Patrick Brennan

pbrennan@enquirer.com

Asked if Futbol Club Cincinnati's 4-0 win over St. Louis FC Saturday was the team's best version of itself, players and coaches agree on the answer.

The uniform response to that prompt from FC Cincinnati members following Monday's training session at Nippert Stadium was a resounding "no."

"No," as in, "We haven't hit our ceiling yet," head coach Alan Koch told The Enquirer.

That's quite a statement considering what transpired Saturday.

FC Cincy wins home opener, 4-0, before record crowd of 23,144

Offensively, four FC Cincinnati players assisted on a single-game record four goals by forward Djiby Fall.

Cincinnati's press was on point, the passing accuracy was a respectable roughly 80 percent and the vital crosses that essentially produced all four goals were successful to the tune of nearly 40 percent.

Defensively, FC Cincinnati fought mightily to deny St. Louis a single on-target shot despite being out-possessed 56 percent to about 44 percent.

Goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt also orchestrated his back line tidily in helping notch his second clean sheet of the season.

And all this came against what was then an undefeated, high-scoring and first-place St. Louis side.

The entire scene was also set against the backdrop of yet another USL-record crowd achievement by FC Cincinnati.

How did FC Cincinnati's crowd compare against MLS, Liga MX?

Top to bottom, it was likely the best game FC Cincinnati's played in its short on-field history, so how can they possibly improve on the performance?

"I firmly believe the group and individuals within the group are capable of a lot more," Koch said. "Hard to say obviously after you've won a game 4-0 and that was a very promising start, but I definitely think we're capable of a lot more."

Defender Harrison Delbridge was adamant in his response, saying, "there's definitely more growth to come."

That growth could start with a more even distribution of scoring.

All six of FC Cincinnati's goals have come via Djiby – a great individual performance through four games but a trend that could prove devastating if he ever fell off the goal-scoring pace or took an injury.

By comparison, FC Cincinnati also scored six goals through the first four games in 2016, but four players contributed to that tally.

"It's great that Djiby scored the goals. We need him to continue to do that," Koch said. "We obviously need the other guys to go out and score, too."

Delbridge also suggested FC Cincinnati needed to get into its game quicker against St. Louis, noting that he and his teammates didn't start to assert itself until about 20 minutes had elapsed against St. Louis.

PERSONNEL COMINGS, GOINGS

It's another lively week on the team sheet for FC Cincinnati.

Two players – Eric Stevenson and Paul Nicholson – will be available for selection this week after missing the game at the weekend.

Stevenson had been unavailable through an ankle injury, Koch said, while Nicholson was suspended for Saturday's memorable win following a red card he picked up the weekend prior against Bethlehem Steel FC.

Koch said defender Justin Hoyte isn't available this week. Hoyte missed Saturday's game with a hamstring injury suffered early in the 2-0 loss to Steel FC.

NEXT UP

FC Cincinnati (2-2-0) versus Tampa Bay Rowdies (3-1-0)

Kickoff: Wednesday, 7 p.m. at Nippert Stadium.

TV/Stream: CW/Youtube/ESPN3 (USL Game of the Week)