FC Cincinnati returns to Indianapolis for their fifth away match and seventh regular season match of the 2018 season. Cincinnati defeated Indy XI 1-0 in the club’s first meeting on the second matchday of their seasons. A goal from Emery Welshman put the visitors ahead and keeper Evan Newton saved a PK for the club’s second road win of the year. Check out our 5 Things to Know for FC Cincinnati’s match against Indy XI and listen to the most recent March to Matchday podcast.

Where: Indianapolis, IN – Lucas Oil Stadium

When: Wednesday, May 2nd at 7:00 p.m. EST

2018 Form: FC Cincinnati – 5th Place (3W-1L-2D, 11 pts.), Indy XI – 7th Place (3W-1L-1D, 10pts.)

YOUR FAVORITE PEOPLE THIS WEEK – Ref Assignments:

REF: MARCOS DEOLIVEIRA, AR1: JOE ZAWISTOWSKI, AR2: KEVIN FIKAR, 4TH: MICHAEL NICKERSON

March to Matchday Podcast S2E7 – FC Cincinnati at Indy XI:

Join host Bryan Weigel @bryanweigel, as he previews FC Cincinnati’s seventh USL regular season match of 2018 as FCC travel to Indy Eleven. Joining Bryan on this week’s show is guest Aaron Gunyon (@AGunyon) of SocTakes.com (@SocTakes) a website that covers the Indy Eleven, lower division soccer and many other soccer issues around the globe. This show will hopefully fit in your drive time to work, to the pub on game day or lead you right up to game time. We hope you enjoy!





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5 Things to Know

Rotation: FC Cincinnati is a much-changed side than the one that traveled to Indy in March. Coach Alan Koch has moved the club to a more narrow set up and one that has tried to maintain more possession in games. With three games in eight days, will Koch maintain his 4-4-1-1 (Diamond) formation with four central midfielders or will he revert back to the 4-2-3-1 set up with wingers that saw FCC win 1-0 in the Circle City? I’d imagine with the short turnaround and taxing travel from Ottawa, Koch will add some new faces to the starting lineup. Will Paddy Barrett, Michael Lahoud, or Russell Cicerone see their first starts? Lance Laing, Jimmy McLaughlin, Daniel Haber, and Evan Newton could also be in a spot to start Wednesday. Several of these moves seem to suggest that Koch would return to the wider setup. We will all be anticipating the lineup on Wednesday in what could be a preview of our US Open Cup squad in a couple weeks.

Road Work: Last year it took FC Cincinnati until September 23rd to get 10 road points. This years squad did so by their fourth road match on April 28th in 2018. This huge point swing has helped FCC compile points early and put them in a good spot for a large stretch of home matches in the summer. Should Cincinnati win midweek, they will have equaled their amount of league road victories from last year. A large reason why Cincinnati has won on the road is their stout defense. The Orange & Blue have logged three shutouts and have only conceded once, in Bethlehem. The squad must continue to lock down opponents on the road to accrue points to put themselves into good position around playoff time.

Strike Early: In FC Cincinnati’s first two road victories, the Orange & Blue struck early. Blake Smith’s 18th-minute goal vs. Charleston and Emery Welshman’s 23rd-minute goal in Indianapolis, allowed FCC to sit back and maintain their defensive shape to see out 1-0 results. Scoring once may be enough vs. Indy as the Eleven has only found the back of the net four times in 2018. The X-factor in maintaining defensive integrity could be the number of changes Koch plans in his squad. If you remove Dekel Keinan or Forrest Lasso, some familiarity and confidence may be lacking. It could be up to the midfield to keep possession and to not allow dangerous turnovers in our half.

Lahoud: Will Wednesday be the first time we see central midfielder Michael Lahoud in Orange & Blue? The former Miami FC man has not made an appearance since signing with Cincinnati on April 18th but was in the matchday 18 on the weekend. His 90%+ pass completion rating from 2017 could be key in helping break down the Eastern Conference’s best defense. While not a pure “chance creator” his vision created 18 quality opportunities for Miami FC in 2017 which led to 4 assists. The Sierra-Leone international could win FCC fans over in a big way with a quality shift this week while sitting in front of the back four.

