Following a 4-1 loss at the New England Revolution over the weekend, a fresh voice chimed in on the state of the season for FC Cincinnati. Signed a day before his club’s loss this past Saturday, right back Chris Duvall didn’t hang his head after the lopsided result to the Supporters Shield frontrunners.
More from MLS Multiplex
- Javier Milei Elected in Argentina: Potential Impacts on MLS and Signings of Argentine Players
- Orlando City and New York City FC in the Battle for Matías Arezo; Grêmio Enters Negotiations! Who Will Come Out on Top?
- USA, Honduras, Panama, and Canada Close in on a Spot in the 2024 Copa America
- De Gea Turns Down Al-Nassr’s Lucrative Offer: Speculation Points to Possible Reunion with Messi at Inter Miami
- Messi’s Magnetic Impact in the United States
Instead, Duvall wanted to focus on where this club could be heading in the coming weeks. Which, given his new team’s 3-8-8 record (17 points), is better than looking in the rearview mirror.
The loss puts FC Cincinnati 10 points from the red line in the Eastern Conference.
“That’s the beauty of MLS. There’s 15 games left and everyone has the same resources to work with. FC Cincinnati’s got some of the best facilities, some great players, great staff. We have every opportunity to make a run,” Duvall told reporters on Saturday following his team’s loss to the Revolution.
“In the years that I’ve been in MLS, I remember a few years back Seattle was dead last at the All-Star Break, came back and won MLS Cup. There is nothing that is out of our reach. We have the players, we have the ability, we just have to start putting together a streak of games.”
The loss brought FC Cincinnati back to earth a bit. They were without a loss in their last four games – all ties – a run of results that showed some improved play and featured three shutouts.
(Of course, they were also shutout three times but let’s focus on the positives here, OK?)
A lot of the issues for this side in the current season have been less about talent and more about organization. Miscues, poor communication and a lack of tactical awareness has hurt FC Cincinnati repeatedly.
Now with a midweek break for the All-Star Game, head coach Jaap Stam hopes his team can regroup and take a step forward.
“It’s difficult to win a game when you give away the game in the first half. I think in the first half in what we tried to do, there was a lot of space to play, they gave us a lot of space but what do you do with it? You need to use it, you need to be clinical in your passing as well,” Stam said after the match.
“If you give them balls away, in transition, they become very dangerous and we’ve seen that in a couple of situations when they scored goals. We gave away too much space, they utilized it very well but that’s why they are top of the league. We needed to do a lot better.”