Ahead of the final home match this season, birthday boy (and FC Cincinnati Head Coach) Ron Jans made four changes to his starting XI to face Orlando City SC.
Here’s the starting lineup for Sunday night at Nippert Stadium:
About the starters
Nick Hagglund, Allan Cruz, Roland Lamah and Joseph-Claude Gyau replace Kendall Waston, Tommy McCabe, Derrick Etienne Jr., and Rashawn Dally in the lineup.
Cincinnati native Hagglund returns to the XI and wears the armband for the first time since FCC hosted Atlanta United FC on Aug. 18. Waston is suspended for yellow-card accumulation, as he was against ATL UTD.
Back from concussion protocol, Cruz starts for the first time since Sept. 14 at the Montreal Impact, where he scored seconds into the match.
Lamah makes his first start since Sept. 7 against Toronto FC. And similar to Hagglund, Gyau’s last start was against Atlanta.
About the bench
Andrew Gutman, Dally and McCabe started last match against the Chicago Fire on Sept. 21. Hague continues to back up Przemysław Tyton as Spencer Richey has just started training following a length injury lay-off.
Alashe last played against Atlanta, Justin Hoyte last played Aug. 31 at FC Dallas. Earlier in the day, he posted a message on social media thanking the Nippert Stadium fans, appearing to signal his off-season departure from the club.
About the absences
Corben Bone (hip), Darren Mattocks (ankle), Kekuta Manneh (shoulder), Jimmy McLaughlin (knee) and Spencer Richey (back) are unavailable Sunday night. Bone picked up the injury this week in training, while Mattocks is still carrying the knock he picked up at Montreal. Together, Mattocks, Manneh and McLaughlin are out for the rest of the season.
