesday. "They're in this competition for a reason. It's going to be a challenge, for sure."
"We obviously know that they're a good team," center back Matt Miazga said of Jamaican side Cavalier on Wednesday. "They're in this competition for a reason. It's going to be a challenge, for sure."

Cavalier, the current Jamaica Premier League leaders for the 2023-24 season, qualified for the Champions League via the CONCACAF Caribbean Cup. The top three teams from that tournament for teams from the Caribbean region punched a ticket to the Champions Cup, and Cavalier finished runner-up to Suriname's Robinhood.

Along the way, Cavalier's Shaniel Thomas was the leading scorer in the Caribbean Cup with eight goals.

"We obviously know that they're a good team," FC Cincinnati center back and 2023 MLS Defender of the Year Matt Miazga said Wednesday. "They're in this competition for a reason. It's going to be a challenge, for sure. We know that they're top of their respective league, so they're definitely accustomed to winning and it's going to be a challenge . . . They're definitely fit and prepared. We just had a good preseason and we're ready to go."

FC Cincinnati is coming off a preseason that saw it earn strong results but some shaky performances, too.

FCC lost its preseason opener to Austin FC on Jan. 26 and went on to win its next three games, the formats of which varied and diverged from typical 90-minute contests.

FCC last faced a full-strength opponent Feb. 9 against Philadelphia Union, an opponent that dumped three goals on Cincinnati within 17 minutes of the game's start. FCC fought back to win a 120-minute contest, 4-3.

FC Cincinnati's last preseason contest on Feb. 15 was against a New England Revolution side that rotated its lineup heavily after playing one day earlier.

The game

Kickoff: 9 p.m., Thursday | Independence Park; Kingston, Jamaica

Broadcast: FS2; Fox Sports 1360 (radio)

All-time series: This is the first-ever meeting between FC Cincinnati and Cavalier FC.

Cincinnati.com prediction: FC Cincinnati 3, Cavalier FC 2

FC Cincinnati

Preseason record: 3-1-0

Preseason goals for: 12

Preseason goals against: 7

Head coach: Pat Noonan - third season as head coach

Projected starting XI:

Roman Celentano, goalkeeper

Bret Halsey, left wing back

Ian Murphy, center back

Matt Miazga, center back

Miles Robinson, center back

Yuya Kubo, right wing back

Obinna Nwobodo, midfielder

Pavel Bucha, midfielder

Luciano Acosta, midfielder

Corey Baird, forward

Aaron Boupendza, forward

Cavalier FC

Regular season record: 13-2-4, 43 points; first place in Jamaica Premier League.

Goals for: 30 (No. 3 in league)

Goals against: Nine (No. 1 in league)

Head coach: Rudolph Spied

Projected starting XI:

Jeadine White, goalkeeper

Richard King, defender

Jeovanni Barrington Laing, center back

Kyle Ming, defender

Dwayne Anthony Allen, midfielder

Gadial Irving, midfielder

Dwayne Atkinson, midfielder

Mackenson Cadet, midfielder

Orlando Russell, forward

Jalmaro Calvin, forward

Shaniel Thomas, forward

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Preview, prediction for FC Cincinnati's CONCACAF Champions Cup debut