It has been a go, go, go month of August for The Orange and Blue, playing eight matches across two competitions and effectively playing once every three days. Plenty of matches make things fun and exciting and busy, but it also means that there’s very little time, if any, for reflection, training, or improvement.
FC Cincinnati don’t get a break in the calendar as matchweek rolls along and a match away at Nashville SC looms, but they do get a regular week of training to build up for it. And given that every week for the last month has been a double match week between MLS action and Leagues Cup, a regular week of build feels like a break.
But only a break from game action, mind you, as FCC has been back on the training pitch this week with gusto and are looking to spend some time working together and improving after a challenging stretch of results.
After a week where FCC played three regular season matches, earning one win and two draws, on the tail of missing out on qualifying for the Leagues Cup quarterfinals, the squad is looking to build and improve because, in their eyes, the results could have been better, and need to be better.
“We've not really had practice in over a month, not like a full group real practice. So that's been tough,” FC Cincinnati midfielder Brian Anunga said after the 1-1 draw with Seattle over the weekend. “We feel disappointed with the result, obviously, because we're in front of our home fans, and every time we play at home, we expect to win…so I think now that we have a week to be able to prepare to play on the weekend. It will help us adjust a little bit and actually practice as a team. So I think having that week and working on some details will help the group.”
“It's been good and it's been intense. We finally get a full week to prepare for our game instead of two days so it’s a great opportunity to try and get better and win,” Gerardo ‘Dado’ Valenzuela said after training on Wednesday afternoon. “We know the team that we have is good and we know how well we're playing with the ball. These games, the one to zero games, we gotta hold down the fort and we know we have to work to get that final result.”
FC Cincinnati have had a frustrating August but not a bad one. In seven matches, they are a combined 4-1-2, and have cemented themselves in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. But being eliminated from Leagues Cup after a strong start, and dropping points to a depleted Seattle Sounders last weekend has left a sour taste in the team's mouth.
“I think we've been playing better, and especially the last three games: Orlando, New York, and Seattle. It's like we're doing well, we're creating chances, and to only get five points out of it, yea, we're disappointed,” goalkeeper Roman Celentano added after training. “So a full week of training is good for us as a team. It's a good chance for us to work on a couple things.”
The bright side of things right now is that the team has been healthy and, with that, has generated strong internal competition for opportunities. It has helped create a situation where not only are FCC able to operate effectively during a congested month like this one, but also where every match is one you expect to win. That obviously hasn’t come to pass, but the one loss in August came against a Liga MX side that is currently second in the league, and the two draws came at the end of the stretch and on the road.
It’s hardly the end of the world for FCC right now, but that’s not really the point. The point is that they feel like even with all that in mind, there are improvements to be made.
“What I told them before our meeting was, ‘this has been the most difficult, as far as player selection, in a long time,’ in a good way, as far as knowing that we have guys available and guys pushing for minutes,” FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said ahead of the match with Seattle last week. “I'm pleased with not just the health, but the way that those guys that I've mentioned are pushing guys that are ahead of them based on my selections and the and the coaches selections, they have put their head down and worked, and it's not easy to do that all the time. But that's what good pros and good teammates do in these circumstances.”
“I mean the team is deep right now, and obviously every single match and lineup we respect the coach's choice. But I think we have great players, and you see a lot of the guys that are on the bench are guys that have contributed a lot of minutes in MLS and experienced players,” Anunga added after the Seattle match. “The team is healthy, and it makes the competition much harder. So it's difficult to put out a lineup, and we have very good players.”
“I'm happy with the way things are going, like the trajectory of our team, but we still have to clamp a lot of things done with and without the ball, and that's gonna happen. But I think the path that we're on, you know, we should be expecting to get more out of those types of games and those types of weeks. That just means we all have to hold each other accountable in that locker room and continue to work hard together to get it done,” Celentano added. “So I think it's good right now, to have a full week of training. It means we've got some more time on our hands to work on the nitty gritty and get better.”
So training moves along, and with a full week The Orange and Blue are using the time to both recover and improve. On Tuesday morning, media viewing showed a full group working on attacking drills in the box and box defending, and on Wednesday, it showed the group stretching those concepts into larger spaces on the field. Coaches were able to get involved in the drills and provide more hands-on instruction, so that the message and concepts they’re looking to impart are applied more directly.
It has also become a time when FCC can focus on themselves and the things they want to improve, instead of just looking ahead to the next opponent and preparing for what’s to come. That opportunity includes on-field training, but it also extends to the video room and meeting spaces, where coaches can now go back over the past few and show the team areas they can improve.
This all sounds like some pretty basic stuff. And in some ways it really is. This is the kind of thing that normal weeks of training provide, but given it’s been over a month of game, recovery, prep, game, rinse and repeat, this reprieve ends up feeling more revelatory than standard.
What lies next on the FCC calendar is another big test. Nashville SC, who currently lead the Supporters’ Shield table and are undefeated at home, wait on a visiting FCC side who are looking to climb up the table. Nashville SC sits at the top of the table, and 18 points separate the two clubs, but that doesn’t really take away from the stakes of the match. NSC will be looking to advance their trophy hopes, while FCC could push their way into the top four of the Eastern Conference with a win.
Last week, Pat Noonan did something that he described as a first. Ahead of the NYCFC match that The Orange and Blue would go on to win 2-1, Noonan says he addressed where the teams are in the table to help give context and motivation to the squad. The fifth-year head coach has typically prioritized match-by-match information and left the longer-term elements, like table positioning, to sort themselves out. Still, in this case he felt it was relevant.
Noonan clarified his position and how he will proceed with these kinds of topics a week later, and said that while he felt it was useful in that moment, it’s a case-by-case conversation he will engage in.
“I don't think I need to do it every three days, or in this case every week,” Noonan said on how he would approach the table conversation in training. “It was addressed prior to the NYC game just to make sure everybody understood the importance of this moment. Well, now they know.”
“They know based on that result where we are, and I don't feel the need that we have to do it every game,” Noonan continued. “So it's helping them understand their next opponent, what they're fighting for, what we're fighting for, and really the conversation will be the same because at this stage, everybody's fighting for a playoff spot. Everybody is fighting for a seed, so every game is going to be challenging in the sense that every team has something to play for.”
FC Cincinnati will continue training all week and will depart for Nashville on Friday before taking on NSC at GEODIS Park on Saturday, August 29, with kickoff slated for 8:30 p.m. The Orange and Blue will then return home for their next tilt, hosting D.C. United on Saturday, September 5.
