Tomi Ameobi will be the first person to admit the 2018 season with Futbol Club Cincinnati hasn't gone as he expected on an individual level.

Ameobi came to Cincinnati with big ambitions. He's now in the home stretch of a season where he made five competitive appearances ahead Sunday's home match against Toronto FC II at Nippert Stadium.

Ameobi saw meaningful time in the U.S. Open Cup, but 11 minutes logged over three United Soccer League appearances isn't close to what Ameobi had in mind for himself this year.

The campaign's had its benefits for Ameobi's mentality, just not in the ways he anticipated. The sum total of his experiences with FC Cincinnati to-date might be reducible to a valuable learning experience, but there's still the promise of more opportunities awaiting him in the final six matches before the USL Cup playoffs begin.

"It’s been a little bit of a frustrating season but at the same time, a bit of an eye-opener," Ameobi said Thursday. "It’s brought me back to ground zero. You're not entitled to anything. You have to work for things. I think just seeing players of such a high level come in on a daily basis and, regardless of whether they're in the team or not, apply themselves correctly, which is something I probably haven't done in my career in the past.

"I expected to play a lot more and obviously that didn't happen, so I think that was a shot to the ego but I think it was a good shock. If I want to get in, I have to work extremely hard and I've been pushing up. My chance hasn't really come yet, but as long as the team keeps winning, that's the main things."

While Ameobi hasn't always agreed with head coach Alan Koch's decisions to leave him out of the day-of-match dress list, Ameobi said he absolutely respects the decisions and still finds pleasure in being a part of a team that's running away with the league at 14 points clear of the second-place club in the Eastern Conference.

Being out of the team for most matches took its toll on Ameobi's confidence, but the strength of the FC Cincinnati locker room revealed itself once again when Ameobi showed signs of distress.

"It was pretty hard to come to terms with early on in the year, but at a certain point, we've got such a great group here, guys have come up and put their arm around me if they see I've been down," he said.

The fortification of his confidence could coincide nicely with FC Cincinnati's final six league matches.

Koch on Tuesday essentially said every FC Cincinnati player would get playing time during that stretch, either out of necessity via fixture congestion or because Koch wants to test his second-line players before the season ends.

Ameobi acknowledged it's critical for the first team players and starters to be comfortable and playing cohesively going into the playoffs.

Given the opportunity, he'll also welcome the chance to show what he can offer.

"I think it's most important that the team is winning games," Ameobi said. "Whether that's myself, Danni, (Fanendo) Adi – our focus is on winning as many games as we can so we go into the playoffs on a good run, which we currently are on. Obviously, personally, I'd like to get some minutes out there."