FC Cincinnati vs. Charlotte Independence: A Battle of the Queen Cities
Photo taken by Jamie Smed - Twitter
When/Where-The
match is at Ramblewood Soccer Complex in Charlotte, North Carolina at 7 p.m.
This is FC Cincinnati’s second of four straight away matched to end the season
for the club.
How to watch-You
can also watch the match on the USL Youtube channel, or on FC Cincinnati’s
website. Also, you can watch it on television on Local Star 64.
The Rundown
FC
Cincinnati only has three matches left in the USL regular season, and of those
games, only one team has a spot in the playoffs. Charlotte Independence is
currently second on the Eastern Conference table, with 48 points compared to
our 40. This will be the club’s toughest test before their playoff run, and
they need to be ready for it. Charlotte Independence could be the team FC
Cincinnati sees in the playoffs, or a team as proficient at scoring as they
are, Louisville City FC.
Charlotte
Independence are as strong an attacking team as FC Cincinnati will face, with
two players who have over 10 goals on the season. Their two leading scorers,
who are both midfielders, Enzo Martinez and Jorge Herrara, have 16 and 12 goals
respectively.
Contrary
to FC Cincinnati’s attacking strategy, which is building from the back, and using
each layer to find a hole in the defense, Charlotte uses their midfielders like
forwards. They also have the capability to hit from long-range as well. Mitch
Hildebrandt will be put to the test in this game, and will need to be in top
form. However, Charlotte has gone scoreless in their last two matches, losing
both, so their form isn’t in good shape. FC Cincinnati is on a five-game
unbeaten streak, with two of those being wins. The club’s in decent shape to go
into the playoffs with some momentum, which will be key on the road.
Charlotte’s
defense isn’t anything to scoff at either, with a top-notch goalkeeper in Cody
Mizell. He has allowed four less goals than our own Mitch Hildebrandt, with 36
goals on the season. He has an average goal allowed per game of 1.28, which is
very good. Like the other parts of the team, the attack, and especially the
forwards, will need to play their best to score on Mizell.
The
best players for FC Cincinnati need to be in the game from the start. That
means Djiby or Danni Konig need
to be involved from the beginning of play to make sure we at lease get a point.
The attack is better when they are in the game. Jimmy McLaughlin has been
playing phenomenal lately, and getting the chances the team has needed to
salvage points late.
This
is truly the last game that the club has left on their regular season schedule
to show themselves that they can beat these higher-seeded teams. They know they
can do it, beating Louisville City FC twice this season, once in regular season
and once in Open Cup. This game is the most important of the rest of the
season, and the club is definitely capable of winning it.
Comments
Post a Comment