Ahead of his first match leading FC Cincinnati in the 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, Interim Head Coach Yoann Damet will roll out this lineup against Louisville City FC on Wednesday night at Nippert Stadium:
Overall, Damet made three changes from FCC’s last competitive match – a loss in league action last Thursday at New York City FC. Many are due to international call-ups and injuries.
Frankie Amaya, Kekuta Manneh and Przemysław Tytoń replace Corben Bone, Roland Lamah, and Spencer Richey in the starting 11.
Tytoń and Amaya will both make their U.S. Open Cup debuts against Louisville City. This is Tyton’s first competitive match under Damet, and his first since May 4 at the San Jose Earthquakes when he last started.
Amaya is back in the XI after being a sub at NYCFC. He started the previous five games.
Manneh’s last start was May 19 at Orlando City SC.
About the bench
The Orange and Blue will only dress five players tonight on their bench.
Fatai Alashe is available for selection for the first time since May 11, when he scored the game-winning goal against the Montreal Impact at Nippert Stadium. He has now recovered from a hamstring concern.
About the absences
FCC have 16 players available for selection for a variety of reasons.
Darren Mattocks, Alvas Powell, Kendall Waston and Allan Cruz are on international duty ahead of the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup. Mattocks and Powell are with Jamaica, while Cruz and Waston are with Costa Rica at the Concacaf Gold Cup, which begins play this weekend. Costa Rica will kick off tournament action on Sunday, while Jamaica starts Monday
Tommy McCabe is unavailable because he is cup-tied to another team. He played for North Carolina FC in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup and players can only feature for one club during the tournament.
Because Damet opted to only dress one goalkeeper, Jimmy Hague is a healthy scratch from the 18.
As for injuries, Greg Garza (calf) and Roland Lamah (hamstring) are unavailable against Louisville City. Jimmy McLaughlin (knee) is unavailable this season.
Leo Bertone is out of the country on a pre-arranged break. Because he joined Cincinnati from BSC Young Boys midway through the Swiss club’s season, he was given time to rest and recover since he’s been playing straight for a full calendar year. (European clubs have June off.)
Kenny Saief is in Israel awaiting the termination of his loan deal between FC Cincinnati and R.S.C. Anderlecht, his parent club. The clubs mutually agreed to end the loan but are waiting for paperwork to finalize. Saief has a hamstring injury that will keep him out of matches between now and the loan’s completion in early July. His last FCC appearance was May 4 in San Jose.
