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FC Cincinnati at Ottawa Fury FC: 5 Things to Know

FC Cincinnati hopes to continue their excellent run of form as they cross the border into Poutine Country for a Sunday afternoon match in the capital city of Canada. This will mark the first trip into the great northern wilderness for the Orange & Blue. Coach Koch’s squad will look for three points to march up the table in hopes of grabbing a 4th or 5th seed in the USL playoffs. Make sure to check out our 5 Things to Know as well as the new March to Matchday Podcast!


Where: Ottawa, Ontario – TD Place
When: Sunday, October 8th at 2:00 p.m. EST

Form: FC Cincinnati – 6th Place (11W-9L-10D, 43 pts.), Ottawa Fury FC – 14th Place (7W-10L-13D, 34 pts.)

YOUR FAVORITE PEOPLE THIS WEEK – Ref Assignments:
Not provided due to Canada CSA assignments


March to Matchday Podcast – Playoff Breakdown & Other Topics:

Join host Bryan Weigel and guests Boston Brazzell and Bill Wolf for the newest March to Matchday preview podcast. March to Matchday will provide an in-depth preview of the upcoming opponent as well as how FC Cincinnati can best defeat them. This show will hopefully fit in your drive time to work, to the pub on game day or lead you right up to game time. We hope you enjoy March to Matchday!

Don’t forget you can now download and subscribe to Cincinnati Soccer Talk on iTunes today! The podcast can also be found on Stitcher Smart Radio now. We’re also available in the Google Play Store.


5 Things to Know

Slim Hopes of 4th Place: While it may be well and good to think 6 points could land us in 4th place for a home playoff match, the chances of that are slim and none. According to SportsClubStats.com, FC Cincinnati has a 4% chance of landing in the 4th spot. To have any chance of coming in 4th, Cincinnati will need one of Charleston or Charlotte to lose both their remaining matches (they play each other the final matchday) and we need Rochester to pick up 4 or fewer points in their final 3 matches. FC Cincinnati would also need to win their final two on the road, where they haven’t had the best of fortunes.

What’s the Plan: Both FC Cincinnati and Ottawa Fury FC have undergone several changes to their squad over the past month. Ottawa HC Julian de Guzman stated that he would pick his squad looking forward to 2018 while running out a new 4-4-2 formation this past weekend. It looked as if Cincinnati had settled on a 3-4-3 formation under Head Coach Alan Koch over the past month, but that could shift this weekend. With Kenney Walker out due to suspension and potential injuries to Andrew Wiedeman and Justin Hoyte, FCC may have to make adjustments. Danni König was not effective on the left this past week so a change out there could be in order.

Kenney Walker - photo cred Alex Vehr

Kenney Walker – photo cred Alex Vehr

No Kenney: Midfielder Kennery Walker will not be available for selection after his ejection in Charlotte due to 2 yellow cards. On this week’s podcast, the guys were nervous on how his loss would be felt within the XI vs. Ottawa. Shockingly, the club is 2-2-2 in league play when Walker does not start. His 88% passing accuracy will be missed this match and his defensive capabilities will also need to be accounted for. Will Koch choose to replace Walker with Aodhan Quinn or look to the youngster Marco Dominguez to shelter the back line? Whoever is selected will have big shoes to fill.

Get 2 Goals: Over Ottawa’s 10-match winless streak, they have failed to score twice and have only notched more than 1 goal in two matches. Needless to say, if FC Cincinnati can score twice in this match, they have a decent chance of coming away with at least one point. Ottawa has struggled all year to score. Leading scorer Steevan Dos Santos has notched 9 goals on the year, but is more of a secondary striker than a true #9. Montreal Impact loanee Nick DePuy could be that guy going into this match. The 6’5″ striker can hold up play and worked well with Dos Santos vs. Charleston. Freeing up Dos Santos could allow the Cape Verde international to move around the pitch and cause problems for the FCC defense.

Control our Destiny: Win and we are in! If FC Cincinnati can scrape out 3 points on Sunday they would clinch a berth in the 2017 postseason. But let’s face it, the squad has had to play in a postseason-style mentality over the past month after dropping league points during their US Open Cup run. Orlando City B and New York Red Bulls 2 play each other Saturday and only 1 of them can grab max points leaving the other at Cincinnati’s mercy. Should FC Cincinnati defeat Ottawa the worst the Orange & Blue could do is finish in 8th place.


Supporter Groups Pregame Match Parties

We encourage all fans to get out to one of the special watch parties hosted by the pub partners of FC Cincinnati. Fans can join local supporters at Mr. Pitiful’s, Murphy’s Pub in Clifton or Sammy’s Craft Burgers & Beer. You can also join the local supporters groups at their preferred watch party locations below.

The supporters groups will be taking up residence at their favorite away match viewing locations. See the list below for more information.

Die Innenstadt: Rhinehaus OTR – 19 E 12th St, Cincinnati 45202
The Pride: Ladder 19 – 2701 Vine St, Cincinnati, OH 45219
Queen City Firm: J Taps Sports Bar & Grill – 6441 Glenway Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45211
The Bailey Bastards: Bucketheads – 6507 Harrison Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45247


Viewing

TV: This contest is set for an 2:00 p.m. EST kickoff Sunday afternoon. The match will be broadcast live on WSTR STAR 64. The match will also be broadcast at FC Cincinnati’s pub partners or by Streaming internet on USL’s Youtube station.

RADIO: NONE


@bryanweigel for @CincySoccerTalk

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