FC Cincinnati played well and claimed a 2-1 win against the Charleston Battery in their debut match at the 2019 Carolina Challenge Cup on Saturday night at MUSC Health Stadium. FCC lead the tournament through the first round of matches.
Here are three takeaways from the win and Cincinnati’s fifth preseason match.
The Portland partnership
Throughout the preseason, Head Coach Alan Koch has reiterated the significance of player partnerships and the team developing chemistry. The players provided the perfect example in the opening minute of the match when right back Alvas Powell made a charging run down the right side, found Darren Mattocks out wide and then Mattocks crossed to Adi, who scored.
The goal came 63 seconds into the match. Obviously, it arrived quickly and set the tone for the game. But more importantly, FCC created a well-worked goal from their own half of the field and executed in seconds. Quick bursts of that quality should excite Koch, the players, and fans entering the MLS regular season in two weeks.
As for the Powell-Mattocks-Adi connection, all three played together with the Portland Timbers and could have one of the better partnerships on the team entering the MLS season.
“I think we had some good transitional moments going to goal,” Koch said. “I thought we created quite a few chances.
Making strides in match fitness
FC Cincinnati’s round of substitutions came in the 73rd minute. Before that, the only change was Caleb Stanko replacing Leo Bertone at halftime.
Koch said players need to build match fitness so that they’re able to play a full match. Players have gone 90 minutes previously in preseason (Przemysław Tytoń, Forrest Lasso, Blake Smith and Tommy McCabe), but Saturday’s 73 minutes for the starters was the longest they’ve gone at any point in preseason. For the most part, they played well.
“I thought there were some good moments at times and some tough moments at times,” Koch said. “That’s why we played them together for 70-odd minutes. They need to spend time together. I was very pleased with the positive moments and some challenging moments, too.”
After starting the second half slow, Charleston converting a penalty in the 54th minute sparked a swift response. The Orange and Blue dominated the remaining minutes.
On first place after the first round
Winning the Carolina Challenge Cup is not a priority. Koch said it this week and players know it too. That said, if the club can win matches playing well, no one will complain with preseason hardware.
Cincinnati still has two games left in the tournament — both games against the other two MLS teams. But opening the CCC with success is a great debut. That the team scored 66 seconds into the tournament is even better.
In Florida, the Orange and Blue scored every goal in the second half. Against the Indy Eleven on Tuesday, FCC went spells of the match getting outplayed. So, to produce and build momentum early shouldn’t be downplayed.
