FC Cincinnati (20-9-5, 65 pts.) take on Columbus Crew (14-8-12, 28 pts.) at TQL Stadium for a deciding Game 3 in the Round One Best-of-3 series. With each side holding their own on home turf in the first two games of this series, things return to TQL Stadium as FCC look to utilize the advantage they earned throughout the regular season.
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and will be available to stream on AppleTV.
It all comes down to this as the playoffs now move to a win-or-go-home format with no safety net. The results in previous matches have no bearing on this one. With the stakes raised, let's take a look at some of the key factors heading into this matchup.
🔑 Play With Confidence, Set the Tone
Part of attacking Saturday’s game is playing aggressively and with the upper hand. Home-field advantage certainly helps with that, but setting the tone early could be key to establishing the pace and style of the game.
One way FC Cincinnati can do that is through physiological fortitude. Head Coach Pat Noonan spoke Thursday ahead of Game 3 about the importance of their mindset going into the game and how establishing it early will be vital to success.
“You can't go after it scared or you don't have a chance,” Noonan said Thursday. I think everybody knows what's at stake. And like I said, it's trying to go about it in a confident and calm way, but with the right intensity and urgency in the right moment.”
Another way The Orange and Blue can put their stamp on the game is through their play. The Columbus Crew love to play with the ball and dominate possession; it was one of their strengths in earning a victory in Game 2, and FCC neutralized it in Game 1.
Establishing FCC’s presence on defense and on the ball would be another way they could play with confidence and take control of the game.
“You want to have the right intensity, the right pressure, at the right moment,” Noonan explained. “The moments where you get it wrong, they can cause you some problems, and it's trying to make sure that the way you defend against the ball is controlled and clear as far as how you want to recover it, and then when you do have the ball, whether it's playing in transition, understanding those moments where we can exploit space, and when the moments not there, how to be patient with the ball.
“We did that in a much better way in the first game, and obviously in the second game it wasn't as strong, certainly up until the red card. So, yeah, having controlled energy and doing it together, I think it's an important part of it. You can't have one guy with good intensity step into the ball and the remainder of the group that isn't ready. You have to get the collective press right, and then when you're moving the ball, how you try to exploit space and attack, that has to be a collective as well.”
🔑 Play Together, Move as One
“It's a playoff game, it's a playoff atmosphere, playoff intensity. So we have to recognize that we're at our best when every single player is moving together as a team and recognizing that every moment's as massive as anything in the season,” Miles Robinson said postgame after Game 2, already preparing for Game 3.
The captain of FC Cincinnati the last two matches highlighted an important point in what has made The Orange and Blue their best this season, and that is when they are moving in unison and on the same page.
Part of what made FCC so successful in Game 1 was a comprehensive defense that kept the Columbus Crew at bay and left them on the back foot. It has been a key talking point in the lead-up to this rubber match that replicating that would be an excellent start to finding victory.
“What is important is to play together, to go there, to do things together,” FC Cincinnati forward and Game 1 game-winning goal scorer Kévin Denkey said Thursday after training. “I think if (everyone) focuses on how they can prepare the best possible way, we all will be ready together.”
“I think everyone's on the same page, it’s just do your job,” goalkeeper Roman Celentano added today. “Everyone is just focused on doing what they can to help the team, and if everyone plays their part, we'll be happy at the end.”
One thing that can bring together The Orange and Blue Saturday is their home crowd. The advantage that the FCC faithful helped give their side during Game 1 was palpable, with pushes coming from crowd support at just the right time whenever they needed it. It is a motivating factor going into Game 3 to ride the wave of support from TQL Stadium, then repay that energy to the fans with a strong performance.
“It's always better to be playing at home with a fan base like we have,” Noonan added from the presser. “You saw it in Game 1. The energy was great, I think the guys that stepped out on the field for this club performed in a way where it brought out even better energy in them. That's our job, to play the game in a way where it brings life to the stadium. We felt that in Game 1, and we're hoping to feel that again in Game 3. But, they've shown up, they've shown up every time and it's our job to reward that.”
🔑 Get physical and leave it all out there
There are intangibles to must-win games that make the details of the game, simply put, irrelevant. At the end of the day, winning is the most important element, the only element really, and effort is the only thing that will help you achieve success under those standards.
Win or go home, it's that simple.
Part of playoff soccer — and of any rivalry match — is that everything takes a step up for these games. The speed, the stakes, the drama, everything is just a little bit bigger. Another example of amplified attributes is physicality. With the season on the line everyone is going to sacrifice their bodies in a different way, and being physical in this match could be paramount to finding success.
“That's why they call it Hell is Real. You have to be tough when you step up into the fray,” Teenage Hadebe said after Game 2 of the series. “That's how that is. That's how you have to play…they will be aggressive. (Now) we'll be playing in front of our fans. The energy they have, they'll push us…and we'll bring it.”
That physicality can manifest in many ways. But the challenge of it all is to apply that toughness in ways that don’t sacrifice the other parts of your game. Now is not the time for recklessness, but for controlled energy and bravery on all fronts.
Ultimately, one way FC Cincinnati players can ensure pride in their performance is by making sure they leave it all out there and leaving no ounce of effort unused.
“The worst thing we can do is sit after the game and say we could have done more,” Lukas Engel said ahead of Saturday’s match. “So I think it's about preparing ourselves to go out there and give everything; die with the boots on. There's nothing. There's nothing worse in this world than sitting back after a game and thinking I could have done more. So I think it's about being prepared to do whatever it takes and get the win.”
“We've put a lot of focus on just what we need to improve on the first two days, and then, put a little bit more time into the adjustments, today and tomorrow,” Head Coach Pat Noonan said in his pre-match press conference at Mercy Health Training Center. “I think the group was disappointed, pissed off, all the normal emotions when you don't perform well, and so how do you take those lessons? How do you go and put your head down and train? The past is the past – we can look at that game and spend too much time thinking about it, and that could have a negative impact on this week. I said you got to get past it quickly.
“That was the discussion right after the game because we get to go again. That's the positive and so we control what the next couple days look like, to prepare the right way, to go into it the right way and have a better outcome. So, you know that part's pretty straightforward to me.”
