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| Scoring against Philly, a visual. |
As anyone who finds this preview already knows, FC Cincinnati breaks back into the regular season swing with a trip to Chester,PA/the Philadelphia Union. A tall order, certainly, but the odds of Cincy pinching a point have improved in recent weeks. Let’s start with some facts:
Philadelphia Union
Record/Basics: 6-1-7, 3-0-4 home; 19 gf, 10 ga, +9 goal differential
Last 10: WWWLTTTTWT (4-1-5; 2-0-3 home)
Oppo: @ NYC, v CLT, v CLB, @ TOR, v MTL, @ LAFC, v RBNY, v MIA, @ POR, @ NE
What We Know About Them
They don’t lose, especially at home, but they also stopped beating everyone but the (fucking) Portland Timbers (in fucking Portland) after Match Day 7. Because the Union played two tricky games...and Portland on the road, picking out their latest trends gets tricky. That said, I think they possess when they have to (e.g., at home), but generally don’t give a shit about possession “the concept” and exploit in-game dynamics. Philly has fallen off the pace on goals scored of late, even if the opposition explains it away - those last five are tougher than leather - but they are also flaming-rings-of-hell-hard to score against. People have kicked them for the bender of ties they’re on, but, again, see the opposition and make your own call on what to call that share of the points. Related, and unless I miss my guess, your average Philly fan sees home against FC Cincinnati as a must-win.
Notes on Recent Form
First and foremost, not giving up the Snuggles-soft goals the way the Timbers did will carry Cincy halfway to one point. In the results worth noting, they showed well at LAFC despite giving up two soft goals and, had they not got in their own hustling way, they would have taken all three points at home against the Red Bulls; one more soft goal, two more points wafted into the night air like a silent, unclaimed fart. The Union coughed up an eye-catching number of good looks to New England, but it also looked like it didn’t take more than showing a little interest for the Union to get back into the game. Finally, I was too bored to look into the goal-less home-draw at Miami, but the headline doesn’t scream “league elite,” now does it?
Personnel & Its Disposition
Andre Blake can win them a game on his own on his best days, but any good defense takes more than a good ‘keeper – no part of Cincy’s game-plan should look to “going for it” in this one. The personnel in the line-up has been close to stable and I don’t think Jim Curtin gets too wacky with formations. They field your standard back four, with Jack Elliott and Jakob Glesnes in the middle and active fullbacks on either side (it’s been a lot of Nathan Harriel and Kai Wagner lately). Leon Flach and Alejandro Bedoya generally run on either side of Jose Martinez and they’re a lung-busting bunch, skilled enough, but it’s the effort/harassing that wears down the opposition. Based on the numbers, their forwards operate in the vein of offensive lineman in the NFL - i.e., whether by plan, default, or capability - occupying defenders seems to be the primary mission but Julian Carranza gives them a bit of fancy any time he’s on and Hungarian Daniel Gazdag has been the revelation/life-line of the Union’s 2022. That...whole set up has them on the low side of average for goals, but that’s also a lot of blunt object with only Gazdag and (recently) Carranza as creative options and Wagner as a fairly reliable (5) source for assists.
Some Things I Hope to See FC Cincinnati Do
1) Stand up and push back. It’s less that I don’t expect that from Cincy at this point than a necessary first step.
1a) Force turnovers in the midfield – i.e., have the midfielders and forwards chase, but cheat the defense toward Cincy’s goal; not a gaping, opportunity-stuffed chasm, mind, just don’t give away anything cheap.
2) Watch the second runs. I’m more worried about Carranza than the rest (assuming he plays), but I see busy, harried shifts for Junior Moreno and Obinna Nwodobo, i.e., a lot of tracking the late runs and communicating with Cincy's starting defense.
3) Don’t Putz Around the Back. There’s nothing wrong with keeping possession, but I’d rather see Cincy play lower-percentage passes into the attack than to have one of the 8s, the fullbacks, or, gods forbid, a defender caught in possession. Go forward, move ahead, whip it, whip it good, etc.
