FC Cincinnati and CF Montreal enter their clash as two teams both at a crossroads of their seasons. Each is trying to figure out if they are going to come together and build momentum for the last stretch of the season, or allow it to fall apart in the last eight games.
Cincinnati comes into the game with questions of who they are after a 2-0 loss to Inter Miami which saw them come out flat and not really push for the kind of chances that would inspire a comeback. With Lucho Acosta suspended on yellow card accumulation and free agent CB Teenage Hadebe being added to the team this past week, the team will be looking to figure out what their new baseline is and how to build off of it for the end stretch. Hadebe will, of course, not be available for the match due to being with the Zimbabwean national team, though. FCC will also be without superstar Lucho Acosta and the dependable DeAndre Yedlin due to yellow card accumulation, with Yamil Asad still sidelined.
For Montreal, they enter with many of the same questions, but have higher stakes to figure it out faster than FCC does. FCC sits comfortably in second place in the East, while Montreal sits in a tavern brawl for position at the bottom. They sit with 27 pts, just one point outside of ninth place and the last playoff spot, yet only sits one point above last place in the East. With seven teams two points from qualifying, Montreal has a high amount of pressure to string together positive results and make the playoffs. And their most recent transfer window does not inspire confidence they can make the push.
Montreal believes its path toward success involves bringing in young players, developing them and then selling them on when the time is right. And Homegrown Mathieu Choiniere was the perfect example of this model. They brought him into the academy and gave him a platform to perform on, then rising in the ranks of MLS players as one of Montreal’s central figures. Entering into the season, he attempted to renegotiate his contract to stay at Montreal long-term. Instead, leadership so botched the negotiations that the player changed his timeline and found a move out in the summer and is now playing for Grasshopper in Switzerland.
While the transfer of one of their most influential players can be addressed, it is hard to believe they adequately addressed the absence.
Montreal brought in MLS youngsters Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty and Caden Clark to fill the space. While both have shown moments where their talents have shown through, both have struggled to find consistency and break into a starting line up. They’ve also gone to Europe to bring in a promising player, signing Dawid Bugaj from SPAL in Serie C, but he also struggled for stating time for the Italian side. The only senior player that was brought in during this window was center back Tom Pearce, who was signed after being released by Wigan Athletic in the spring.
While they did finish their business early in the MLS window, there are questions as to how they will help the team as they returned to MLS with 5-0 thumping at the hands of the New England Revolution.
Perhaps Montreal will be able to address those issues exposed by the Revolution, but they may also provide the perfect opponent to build some good feelings against and figure out some questions before the next Hell is Real match.
When: August 31, 2024 @ 7:30 PM
Where: TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
How to Watch: MLS Season Pass on AppleTV (sign up here)
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