FC Cincy preseason notebook: The early GK depth chart, prepping for first test of 2019

BRADENTON, Florida – Alan Koch divided his available players up into two teams and informed them they'd have a 15-minute scrimmage during which he and the other FC Cincinnati coaches would remain silent.

No instructions from the sideline. It was up to the players to put into practice as best they could the principals of Koch's 3-5-2 and 4-3-3 formations during this Tuesday morning exercise.

The purpose of the exercise was to prepare for Wednesday's opening preseason match, a 7 p.m. game on the IMG Academy campus against fellow Major League Soccer Eastern Conference side, the Montreal Impact.

The game was fluid for periods and static the majority of the 15 minutes, but it was a valuable chance for the players to reason for themselves absent any assistance from the bench.

Koch, who held a 2 p.m. teleconference later in the day, wasn't immediately available to comment on the exercise.

A side led by Darren Mattocks and Emmanuel Ledesma won the short scrimmage, but the score was a secondary concern

Similarly, Wednesday's match against Montreal won't matter much when it comes to the final score either.

Both clubs will be at different stages of their respective preseason preparation, and both will have divergent objectives to achieve.

Sure, putting the ball in the back of the net will be looked upon favorably, but only if it's done the right way and within a team-oriented concept.

FC Cincinnati, in particular, will likely be more focused on meshing as a unit while Montreal will be working on some of its perceived deficiencies that could follow the team from a 2018 season that saw the club narrowly miss the Eastern Conference playoffs.

• Goalkeeping depth chart: During a Tuesday afternoon conference call, Koch divulged that Przemysław Tytoń would go the full 90 minutes in Wednesday's game against Montreal.

In elaborating on the goalkeeping situation, Koch essentially also revealed what amounted to an early goalkeeping depth chart, which is really only interesting because of the battle for No. 3 goalkeeper between MLS SuperDraft picks Jimmy Hague and Ben Lundt.

With Spencer Richey, the projected No. 2 goalkeeper, unavailable for Wednesday's match as he continues to recover from offseason surgery, Koch said Hague would serve as the backup to Tytoń.

However, injuries are playing a big part in the early order of FC Cincinnati's four 'keepers.

Like Richey, Lundt appears to be dealing with a minor injury as he was working off to the side of the main training activities on Monday and Tuesday.

Though we're far from finishing the competition, the order of goalkeepers at this early moment in the preseason appears to be: Tytoń, Spencer, Hague, and Lundt.

• Wednesday's match: Koch didn't mind divulging his plans for the Wednesday match and did just that during the Tuesday conference call.

"We're going to play two groups for 45 minutes (each)," Koch said. "Outfield player-wise... 20 outfield players will get 45 minutes each tomorrow. There's a few guys that won't be able to get minutes in the game tomorrow and we'll do some extra work with them to compensate for that."

The Montreal Impact is a 25-year-old club that's entering its eighth season as an MLS franchise. The Impact is led in the attacking half of the field by Ignacio Piatti, a 33-year-old Argentine, and two-time MLS All-Star.

Piatti scored 17 goals in 2018. If he plays on Wednesday, he'll be an excellent test for FC Cincinnati's backline, which is far from cemented. Cincinnati supporters should hope he does play.

Fans might also be familiar with the name Bacary Sagna, the former France international and Arsenal defender. He was once considered one of the top fullbacks in world soccer. Now at age 35, he's no longer of that high caliber, although he's still a smart, hard-working player.

Montreal's push for the 2018 MLS Cup playoffs came up just short as the Impact finished on 46 points, four back of sixth-place Philadelphia Union

• It will be interesting to see what FC Cincinnati wears for its matches while the club hubs out of Florida because its 2019 uniforms, or "kits" as they're called in soccer, haven't been released yet.

What has been released as of Tuesday is the date on which fans will get their first chance to see and purchase the Adidas-branded kits: Feb. 11 at the Music Hall Ballroom (7 p.m.), according to a club news release.

Tickets for the event are $10 and attendees will be able to purchase the new jersey at a presale window at the event. Attendees also will receive 10 percent off their purchases at the event, according to the email.

• Even though he isn't available for selection against Montreal, Richey saw live action in net for the first time in Bradenton. Koch estimated earlier in the week that Richey was at about 80 percent strength following offseason abdominal surgery.