"What a difference a day makes."
Well, maybe more like a week. In the spirit of Miss Dinah Washington, a lot can be worked on in a week. In seven days, the FC Cincinnati defense, from the back line to attackers up top, rebuilt itself in a way that helped support the depleted center-back group while also keeping the attack pushing forward and not simply bunkering in. Doing well enough to win 1-0 on the road at FC Dallas and earn a clean sheet for the first time since a win over Orlando City SC nearly two months ago.
A different lifetime ago. Or so it feels.
Without the vaunted center-back core that earned praise from national and international media to start the season and perhaps the most versatile and effective defensive midfielder (Obinna Nwobodo) in MLS at their disposal, FCC kept a clean sheet.
"Really proud of the group. It was certainly a team effort to get a result," FCC Head Coach Pat Noonan said in his postgame press conference. "It wasn't always pretty, but I think the guys understood what the challenges were going to be going into it, and we made some certain improvements on the defensive side of the ball.”
"I think the guys stuck with the plan in a good way…where we were able to move the ball to get up the field to get our back line in positions to be able to defend in a good way when (Dallas) was playing direct."
Everyone on the roster, from MLS MVP Luciano Acosta to Isaiah Foster, who made his MLS debut, contributed in different ways. The effort took some people to familiar places and some familiar faces to new places, but the group as a whole worked.
Yuya Kubo, who has been moved from position to position around the field, moved from striker to defensive midfielder in Nwobodo's absence due to the red card suspension from last Saturday. Even then, given the high temperatures in Frisco, Texas, the super-utility man covered more ground than any other FC Cincinnati player on the night. DeAndre Yedlin, initially brought in as a wingback to solidify the right side, took on the role as veteran leader of the center-back corps while Luca Orellano continued to shine as a right-side wingback in his stead while Yamil Asad slotted in on Orellano's typical left side.
Like a jigsaw puzzle with pieces from all different puzzles somehow magically fitting together, FC Cincinnati came together to form something great: a road win.
"It felt so good. I think it kind of showed what we're able to do when we get a full week together," FC Cincinnati Defender Ian Murphy said after the victory. "Working with the group and kind of get some familiarity with each other with some newer pieces in newer places. I think it's starting to feel good."
The victory is, in essence, a proof of concept of what can be done as a club despite the depleted lineup, particularly on the backline. Pat Noonan said postgame that the club is still very much evaluating what they feel is their best approach going forward and that it's a process of discovering and initiating the best possible version of themselves as individuals and as a team. However, the confidence gained from earning that clean sheet and putting on that performance shows just how effective FCC can still be.
"This is so new, and we've lost a couple key pieces, and we're trying to find our best group each game. Positionally or with the matchups with certain opponents, there might be some adjustments or things that we look at in a different way, but we're still trying to find answers," Noonan explained. "No question (earning a clean sheet was important) for the confidence of the group…but also not weathering the storm for 90 minutes and just conceding chance after chance (and) I don't think that was the case tonight."
There are still fixes to be made. Noonan highlighted how managing spaces out wide and not allowing simple moments to cascade into dangerous moments. The reality of the night was not without acknowledgment either. FC Dallas was similarly depleted and rotated in several players making their MLS debuts or with limited appearances to try and see out the game. FCD also started with budding star Petar Musa, their DP striker and leading scorer on the bench, as they attempted to manage minutes with rotation. So both teams were hampered, but Noonan still felt that, given the circumstances, FCC delivered a net positive performance.
"That was certainly better than the last performance," Noonan added. "It's going to be a game-by-game process, I hate to say the word process, but with a particular group of players trying to get better and understand the relationships and the roles…we have to figure out a way to continue to be strong with what we have."
"I'm pleased with how we defended for long stretches of that game… our group made improvements defensively, but there's still -- when I watch in certain moments from the sideline -- there's things that we didn't get exposed on where we could have. Those are the things that I see that I want to make sure that we improve so that we're just more stable in our shape, and how we can get pressure to the ball and not have to sit back and just play the game in a cautious way where you just find yourself having to defend even more. So, that's some of the things that we'll discuss."
