After an emotional win Saturday night on the West Coast, FCC returned home and will quickly turn the page for a midweek matchup against the Philadelphia Union at TQL Stadium on Wednesday night.
The trip to California resulted in three points for The Orange and Blue, but with injuries adding to absences along the defensive line, questions emerged as to how FCC will respond. FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan confirmed Monday that center back Matt Miazga, who left Saturday’s game with a leg injury, will not be available and with Miles Robinson out in international mission, the depth of the workforce will be tested.
“I still feel good with them, with what we have,” Noonan said Monday of his available defensemen. “But of course when you lose key elements, experience, leadership, quality, especially in this position, we take a hit.”
“So we will look at our options and see what the best combination is. But yes, we are talking about losing two key elements. But our opponent on Wednesday is also missing a lot of pieces. So this cannot be an excuse.
Philadelphia comes into the game struggling but has consistently played tough against FCC, especially since Pat Noonan, who left Philadelphia to take over as FCC head coach. So while the table may reflect a bad matchup with FCC as the clear favorite, Noonan is clear-eyed in his understanding of the opponent and how difficult it should be.
“They have been stable for a long time, and when you are stable and at the top of the league for so long, every time there is a period where you are not winning games, you are not getting results, there will be to be a criticism. That’s part of the problem we all face so I think the compliment is that it’s been so long since we’ve seen them struggle. and some of these leaders, everything will be fine.
“That’s my view, and it doesn’t make me any more comfortable for Wednesday. If there’s anything you know, every time their backs are against the wall, these guys step up. Jim knows how to lead this group, so we have to be very careful against an opponent who, although he may struggle with results, has been in these situations before and came out on top.
FCC enters Saturday’s match in second place in the Supporters’ Shield standings, two points behind and two games behind leaders Inter Miami CF. The Orange and Blue, however, lead MLS in points per game with 2.12, well ahead of last season’s pace of 2.03 points per game which earned FCC 69 points and the 2023 Supporters Shield .
FC Cincinnati vs Philadelphia Union – Wednesday June 19, 2024 – 7:45 p.m. ET – TQL Stadium
Flow: Free on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Talent TV (English, Apple): Jake Zivin (PxP), Taylor Twellman (analyst)
Talent TV (Spanish, Apple): Alejandro Figueredo (PXP), Jamie Macias (Analysis)
TV talents (FS1): Luis Omar Tapia (PxP), Tony Meola (analyst)
Radio talent: Tom Gelehrter (PXP), Kevin McCloskey (analyst)
Be sure to follow @FCCincinnati on TwitterInstagram and Facebook for live updates from the game.
All time against the Philadelphia Union
In a rematch of the 2023 MLS Eastern Conference Semifinals, FCC will host the Philadelphia Union at TQL Stadium. On this last visit, FCC triumphed with a 1-0 victory thanks to a late goal from Yerson Mosqeura to secure the victory.
The playoff victory improved FCC’s all-time record against The Union to 3-6-3, but owns a record of 3-2-1 when playing at TQL Stadium. Since Pat Noonan joined The Orange and Blue after serving as an assistant coach under longtime Union coach Jim Curtin, FCC has gone 3-1-2 against his former club, with the only loss coming place during the 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs.
This is the first visit with Philadelphia this season, but in 2023, FCC was undefeated against Philadelphia, earning a 1-0 victory at TQL Stadium on April 8 and a 2-2 draw at Subaru Park on September 16.
FC CINCINNATI NOTES
Wednesday Warriors – Under Pat Noonan, FC Cincinnati has historically performed well on Wednesday. Since 2022, in all competitions, FCC has a record of 11-3-5 in 19 matches played on a Wednesday. The Orange and Blue are 2-1-0 on Hump Day, with five more games scheduled for Wednesday this season, including against Philadelphia.
The man at the top – Yuya Kubo was voted Major League Soccer’s Player of the Day 20, the league announced Monday. He won the seventh MLS Player of the Week/Matchday award in FCC history and became the first Japanese player in MLS history to win the award.
