With FC Cincinnati having a couple days before their international friendly with RCD Espanyol and more than a week before their next USL game the fans, coaches and players can take a bit of “pause break”. For fans, this is a good time to push pause and just realize how good FC Cincinnati has been playing as their team sits atop the eastern conference. They have a nine-point lead as they have only played one more game than second-place Charleston Battery and a ten point lead with three more matches played than third-place Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.

What has been working?

With the sheer dominance of forward Danni König and midfielder Emmanuel Ledesma having nine goals apiece. This lethal combo for FC Cincinnati to be able to score from all over the field shows when looking at a plus 19 goal differential. No other team in the eastern conference is within six scores in the plus goal differential category.

The dominance on offense has lead to the team’s weakness early on in the season to find its way and has turned into a strength. This turnaround on defense has FC Cincinnati on a ten-game unbeaten streak and a four-game clean sheet that just recently came to an end. The last four goals scored for FC Cincinnati have come from the back line in Forrest Lasso, Dekel Keinan and Paddy Barrett.

Things to work on

FC Cincinnati’s biggest weakness is giving up easy goals when their defense breaks down and leaves goalie Evan Newton as the last line of defense. Too many games have been closer than needed when FC Cincinnati looks as if they are just letting the opposing team’s offense having easy looks at the goal.

Yellow cards have started to accumulate for some of FC Cincinnati’s stars with some of the fouls just being downright silly. Emery Welshman was the perpetrator of a silly foul last Wednesday’s game against Charlotte. Initially, both Welshman and a Charlotte defender were shown yellows, but after the game, the Independent Discipline Panel reviewed the play and handed down a three-game suspension that cannot be appealed.

Alan Koch Extended

Coach Alan Koch had his contract FC Cincinnati extended through the 2020 season. This announcement shows FC Cincinnati is dedicated to what Koch has been doing since taking over the reins as head coach before the 2017 season. Koch has a 25-13-15 record according to WVXU. The extension for Koch shows the team’s commitment to their head coach as they transition into MLS starting in the 2019 season. This move ensures continuity at the helm of the team and can give confidence from FC Cincinnati to Koch as he looks to shape his roster for MLS.

My name is Derek Bell and I am the Soccer Manager. I contribute articles covering FC Cincinnati in particular. I have been an avid sports fan since I was little, with my favorite teams being FC Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cincinnati Reds. When football season is around you will more than likely hear me talking about fantasy football.

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