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| Best goddamn scene in the entire DC Extended Universe. (I'll fight you.) |
Those not watching on the TV might not have picked up on this, but FC Cincinnati came into today’s (far too early) game with a shot at a record looming. Their long scoreless streak had landed them at the foot of Top 5 (or so) for the longest stretch without a goal. When Allan Cruz scored (very) early, he reset Cincy’s timer on that. Cincinnati even scored a second time at the 62nd minute to make sure the sneaky little shit of a clock didn’t get any ideas. You gotta watch ‘em, man, time’s non-linear, etc.
In the first game of the post-Alan-Koch era, FC Cincinnati wound up beating the Montreal Impact at home by a final score of 2-1. (Is anyone else picturing Koch in some bar in Kentucky getting slowly, yet absolutely shit-faced and telling anyone who will listen that he got fucked over, or do those kinds of trips only happen in my head?) I’m not inclined to read much into that, personally, but I did approve on one thing Cincinnati tried this morning, the decision/dedication to pass the ball out of the back. It got them in a little trouble during the game’s earliest moments, but, once they broke through L’Impact’s weirdly uneven high press (more on that later), it worked pretty well for them. For what it’s worth, I read that choice as an attempt to get the team connected and into a rhythm from which they could dictate the rhythm of the game. More to the point, I think that’s something you can credit to Yoann Damet…there’s also the decision to start (the…experienced) Justin Hoyte at centerback over Nick Hagglund, and that’s another decision with a reasonable rate of return.
I also think people will get into trouble if they treat this result as finding a new leaf, never mind turning one over (is anyone doing that? paging a strawman). It’s just one game, for starters, plus there’s also a couple “paper advantages” to consider – i.e., Cincinnati returned home after playing four of its last five games at home, and they were playing a Montreal team traveling on short rest. The way the game played out stacked Cincinnati’s advantages even higher. I noted the press earlier, but it’s accurate to call it half-hearted, and it gave way to a full retreat into a defensive shell too readily. On the individual level, Montreal’s players didn’t stick into their tackles until around the 55-60 mark and the passing – Jesus Christ, the passing – Cincinnati organized the defense thick and well, but, time and again, Montreal took care of forcing their own errors, and pretty much from every position. (Just note it, I tweeted during the game that I’d be shocked if Montreal went over 80% on passing accuracy; they just cleared that low bar with a B- (81%); that said, Cincy’s 83% accuracy doesn’t give them much room for gloating).
In the first game of the post-Alan-Koch era, FC Cincinnati wound up beating the Montreal Impact at home by a final score of 2-1. (Is anyone else picturing Koch in some bar in Kentucky getting slowly, yet absolutely shit-faced and telling anyone who will listen that he got fucked over, or do those kinds of trips only happen in my head?) I’m not inclined to read much into that, personally, but I did approve on one thing Cincinnati tried this morning, the decision/dedication to pass the ball out of the back. It got them in a little trouble during the game’s earliest moments, but, once they broke through L’Impact’s weirdly uneven high press (more on that later), it worked pretty well for them. For what it’s worth, I read that choice as an attempt to get the team connected and into a rhythm from which they could dictate the rhythm of the game. More to the point, I think that’s something you can credit to Yoann Damet…there’s also the decision to start (the…experienced) Justin Hoyte at centerback over Nick Hagglund, and that’s another decision with a reasonable rate of return.
I also think people will get into trouble if they treat this result as finding a new leaf, never mind turning one over (is anyone doing that? paging a strawman). It’s just one game, for starters, plus there’s also a couple “paper advantages” to consider – i.e., Cincinnati returned home after playing four of its last five games at home, and they were playing a Montreal team traveling on short rest. The way the game played out stacked Cincinnati’s advantages even higher. I noted the press earlier, but it’s accurate to call it half-hearted, and it gave way to a full retreat into a defensive shell too readily. On the individual level, Montreal’s players didn’t stick into their tackles until around the 55-60 mark and the passing – Jesus Christ, the passing – Cincinnati organized the defense thick and well, but, time and again, Montreal took care of forcing their own errors, and pretty much from every position. (Just note it, I tweeted during the game that I’d be shocked if Montreal went over 80% on passing accuracy; they just cleared that low bar with a B- (81%); that said, Cincy’s 83% accuracy doesn’t give them much room for gloating).
And I haven't even mentioned that Montreal had what I would have counted as a goal called back for offside. I am looser than most on the offside rule (seriously, don't even bother arguing with me), and had Montreal scored at that point, it would have constituted an act of minor violence against the run of play at a minimum.
Despite the self-sabotage, Montreal stirred to life late in the game. They pulled one back with 15 minutes to go (when they finally caught Cincy thin at the back) and came alarmingly close to coughing up the equalizer in the final minutes – closer, certainly, than they came to doubling their insurance policy. Still, they held out, a win is a win, etc. And it’s fine to feel happy about the win (no, go ahead; I’ll wait), but the entire paragraph two above this one gets at the risks of reading much of anything into the game. In the barest terms, FC Cincinnati has to win this game to keep out of that dreaded column with “ain’t shit” at the top of it.
I don’t actually have much to say beyond that, so I’ll close with some stray notes.
- I like Frankie Amaya as a stand-in for FC Cincinnati as a whole. He did fine – well, even – while not producing anything truly eye-catching (never mind lethal or mind-blowing). He joined in the rhythm with the rest of the team, and that’s what, in my mind, carried Cincy to the win today.
- To walk another tweet forward, I complained about Damet’s decision to sub in Fatai Alashe for Amaya when it happened. I read that as dropping into a defensive shell too early and, with how sloppy Montreal played, that felt like quitter talk. Alashe scored the goal, of course, but it might be that Damet saw the tide shifting before I did, and he deserves credit for that. It’s not like Montreal didn’t stress the fuck out of all of Nippert Stadium…
- I hope Allan Cruz is not injured. Oh, and his goal wasn’t much to look at (#YouGotSoftServed).
- I think Richey’s late save deserves more recognition than I gave it above. Also, thank gods it was Anthony Jackson-Hamel on both of Montreal’s late opportunities and not, say, Saphir Taider or Ignacio Piatti.
- Speaking of, where was Taider today? The bench? Wha…? That’s yet another bullet dodged by Cincinnati by my math. Wonder what inspired Remi Garde to go that route? (Is it possible Montreal wrote off this match?)
- Darren Mattocks looked dangerous early, but his inexplicable insistence on playing down the left sometimes clutters what I assume is an attempt at an overload. In his defense, Cincinnati owes that opening goal to him as much as any player – especially given their paucity of attempts over all…
- …and that’s a cautionary tale for this game. It’s great that Cincinnati won, but they still didn’t generate a lot of offense. That’s just something to file away.
OK, that really is all for this week. Till they suit up again….
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