The Home Side: Indianapolis has experienced a solid start to their first USL campaign. The XI have only conceded twice in five matches in large part to an experienced back line and keeper Owain Fôn Williams. Coach Martin Rennie has continued to tinker with his squad which has morphed into a 4-4-2 formation with Soony Saad and villain Jack McInerny up top. Indy hosts Lou City on Saturday and you could potentially see Rennie continue to tinker with his deep midfield and attacking options. Two players to look out for will be midfielders Tyler Pasher and Zach Steinberger. Pasher has been a force to deal with when Indy have possession while the highly-touted Steinberger has struggled to find his form. Will Rennie ride his two workhorses or will he be forced to bring them off the bench in favor of more fresh legs?

Growler Cup – Round 7

Returning for 2018 is our Growler Cup! If you contribute $5/ month or more as a supporter of the site, you are entered into the Growler Cup prediction contest. Supporters of the show along with our hosts will predict the score and result for the upcoming week’s match. We have changed the rules for 2018. You get 3 pts for picking the correct result, 1 pt for correct FCC goals and 1pt for correct opponent goals. There will be many opportunities to win as well in 2018. Along with the overall champion (2017 – Chris Dimeo), fans can get on our show to chat with the staff or partake in a trivia contest by scoring the most amount of points in a given month. You will see the predictions of our staff below. Please consider supporting the site at CincinnatiSoccerTalk.com/Support.

Round 6 Recap: FC Cincinnati 3, Ottawa Fury 0

Staff Standings:

15 Ken 15 Seubs 13 Yosief 13 Brad 12 Boston 11 Bill 10 Bryan 10 Griffin 9 Ben 7 Rob 7 Trisha

BUS TRIP

Molly Malone’s Covington & Ballast Point Brewing Company are sponsoring a Bus Trip from Molly Malone’s Covington to Indianapolis. The bus leaves Covington, KY at 2 p.m. and will return to the bar following the game. Cost is $25 and includes transportation and refreshments. The bus will drop off at the FCC pre-match party at Basey’s Downtown in Indianapolis. This does not include a ticket. Call Molly Malone’s at (859) 491-6659 to sign up.

Supporters Pre-Match Party

Supporters can meet at Basey’s Downtown Grill in Indianapolis for a pre-match party. The march to the match will begin at 6:15 pm. Address: 1151, 419 S West St, Indianapolis, IN 46225

Supporter Groups Pregame Match Parties

The supporters groups will be taking up residence at their favorite away match viewing locations. See the list below for more information.

Die Innenstadt: Rhinehaus OTR – 19 E 12th St, Cincinnati 45202

The Pride: The Dime (Short Vine) – 2611 Vine St, Cincinnati, OH 45219

The Pride Norden: BC Bottle Lodge Montgomery – 8175 Hetz Dr, Cincinnati, OH 45242

Queen City Firm: Bucketheads – 6507 Harrison Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45247

The Bailey Bastards: Murphy’s Pub Clifton – 2329 W Clifton Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45219



To see other viewing party venues, check out FC Cincinnati’s list of Pub Partners.

Viewing

TV: This contest is set for a 7:00 p.m. EST kickoff on Saturday night. Broadcasting partner Sinclair Broadcasting Group will now air all FC Cincinnati home & away matches. The broadcast duo of Tom Gelehrter and Kevin McCloskey will provide the play-by-play and color analysis to FCC fans live on WSTR Star 64. The match will also be broadcast at FC Cincinnati’s pub partners or by Streaming internet on ESPN+.

RADIO: NONE

Stay tuned to our Twitter handle – @CincySoccerTalk, for updated information.

@bryanweigel of @CincySoccerTalk