Written by Steve Haldeman, DI Member 1059

Supporters Groups Unveil Enormous Tifo Before FCC Playoff Victory

Faster than a speeding Jimmy, more powerful than an Irish Center Back, able to leap poorly placed field signage in a single bound, and much like Kenney Walker taking a Penalty Kick in a sudden-death shootout, FC Cincinnati is here to save the day.

Last Saturday, FCC won their first ever USL playoff game, catapulting the Nippert faithful into a frenzy after 120+ minutes of tense back-and-forth play.

Mild-Mannered Midfielder Unleashes Penalty Kick Super Powers

Tied 0-0 after 90 minutes, FCC finally broke the deadlock in the first period of extra time with a 95’ goal from the top of the 18-yard box that justly involved all three members of the Orange & Blue’s Original Three, McLaughlin to Walker to Corben Bone. The celebration was loud, exhilarating, and short-lived. As has been the leitmotif between these two squads in 2018, Nashville tied the game 10 minutes into the second quarter hour of extra time. After playing to a draw in all four previous matches, a penalty shootout in their final USL fixture seemed inevitable even before the game began.

Both sides converted their first five tries. When Nashville’s Justin Davis skied his penalty over the crossbar into the bachelorette-o-sphere, Nippert erupted. Most of the FC Cincinnati players prematurely celebrated, rushing forward until Goalkeeper and Man of the Match Spencer Richey calmly reminded them that there was still a bit of business that needed tending. Kenney Walker stepped calmly to the ball and pushed a low, lethal shot into the back-right corner, as Nashville’s veteran all-star keeper Matt Pickens dove towards the opposite post. FC Cincinnati captured victory to advance to the next round of the 2018 USL Playoffs.

Meanwhile, in The Bailey...

Before the game kicked off, as the sides huddled for final instructions from their coaches, the crowd of 20,000 strong roared as a massive banner unfurled upwards, row by row, covering most of the center of the Bailey. The image of FCC players as superheroes standing around Cincinnati’s Union Terminal bore the slogan “Crushed This League” in bright orange letters.