Meeting) – Wednesday is Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan’s seventh game against his former team Philly, where he previously served as an assistant coach (January 2018 – December 2021). His record is 3-1-2 against the Union in all competitions with the FCC.
During Noonan’s time with the Union, they won 49 regular season games and won the 2020 Supporters’ Shield. He was hired by former Union technical director Chris Albright, who was named general manager of the FCC on October 4, 2021. Albright has served as Philly’s technical director since his retirement following the 2013 season.
Forward Sergio Santos (75 GP / 47 GS – 19G, 7A with PHI -2019-22) and defender Alvas Powell (5GS / 4 GP with PHI – 2021) each spent part of their MLS career with Philly.
Beginners – FC Cincinnati has already had nine players score their first goal with the club in 24, the second most in club MLS history. In 2019 (the club’s first season in MLS), FCC had 13 players who scored, and in 2021, the club had nine. This season, the nine players are (in order): Malik Pinto, Alvas Powell, Isaiah Foster, Gerardo ‘Dado’ Valenzuela, Miles Robinson, Luca Orellano, Corey Baird, Kevin Kelsy and most recently Pavel Bucha.
Beat Records – After his three assists on Saturday night, Luciano Acosta is now tied for 10th all-time with 91 assists and will only hold 10th place with his next assist. This effort linked MLS legends Cobi Jones and Diego Valeri, cementing Lucho’s place in league history.
Scouting Philadelphia Union (3-11-2, 11 points, 14th in the Western Conference, LTTTW)
The Union find themselves in uncharted territory ahead of Wednesday’s match and with numerous absences due to injuries and international commitments. Head coach Jim Curtain said after their last loss to Inter Miami CF that they would have to resolve these issues together if they were looking to make a comeback. to these winning ways.
Philadelphia enters the game with a 4-5-8 record, but has been much better on the road this season than at home. Going 1-5-3 at Subaru Park, they have struggled, but on the road Philadelphia is undefeated at 3-0-5. But with most of those results coming in the first nine weeks of the season, it has been difficult in recent weeks as the club have picked up just six points from their last seven matches.
The struggles came to a head last weekend when, despite playing two men thanks to Inter Miami CF’s red cards, the Union not only failed to find a winner, but conceded late to lose 2-1.
FCC will have a difficult time predicting their opponent this weekend as the Pennsylvania club will have several players unavailable due to international duty or injury. Dániel Gazdag will miss Hungary at EURO 2024, Damion Lowe (Jamaica), Jose Martinez (Venezuela) will miss Copa America 2024 and Alejandro Bedoya may be unavailable due to injury. Julian Carranza could also be absent from the match as Union are reportedly close to finalizing a move for the 24-year-old to Dutch side Feyenoord. Star starter and goalkeeper Andre Blake has also been out for a long time as the guard recovers from injury.
“It’s tricky, because we saw different structures from their group in our particular confrontations. You know, (Jack) Elliot comes back in. Maybe Bedoya looks potentially out, but I can’t say for sure, so knowing some of these players in a strong group, it could, it could look like a five (man in the background), it could look like a four (man in the background). It’s just a matter of what they consider their best 11,” Noonan said of Philadelphia.
“But we saw two different real structures (from Philadelphia) with a 5-3-2, if you will, and the diamond with a back four. I know those are just numbers, but that’s generally what we’ve seen in our matchups. And we just have to look at both, because, you know, it’s a unique situation with the availability of players for them and who they’re going to field… we still have to prepare for what will be a very difficult match, despite a few plays keys that they are missing.
For the most part, Philadelphia has been one of the best clubs in the East in terms of goals scored. The Union is third in the East with 28 goals and sixth in goal differential with +3.
Star starter and goalkeeper Andre Blake has also been out for a long time as the guard recovers from injury. Oliver Semmle took over from the Jamaican star and started 13 matches while conceding 21 goals. Semmle, a German native who came to the United States to attend Marshall University (and win the 2020 NCAA National Championship) and was selected by the Colorado Rapids in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft, but did not sign. After one season with Louisville City in the USL, Semmle joined Philadelphia ahead of the 2024 season.
