FC Cincinnati will continue in the Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs traveling to the number one seeded Philadelphia Union on Thursday, Oct. 20, at 8 p.m. Due to a condensed playoff structure in 2022, Cincinnati will be playing on five days’ rest.
FCC will have also logged some airline miles Thursday after having also traveled to New Jersey for this past Saturday’s match. This will be a lot to handle for the side, so I thought it would be a good thought experiment to go through all of the times FCC played on short rest this season and how the team performed in all of those games.
Five days’ rest against LAFC
The first of those matches was when the team faced off against LAFC on five days’ rest following a 2-0 win against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the U.S. Open Cup. Much of the first match had most of FCC’s depth piece play, while substitutions coming on late helped push FCC to victory in extra time.
The match against LAFC saw FCC take the lead late in the first half, but then fall away in the second, losing 2-1, indicating that the team might be feeling the matches a bit even though both of the matches were in Cincinnati.
Four days’ rest against Toronto
This was the moment in the season when FCC played Toronto twice in six days. In the first match, which was in Toronto, FCC scored the first two goals and survived a Toronto goal to win 2-1.
The second match had Toronto travel to Cincinnati, with the home side taking the win by a score of 2-0. FCC was able to capitalize on an early TFC red card in this match.
Three days’ rest against Minnesota
Following the second match against Toronto in Cincinnati when FCC won 2-0, the team had to travel to play Minnesota United FC in only three days. This match saw FCC get the smash-and-grab thanks to a goal in the 93rd minute from Brandon Vazquez.
Four days’ rest against New England Revolution
Just after the match against Minnesota, FCC was required to travel to Foxborough for the next round of the U.S. Open Cup. FCC started the match well, scoring an early goal, but the team massively fell off as the game went on. The score ended up being 5-1 in the opposition’s favor.
Three days’ rest against Chicago Fire FC
After the U.S. Open Cup match, FCC once against had to travel, this time going to Chicago. FCC got the early lead thanks to an own goal, and looked to hold that until Chicago struck back with a goal from a name we now know well, Jhon Durán. But, FCC still had the energy to attack, and did, scoring the late winner.
Five days’ rest against New York City FC
After some time without a game on short rest, FCC had to go from a match the team won 1-0 against Orlando City SC to another against NYCFC in five days. This match saw FCC and NYCFC play to a wild 4-4 goals and consisted of one of Brenner’s hat tricks on the season. Much of the match’s most important moments came in the middle, with only a couple of points taking place in the outer two parts.
Four days’ rest against New England Revolution
Following the match against NYCFC, FCC had to travel to Foxborough once again, but this time the side played much better. FCC was able to climb back in the first half thanks to an own goal, but looked to be on the ropes had it not been for Brenner who scored to give the team a point on the day.
Four days’ rest against Vancouver Whitecaps FC
The first match was the team’s first game against New York Red Bulls, and was a big reason for the following few match results. The team played to a 1-1 draw, but it was also the one where we saw Lucho Acosta get the red card for the incident between him and Aaron Long, getting a three-match suspension.
The match after that against Vancouver saw FCC get a couple of goals early in the match and possibly get close to a win. However, Vancouver was able to get a late equalizer in a disappointing result.
Four days’ rest against Columbus Crew SC
Immediately following the match against Vancouver, FCC had to travel to Columbus and play the team’s biggest rival on short rest and without Acosta. And, unfortunately, the team played a dud. It was not able to create the necessary chances to compete in the game and bring something home.
Four days’ rest against New York City FC
FCC first played Charlotte FC in Cincinnati, where we saw the side win 2-0 thanks to a first-half goal from Nick Hagglund and a late goal from Acosta to seal the win.
The second match against NYCFC had FCC get lucky and tally a point. NYCFC got an equalizer late in the first half following FCC getting an own goal. However, FCC should have won the match after NYCFC picked up a red card and had the visitors playing up a player. But, FCC wasn’t able to get the winner.
Three days’ rest against San Jose Earthquakes
After the match against NYCFC, FCC came back home to play San Jose and absolutely dominated the game, winning 6-0. It looked shaky to immediately start the match but after Alvaro Barreal opened the scoring late in the first half, it was smooth sailing for the home team.
Five days’ rest against Chicago Fire FC
The last of FCC’s games on short rest so far this season had FCC first play the Seattle Sounders in Seattle. FCC went up early in the match but got equalized on in the second half. However, after a Seattle red card, FCC had a couple of chances to score and didn’t capitalize on them, only bringing home a point.
The second match had FCC come home to play Chicago Fire FC and play one of its most disappointing matches all season. The team had a chance to clinch the playoffs here with a win but wasn’t even able to get a draw. It started off shockingly low energy considering the occasion and homecoming, only getting into it after Chicago scored its third goal and the game was basically out of reach, losing 3-2.
Summary
Overall, FCC played 12 matches this season on short rest, with an average point total of .5 per match.
In the three matches on three days’ rest, the team won every single game.
In the six matches on four days’ rest, FCC had an average point total of 1.
Then, in the three matches on five days’ rest, what FCC will have for the match against Philadelphia on Thursday, FCC has not won a single match, and has an average point total of .67.
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