The first week in Florida for preseason has nearly reached its end, and Alan Koch and his men are due to spend most of next week in Bradenton training before jetting West to Sacramento for a much hyped friendly against Republic FC.
But before they can do that, there’s this Saturday’s game against Ottawa Fury FC to attend to first! Check out what to expect in our full match preview below.
WHEN
Saturday, February 25th, 2016, at 4:00pm EDT.
TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AT GATE ONLY.
OPPOSITION
Saturday’s match will see FCC pitted against USL newcomers Ottawa Fury FC, having made the switchover to USL after spending two seasons in the NASL. Coached by Paul Dalglish – the son of Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish – Fury FC are also the new USL affiliate for MLS side Montreal Impact.
VENUE
IMG Academy Stadium in Bradenton, Florida.
DIRECTIONS
FORM
FCC: The boys enter Saturday’s fixture still searching for their first win of the 2017 preseason, following a pair of 2-3 losses to OKC Energy (USL) last Sunday and Chicago Fire (MLS) on Wednesday. But in both matches, the Orange & Blue faced sides far further along into their preseasons. Too, there were plenty of positives to take from each match. FC Cincinnati more than held their own for stretches of the game against a largely first choice Chicago side, and went toe-to-toe with them over the final quarter hour of the match, too.
OFFC: Ottawa, like Chicago and OKC before them, enter their match against FCC with three wins. They kicked things off back in Canada last week with a 7-0 win over local amateur side, Ottawa Internationals. Their subsequent two matches down at IMG both resulted in 2-1 wins, the first over Saint Louis FC on Tuesday and the next against OKC on Thursday.
COACH
"We are looking forward to playing against a very hard-working and well organized Ottawa. We are in an evaluation period where we are continually assessing the players in training and games. Several players have started to step up and hopefully we will see further progressions in this game. This time of the year is about the process and we will continue to build on the good work that the players have put in over the last few days. All players will be given an opportunity to showcase themselves in this game."
- Head Coach Alan Koch
PLAYERS
FCC: There were plenty of players that shone for FCC during the last friendly against Chicago. New signing Djiby added a great headed goal to the assist he registered against OKC – not to mention his headed goal that was flagged offside in that first match too. And midfielders Kenney Walker and Aodhan Quinn each had great long range strikes – Walker’s a curling free kick, while Quinn’s from open play was also flagged off for an offside call.
OTHER: The Fury have bagged 11 goals in just three matches so far this preseason, and those have been mostly concentrated in two players. Forward Tucker Hume (#18) and midfielder Gerardo Bruna (#10) have both notched four goals so far, though Hume’s all came in their first friendly.
HISTORY
Our third match of preseason against Ottawa sees us taking on a third opponent for the very first time ever this Saturday.
WEATHER
Another relatively mild Florida afternoon awaits us tomorrow in Bradenton, where temperatures are expected to hover around 74° F at kickoff. There’s no rain in the forecast either at this point, and humidity is anticipated being at a manageable 70%.
WATCH
As this is preseason, none of our matches prior to the start of the regular season campaign will be on television.
However, just like last year, all the matches at IMG Academy will be streamed. Unlike last year though, all of the streams at IMG will be FREE of charge!
CLICK HERE TO STREAM FCC vs OFFC
LISTEN
None of FC Cincinnati's 2017 preseason matches will be available over the radio or via streaming radio.
SOCIAL
Just as was the case in 2016, you can follow along with the action during all of our 2017 matches live on our Twitter feed at @fccincinnati. Halftime and full time updates will also be available on Facebook. To get live looks from the match, follow us on Instagram and Snapchat at 'fccincinnati', too.
