It’s been nearly two whole weeks since we toppled the Chicago Fire on penalties in the fourth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in front of yet another record crowd at Nippert Stadium and a national television audience. So that means it’s nearly time for us to resume our quest for the Cup, and we’ll do so with a quarterfinal tie against another lower-division American soccer Cinderella.
What can you expect from Wednesday’s huge match? Read on to find out more in our full match preview.
WHEN
Wednesday, July 12th, at 7:30pm
TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE
FC Cincinnati supporters going to the match should use the ticket portal link above to purchase tickets for our Cup match at Miami FC. Tickets purchased through the link will be to an FCC-exclusive general admission seating area in Section 127 of Riccardo Silva Stadium.
OPPOSITION
We’ll be heading to Florida for the third time in 2017 – though admittedly a bit further south this time – to face fellow second-year club, Miami FC, of the second-division North American Soccer League (NASL).
VENUE
Riccardo Silva Stadium, Miami, Florida
DIRECTIONS
FORM
FCC: It’s been a tale of two seasons for FC Cincinnati: one at home, and one on the road. At the friendly confines of Nippert Stadium, the Orange & Blue have gone 9-1-4 in all competitions (.600) and outscored their opponents at 19-8. But when away from home, the team is 1-5-2 (.125) and sports a -6 goal differential. And while our four wins in the Open Cup is impressive – including wins over two MLS clubs, our biggest league rivals and a fourth-division national champion – all four came at home with the benefit of the 12th man in the Nippert stands. That said, we’ve seen what the boys are capable of in this tournament and there’s no better time to change the narrative than in the Cup!
MFC: Don’t let Miami FC’s division two status fool you into thinking an easy task lies ahead. Our hosts enter the match on a high note having just closed out the NASL spring season as champions, finishing seven points ahead of a second-place San Francisco Deltas side that they just thrashed by seven goals in their last outing. They also managed to defeat two MLS sides along the way to the Open Cup quarterfinals, dropping a combined six goals on Orlando City and Atlanta United. Oh, and they’ve gone 8-1-2 at home this season and have outscored their opponents by 26 goals in all competitions this year.
COACH
"We are excited to go back down to Florida for this historic quarterfinal. Nobody has expected us to get this far in the Cup, but our team has a fantastic sense of belief in ourselves. No matter who wears the blue and orange on Wednesday night, we know that they will give everything for the cause and we hope to go cause another upset. Miami are a very difficult opponent and have had an excellent Cup run and NASL season so far, but as we have proven against Columbus and Chicago we are very comfortable embracing the underdog role. We look forward to the battle ahead."
- Head Coach Alan Koch
PLAYERS
FCC: Our biggest threat heading into this match is unquestionably the team’s leading scorer, Senegalese striker Djiby. He upped his goal tally for the season on Sunday with his 12th goal of the season including both league and Cup goals. But having gone nearly 70 minutes at the weekend, whether or not the 32-year-old can go again Wednesday is a legitimate question. The same could be said for a backline that’s been stretched thin due to Harrison Delbridge’s injury woes – and his participation also remains in question too.
MFC: No bones about it: Miami FC are good, and they have no shortage of threats coming from all over the pitch. Leading the way up top is Brazilian striker Stéfano Pinho (#29), who has notched 10 goals in all competitions this year. But the goals don’t stop there: French strike-partner Vincenzo Rennella (#8) has 9 on the year, midfielder Dylan Mares (#7) has 5 and another four players have scored at least twice in 2017. Also, keep an eye on towering midfielder Poku Kwadwo (#10), who has the potential to completely take a match over.
HISTORY
It’s been a while since we’ve said this – a month to be specific, but far less than in our inaugural campaign – but this will be our first ever meeting with Miami FC.
WEATHER
Showers and thunderstorms are expected in the afternoon tomorrow, though the forecast as of right now shows they should clear out by the time the match kicks off at 7:30pm. Even if it does, we’ll still be left with some sticky conditions. Temperatures should hover in the low-80’s for most of the match, and humidity will be quite high throughout.
WATCH
Since the Open Cup fixtures fall outside our normal television broadcast deals, this week’s match won’t be on any of our normal channels. However, it will still be broadcast! The match will be shown live throughout Ohio on Spectrum Sports Ohio.
If you don’t subscribe to Spectrum – the provider formerly known as Time Warner Cable – you can still stream the match live at ussoccer.com.
LISTEN
There are no plans for a radio broadcast of our Open Cup match.
SOCIAL
As is the case every match, you can follow along with the action on our Twitter feed at @fccincinnati. For live looks from before, during and after the match, follow us on Instagramand Snapchat by following 'fccincinnati', too. Halftime and full time updates will also be available on Facebook.