The catalyst for the defensive performance, seemingly agreed upon by all in the locker room, was DeAndre Yedlin. Despite having little center back experience, Yedlin found himself as the vocal leader on the back line to help guide the younger defenders on the line in Kipp Keller and Ian Murphy as the group navigated not only the match, but the FC Cincinnati club record 97-degree Fahrenheit temps at kickoff.
While he may bring little CB experience to the group, he brings years of soccer experience across situations and knows instinctively what he needs to do.
"We've lost two key pieces who are not only just good players but leaders within this group. So I thought the other guys, who were leaders before, now have to take it up a notch," Yedlin said after the match. "That was really one of my main focuses tonight, just communicating with everybody. I think as a younger player or inexperienced player, if I have an experienced player and he's talking constantly, you know, just in my ear about where to be and what to do then I'm normally going to perform better than if not. So it's a credit to the whole team, everybody put in a shift. Experienced guys and non-experienced guys… it was a full team effort. That's what we're gonna do from now on."
"It's who he is," Noonan said of the leadership qualities Yedlin displayed. "I think he understands the situation and that he's going to have to help guide guys in different ways with his experience and just knowing how to manage games, conditions, the score line. But he's been like that since he got here."
Yedlin brings a wealth of soccer wisdom that he can impart to FC Cincinnati players - young and old - but he has a particular lived experience that helped guide the group on this particular night. Being traded to FCC from Inter Miami CF, and before that playing in the balmy climate of Istanbul in Türkiye for Galatasaray, Yedlin understands playing full 90s heat and humidity. And while Yedlin was sure to mention that "everyone's played in hot weather, this isn't a first," his presence of mind in that temperature is one that only a depth of experience can provide.
"It really becomes a mental game," Yedlin explained. "You have to talk even more, and it's hard to talk more when it's hot, you just struggle to find breath but it's important. Not only helping other guys but helping yourself, it keeps everyone engaged in the game."
"It's easy to, you know, as the game goes on to kind of slow yourself, lose focus when you're tired, but if you keep talking it keeps you engaged in what's going on. Then everybody else is engaged too, so it's an important thing and something that we've talked about over the last week."
The final piece of the puzzle that gave FC Cincinnati the victory on the night was a flash of brilliance from Orellano, who again provided a sensational moment of individual brilliance when cruising down the right win, cutting in centrally, and taking a left-footed strike that blasted past the keeper into the netting for what would be the winning goal.
Orellano had two near misses in the first half. The first was an outside-footed poke that spun just wide on a being sprung through the line alone on goal. The second was a wonder strike from distance that curled around the keeper but harangued off the post and out of bounds. Inches from glory each time, but in the second half with that strike, he made sure to earn the winner with his fifth goal for FCC this season.
What's most interesting about Orellano's offensive production is that his move from the left to the right, necessitated by injury and optimization, has unlocked a part of his game that has paid dividends back to Pat Noonan and Co. nearly instantly.
"He's done well on both sides, but the chance creation, the way that he's finding goals is similar to what we saw tonight," Noonan said of Orellano's upside on the right side. "How he's able to create for himself and his teammates, obviously it's more favorable for his shot and maybe slip passes. When he's on that side, you can see a cross or two that we miss out on when it's on his right. Those are things that you have to weigh in terms of what's going to be the most effective position for him to help us create. But he scored a really good goal with good 1v1 attacking, good patience, just knowing how to get defenders off balance and find his shot. So, we'll continue to look at him on both sides in each game."
Noonan and FC Cincinnati are still evaluating and tinkering with the lineup in the wake of the club's roster changes. Those evaluations will continue as new pieces return to the lineup. Miles Robinson, for example, will eventually return from USMNT duty, and his presence will radically change the options at Noonan's disposal.
But until then, opportunities for players (like the ones Orellano and Yedlin are currently excelling in) will be available so as to tinker and find new, exciting ways to contribute, which may be hiding in plain sight.
"What our best group is, is still to be determined, I think," Noonan said Saturday night. "I think the sample size is too small. It's going to be a game-by-game process…those are things that we'll try to evaluate in the short term and continue to try to play in a confident way and get results, like we did tonight."
