FC Cincinnati coach Alan Koch wants to see players develop chemistry, partnerships

Four months ago, Futbol Club Cincinnati was training at Gettler Stadium with nine players on its roster. Wednesday night, the club, with 26 players, plays the University of Cincinnati in a preseason friendly ahead of its looming United Soccer League campaign.

The penultimate preseason match for FC Cincinnati, it is a chance to shake rust and prepare for a regular season that starts in 10 days and finishes in mid-October. Head coach Alan Koch is looking for his players to implement their style: a possession-based approach that builds from the defense into a fluid attack.

Perhaps the most important aspect for the players, though, is to build chemistry and confidence with one another. New players means new relationships. And considering FC Cincinnati has added so many fresh faces – only four current players were rostered this time last year – there's a plethora of partnerships that could lead, potentially, to more playing time.

"We just have to find the right partnerships," Koch said after beating Northern Kentucky 3-0 last Tuesday. "We've said that to our group since day once. The best individuals in our group may not play. It's going to be the best partners. If you figure out a way to play and maximize the abilities of the guy next to you and it allows you and him to be better, there's a far better chance of you playing."

The second-year coach said the obvious partnerships stem from the center-backs. After Austin Berry retired and joined the coaching staff and Harrison Delbridge joined an Australian club, 2018 will mark the first time Cincinnati opts for a different starting pairing since its inaugural season (ignoring slight lineup changes in the last two seasons).

In FC Cincinnati's 2-2 draw with USL newcomer Nashville SC this past Saturday, it was Forrest Lasso and Dekel Keinan paired as the center-backs. Keinan, a new signing from the Israeli club Maccabi Haifa, wore the captain armband that once belonged to Berry.

On the right side, defender Justin Hoyte worked with winger Emmanuel Ledesma on overlapping and underlapping runs into the Nashville final third. After the NKU match, Koch called the pairing a relatively smooth one that was established when both played at Middlesbrough in the English second division.

"They go back and you can see they just click together," Koch said. "Not saying they’re going to be the ones that play together, but you can see that partnership."

As for other pairings, they're still being tested, if they've been attempted at all. Koch commented after NKU that left-back Lance Laing and left winger Jimmy McLaughlin hadn't even played in a practice together before entering the match in the 61st minute. Against Nashville, Laing was used as a winger while Blake Smith was slotted at left-back.

"It's coming together," said Laing, who scored in the Nashville draw. "It's still a new team. We had guys that came in like two weeks ago, so it's still a work in progress. Compared to where we started, we're way ahead."

After that match, Koch estimated his club was 70 percent toward the form he'd like come March 17, when Cincinnati plays at Charleston Battery in the USL season opener. Koch said the team is exactly where he'd like it to be.

When FC Cincinnati plays UC on Wednesday night, the easy thing to watch for will be the pairings the club attempts. Against a college team that's in its preseason, Cincinnati is expected to win.

Certainly there will be interest in how the side plays, possesses the ball and attacks the opposing backline and goal. But it'll also be one of the final tests for players to work together in a match before the season starts. FC Cincinnati will host USL Western Conference foe Sacramento Republic FC in its final preseason tuneup Saturday afternoon at Nippert Stadium.

"We’re in a really, really good place," Koch said. "We’ve still got lots of work to do and that’s why we played a game like today."