That four-match unbeaten run feels like a thing of the distant past for FC Cincinnati.
Fortunes turn fast in MLS and the conversation around FCC shifted from one of optimism during a franchise-record unbeaten streak to dropping eight out of a possible nine points in three matches last week.
FC Cincinnati leaked 10 goals across the three games and dropped points from winning positions against CF Montreal July 17 and Atlanta United on Wednesday.
Saturday's 3-0 loss to Nashville SC was a rare dose of FCC in its non-competitive form, which hadn't been seen or heard of since late April.
At 3-7-4 so far in 2021, FC Cincinnati has 13 points from 14 games played and in need of results as the halfway point of the season nears.
Status update on the progress
Thirteen points from 14 games is FCC's best return to start a season in MLS. By definition, that's progress – but general progress is still lagging behind the expectations of many fans.
Thirteen points from 15 games is, after all, just a two-point improvement on the 11 points/14 games return from the 2019 season.
There was so much more to be had in July for FC Cincinnati, and a significantly larger return of points narrowly slipped away from the club. However narrow or wide the margins are matters little, though. As the old soccer cliche goes, "the table (standings) doesn't lie."
Cincinnati's struggled when leading in July. The club is winless this month and has coughed up a lead three times. Twice, it relinquished two-goal leads. At Nashville, there was never a threat of FC Cincinnati going in front.
FCC is nine points adrift of the playoff cut line, with Montreal holding the seventh and final position in the Eastern Conference on 22 points. Playoff contention and the excitement that comes with that isn't far off, but the gap is growing larger with a little more than half of the season to play.
The good news for FC Cincinnati? Though the club remains winless at TQL Stadium, it surely won't stay that way. Twelve home dates remain, including four in a row in October. Plenty of the ingredients required for the club to make a run are already in place.
Another key ingredient is added depth for the improved roster...
The depth issue
FC Cincinnati wasn't beaten soundly at Nashville for lack of want. According to head coach Jaap Stam, it was basically for lack of depth.
It is true that Stam didn't rotate much and evidently wasn't comfortable with the personnel he had in reserve. Eight of FC Cincinnati's players started all three games in the tight window last week.
That kind of repetition and use breeds tired legs, and the legs looked plenty heavy at Nissan Stadium throughout the 3-0 loss.
"We ask a lot from the players that we are starting game-in, game-out, every game this week," Stam said. "And then players -- you can see them -- they become tired as well and they find it very hard to deliver the same quality. You're still hoping that these players can do that but it is difficult. Is it then that we have choices to make? Other players to put in there that can play that same level. That's difficult for us. The players that we're having are players that are working very hard, trying to put their shift in but like I said, hopefully, we can add some players with certain abilities as well that make it easier for them to come on the pitch to create something but also giving other players a rest at times."
Relief is coming for FC Cincinnati. Costa Rica's quarterfinal loss to Canada in the Concacaf Gold Cup meant that Allan Cruz (eight appearances, one goal) and Ronald Matarrita (eight appearances, three assists) would return to the Mercy Health Training Center this week.
Veteran center back Maikel van der Werff, defender Zico Bailey and forward Calvin Harris are all working back from injury, too. They're yet to join the team for full training sessions but they're making improvements.
Will there be more relief added via the transfer window? As of Monday, and with 10 full days remaining in the ongoing secondary window, FCC hadn't made a single move. The club hasn't been publicly linked to any acquisitions yet, but it would be an unlikely "first" under General Manager Gerard Nijkamp for the club to not make any moves to improve itself in a window.
Next up: D.C. United
FC Cincinnati hosts D.C. United on Saturday at TQL Stadium (7:30 p.m.).
United record: 6-7-2, 20 points, eighth place in Eastern Conference.
Gold Cup call-ups: Paul Arriola, Donovan Pines (United States).
Under the guidance of first-year manager Hernan Losada, D.C. United has bounced back strongly from its second-from-bottom finish in the Eastern Conference in 2020. United collected 21 points in the standings during the 23-match, pandemic shortened season, and they're already set to match or eclipse that sum with their next result.
More intriguing than surpassing last year's position in the league is D.C.'s proximity to the playoffs, and United is just two points back of a playoff spot.
Losada, a noted opponent of "parking the bus," has D.C. scoring at a good clip – 21 goals is fifth-most in the East.
The attack might be slightly lopsided. Ola Kamara boasts a team-best seven goals, accounting for a third of United's attacking output. On the other hand, the club has seen 10 players score this season, and five players are on double-figure goals already this year.
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