All in all, I’m not pessimistic about this one. I’m not optimistic either, but isn’t that so Philly?
Philadelphia Union
Record/Basics: 6-1-7, 3-0-4 home; 19 gf, 10 ga, +9 goal differential
Last 10: WWWLTTTTWT (4-1-5; 2-0-3 home)
Oppo: @ NYC, v CLT, v CLB, @ TOR, v MTL, @ LAFC, v RBNY, v MIA, @ POR, @ NE
What We Know About Them
They don’t lose, especially at home, but they also stopped beating everyone but the (fucking) Portland Timbers (in fucking Portland) after Match Day 7. Because the Union played two tricky games...and Portland on the road, picking out their latest trends gets tricky. That said, I think they possess when they have to (e.g., at home), but generally don’t give a shit about possession “the concept” and exploit in-game dynamics. Philly has fallen off the pace on goals scored of late, even if the opposition explains it away - those last five are tougher than leather - but they are also flaming-rings-of-hell-hard to score against. People have kicked them for the bender of ties they’re on, but, again, see the opposition and make your own call on what to call that share of the points. Related, and unless I miss my guess, your average Philly fan sees home against FC Cincinnati as a must-win.
Notes on Recent Form
First and foremost, not giving up the Snuggles-soft goals the way the Timbers did will carry Cincy halfway to one point. In the results worth noting, they showed well at LAFC despite giving up two soft goals and, had they not got in their own hustling way, they would have taken all three points at home against the Red Bulls; one more soft goal, two more points wafted into the night air like a silent, unclaimed fart. The Union coughed up an eye-catching number of good looks to New England, but it also looked like it didn’t take more than showing a little interest for the Union to get back into the game. Finally, I was too bored to look into the goal-less home-draw at Miami, but the headline doesn’t scream “league elite,” now does it?
Personnel & Its Disposition
Andre Blake can win them a game on his own on his best days, but any good defense takes more than a good ‘keeper – no part of Cincy’s game-plan should look to “going for it” in this one. The personnel in the line-up has been close to stable and I don’t think Jim Curtin gets too wacky with formations. They field your standard back four, with Jack Elliott and Jakob Glesnes in the middle and active fullbacks on either side (it’s been a lot of Nathan Harriel and Kai Wagner lately). Leon Flach and Alejandro Bedoya generally run on either side of Jose Martinez and they’re a lung-busting bunch, skilled enough, but it’s the effort/harassing that wears down the opposition. Based on the numbers, their forwards operate in the vein of offensive lineman in the NFL - i.e., whether by plan, default, or capability - occupying defenders seems to be the primary mission but Julian Carranza gives them a bit of fancy any time he’s on and Hungarian Daniel Gazdag has been the revelation/life-line of the Union’s 2022. That...whole set up has them on the low side of average for goals, but that’s also a lot of blunt object with only Gazdag and (recently) Carranza as creative options and Wagner as a fairly reliable (5) source for assists.
Some Things I Hope to See FC Cincinnati Do
1) Stand up and push back. It’s less that I don’t expect that from Cincy at this point than a necessary first step.
1a) Force turnovers in the midfield – i.e., have the midfielders and forwards chase, but cheat the defense toward Cincy’s goal; not a gaping, opportunity-stuffed chasm, mind, just don’t give away anything cheap.
2) Watch the second runs. I’m more worried about Carranza than the rest (assuming he plays), but I see busy, harried shifts for Junior Moreno and Obinna Nwodobo, i.e., a lot of tracking the late runs and communicating with Cincy's starting defense.
3) Don’t Putz Around the Back. There’s nothing wrong with keeping possession, but I’d rather see Cincy play lower-percentage passes into the attack than to have one of the 8s, the fullbacks, or, gods forbid, a defender caught in possession. Go forward, move ahead, whip it, whip it good, etc.
All in all, I’m not pessimistic about this one. I’m not optimistic either, but isn’t that so Philly?
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