Patrick Brennan

pbrennan@enquirer.com

Remember back in the day when widespread panic gripped the Futbol Club Cincinnati fan base after the club dropped to 1-2-0 (with 29 games to play)?

Actually, that was just last week. A couple days and two matches later, order has been restored.

FC Cincinnati has since taken on the look and spirit of the team it was expected to be in preseason. They're back – and probably never left.

The club entered this week with matches against heavy-hitting opponents. Each of the top three teams in the United Soccer League's Eastern Conference (teams now tied for No. 1 overall in the USL) were scheduled to visit Nippert.

So far, FC Cincinnati's taken four points out of a possible six in games against St. Louis FC and the Tampa Bay Rowdies, scored five goals and is up to fifth place in the east. Rival Louisville City FC awaits on Saturday.

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Another result could mark this three-game stretch the most productive and momentous in the team's short on-field history.

So much for the concerns of a week ago.

Here are the biggest takeaways from FC Cincinnati's latest result, the 1-1 tie wit Tampa Bay:

WINNING MENTALITY

Tampa Bay is a top USL team. The Rowdies will make the playoffs and, as currently constituted, project to go on a nice run as a high seed. It's a team that, like FC Cincinnati, will punish the Major League Soccer "II" teams and most of the USL's young, developing clubs.

Again, like Cincinnati, that should leave Tampa Bay in the elite echelon of USL clubs in 2017. And with names like Joe Cole, Marcel Schäfer and Georgi Hristov rounding out their roster, the talent is there, too, for the Rowdies.

Even considering all that, FC Cincinnati wasn't anywhere near satisfied with a draw on Wednesday.

Being in the midst of FC Cincinnati players and staff in the NIppert Stadium under bowels after the 1-1 draw, you could be forgiven for surveying the scene and thinking Cincinnati had been drubbed. They weren't, of course, but that was the aura around the team, which was visibly disgusted with itself to have dropped points at home to Tampa Bay.

The standard in the FC Cincinnati locker room right now is such that Wednesday's performance, despite a draw against one of the USL's best (and an MLS aspirant, no less), simply won't suffice, and won't going forward.

The team had legitimate reasons to be disappointed about specific areas of the game, but the 1-1 draw was well-earned.

Supporters should be very encouraged by the team's reaction to Wednesday's match.

SLOW STARTS

For two games running now, FC Cincinnati's stumbled out of the gate.

It took the team about 20 minutes to really get a foothold in Saturday's match against St. Louis FC. While Cincinnati felt its way through the early stages, St. Louis FC nearly changed the trajectory of the match with some set piece opportunities. Fortunately for Cincinnati, St. Louis didn't take advantage of the hosts' syrupy-slow start.

Tampa Bay, however, made Cincinnati pay for a second consecutive lazy start.

Schäfer, a player that can't be left unchecked in the attacking half of the field, was left alone with far too much time and space. In the eighth minute, and even after a 15-yard run with the ball at his feet, Schäfer still had a clear look a goal from about 35 yards out. So, he thwacked one and cracked the ball in off the post.

Just like that, FC Cincinnati was down 1-0, shaken to its core and could have quickly unraveled from there, although they didn't.

It was the rudest wake-up call imaginable for FC Cincinnati. Hopefully it serves as a notice to the team that it can no longer afford to ease into games.

A BOAT LOAD OF CHARACTER

Red cards force managers and head coaches to tear up game plans. Such was the case Wednesday when FC Cincinnati's Kadeem Dacres was red carded against Tampa Bay in the 75th minute.

Say what you want about the red card itself (more on that later) but at that point in the match, FC Cincinnati's realistic ceiling for outcomes was essentially capped at drawing with the Rowdies, and even that wasn't a guarantee.

Tampa pushed hard for a late winner, and even brought on the aged Joe Cole to attempt to craft the decisive moment. Cincinnati bunkered in and held on for a valuable point in the standings in the end.

"It shows a boat load of character," FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt said afterward. "No one gave up. Everybody fought for each other... Everyone fought for each other when we went down to 10 men tonight."

LOOSE ENDS

While seemingly unlikely, Cincinnati head coach Alan Koch didn't rule out the possibility of appealing Dacres' red card in his post-match remarks. Koch admittedly hadn't seen a replay of Dacres' misdeed, but said the team would review it and decide if further action was necessary.

While an appeal is possible, it seems like a long-shot. Koch noted he has never previously appealed a red card as a head coach, but he also said he disagreed with the referee's decision to eject Dacres.

"My opinion was it wasn't a red card," Koch said.

For now, Dacres stands to be suspended for what would have been his first game against rival Louisville City FC, Dacres' former team.

NEXT UP:

FC Cincinnati (2-2-1) versus Louisville City FC (3-0-1)

Kickoff: 7 p.m., Nippert Stadium.

Broadcast: Star-64/Youtube

FC Cincinnati vs Louisville City FC