On The Beat: 5 questions on FC Cincinnati with The Cincinnati Enquirer's Pat Brennan

With FC Cincinnati coming to Gillette this weekend, we figured we’d get some insight on the Blue and Orange courtesy FCC beat writer Pat Brennan, who writes for The Cincinnati Enquirer.

BSJ: So… did you survive the sold-out home opener crowd Sunday? Nippert looked like it was rocking. Adding a third pro team to the Reds and Bengals, plus the Bearcats, Xavier… how much does having FCC add to the Queen City’s sporting mystique?

PB: I was fortunate in that I did not have to fight the crowds. I would have liked to get down from the press box to the concourse and catch some of that impressive supporters march but thought better of it as I gazed down at the thronging masses. Maybe next week for the Philly match. Nippert was definitely rocking. That was easily the loudest I have ever heard it, and I’ve covered more than 60 FC Cincinnati matches since 2016. I think what the addition of FC Cincinnati has done is add a new dimension to the sports scene here. FC Cincinnati’s in a smaller market (some would just straight up call it a small market), but I don’t think it’s a market that was over-served in terms of professional sports offerings. Before FC Cincinnati, Cincinnati was obviously still a great sports town with the Red and Bengals, but I think it’s fair to say there was an appetite for a new option. That was real. And having an MLS club that offers a truly major-league experience just rounds out the sports scene here perfectly. You have your traditional “major” pro sports teams that will probably always be king in this city when they’re legitimately competing for championships, but then you have this cosmopolitan, youthful, highly-energetic FC Cincinnati cultural explosion. I think the three pro sports teams here are great balances to one another.

BSJ: I’m sure the air went out of Nippert when Fanendo Adi grabbed at his ankle at the end of the first half Sunday. What’s his status entering the tail end of the week, and what is the back-up option, seeing as Darren Mattocks is headed to Jamaica for the next few days? And if the back-up option is Kekuta Manneh, how does Alan Koch shuffle the deck to replace his playmaker at the No. 10?

PB: By Tuesday, it was no secret that Fanendo Adi was unlikely to play at New England on Sunday. I’m sure FC Cincinnati might try to cloak that fact for as long as it can, and rightfully so, but I don’t expect Adi to play. Kekuta Manneh is a great option. He plays a different style than Adi, obviously, who’s a classic target man. Manneh is pacey and, unlike Adi recently, can actually attract attention from multiple defenders. And there are a couple of strong options to pair with Manneh up top if FC Cincinnati wants to play in a 4-4-2. They haven’t had a supply line from a classic No. 10 up to this point, although there are players that could grow into that role. But this match isn’t really about FC Cincinnati’s offensive firepower for me. They have plenty of that and I’ve maintained my stance on that since early in the preseason. The key thing with the players that won’t be available Sunday is that they’ll be losing two starters from the back line (captain Kendall Waston and Alvas Powell), and replacing them with what might be considered unknown commodities.

BSJ: One of the things I’ve said since December is that Cincinnati has bought/built a rather formidable defensive corps, with Waston and Greg Garza the centerpieces for several gazillion in allocation money. But like you just said, Waston will be unavailable at the weekend thanks to international duty. Who slips into his role, and what will they bring to the table against the Revs?

PB: The players are going to decide who fills the vacancies in the starting XI during training this week, of course. There again, FC Cincinnati won’t tip its hand publicly. On paper, you’d point to a name like Forrest Lasso, a bruising center back that came up with FC Cincinnati from the USL, to take Waston’s place. Lasso is a center back by trade, is solid in the air, willing to sacrifice his body and can contribute offensively. An appearance on Sunday at Gillette would be his MLS debut, so it might be asking a lot of him to expect he could fill Waston’s shoes but I like Lasso a lot and have been very surprised he hasn’t been on the dress list for Alan Koch.

BSJ: Leonardo Bertone looks to be a rock in that defensive midfield, but of course, he’s played against some of the best players in the world when he was at Young Boys. Just what has he brought to this squad?

PB: Like all of Alan Koch’s most impactful players, he’s a nice person and a great personality for the locker room. That can’t be overlooked on an Alan Koch-coached team. And he’s just a classy player that’s demonstrated his abundance of top European experience from an early stage in the preseason. He’s a big part of the reason FC Cincinnati won the midfield battle against Portland and, to some extent, late in the 1-1 draw with Atlanta on March 10.

BSJ: Who’s the underrated player that you want Revs fans to know about headed into the weekend?

PB: Well, this isn’t exactly a team full of no-name players. Many are MLS veterans and Revs fans will be familiar with plenty of the names they see. One name that might not know is Spencer Richey, the projected No. 2 goalkeeper that’s started the last two matches and should start again Sunday. Richey hasn’t allowed a goal since the fifth minute of the Atlanta match two weekends ago (that’s 175 minutes of scoreless shot-stopping) and he’s an underrated athlete. Sound technical goalkeeper that’s finally getting a break and seeing time at the MLS level. He, too, came up with FC Cincinnati from the USL. He’s a great story and is the hot goalkeeping hand for Cincinnati at the moment.