AUSTIN, Tex. – If you needed any convincing or reminding that FC Cincinnati is still on a long road back to respectability, the 2022 regular-season opener at Austin FC served as your refresher.
While optimism was in great supply for Saturday's game at Q2 Stadium, supporters were greeted almost immediately after kickoff with the reality that FCC remains a work in progress.
Austin scored early and often, and FC Cincinnati conceded at least four goals for the 18th time since it joined MLS in an eventual 5-0 loss.
More:'They punished us.' FC Cincinnati loses 2022 MLS opener to Austin FC, 5-0
It was a day that offered few positives and plenty to scrutinize. Here's to hoping we just saw this club's floor for 2022, and that there's plenty of time to establish a respectable ceiling.
Here are our takeaways from FC Cincinnati-Austin FC:
The big picture
Austin FC debuted in MLS in 2021 and they were not a great expansion team (obviously their first season went better than FC Cincinnati's in 2019). Austin was, however, a decent home team as they went 7-8-2 at Q2 Stadium, which provides plenty of noise and rabid support. And for being two seasons younger than four-year-old FC Cincinnati, Austin is clearly further along in the construction of its team under head coach Josh Wolff.
All that's to say that FC Cincinnati was always going to have a hard time getting something out of this roadie. The problem isn't that FCC lost, but how it lost.
The club gifted Austin a goal in the second minute and trailed, 2-0, after 15 minutes. In professional soccer, conceding early goals is a good way to ensure a non-competitive day at the office, and that's what FCC had.
Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said he was pleased with the club's chance creation, and he's correct in that FCC probably did have enough close chances in a typical match. But 5-0 is not a typical score. That's an unmanageable deficit and the game still would have been out of reach even if the club had converted offensively, which it didn't.
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FC Cincinnati was wounded by Austin on Day One of the new season. Fans are understandably distraught – they've seen this before, and their engagement in the new season will waver if there isn't a quick and reasonably sound riposte on Saturday against D.C. United at TQL Stadium.
The upside for FCC and its fans is that despite the wide margin of defeat, it was only one loss, and 33 matches remain for the club to accomplish its objectives.
Alec Kann's debut
The offseason addition of goalkeeper Alec Kann was designed to address a glaring area of weakness for FC Cincinnati. Stable and competent – that's what Cincinnati needed at that position and that's what Kann still should offer even if his debut appearance disappointed.
But I'm not too alarmed by what I saw from Kann, and certainly not ready to hit the panic button.
FC Cincinnati's porous, hands-off defense did Kann no favors, and I'd offer that he wasn't principally responsible for any of the first four goals. That includes the second Austin score – a scuffed shot by (unmarked) Alex Ring, which forced Kann into an awkward lunge. I've also seen it suggested that he could have claimed the corner kick at the outset of that sequence. He instead chose to punch the ball away and FCC's defense couldn't deal with that either. So, maybe, maybe not re: who's at fault there.
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Obviously, the fifth goal – an own-goal credited to Kann – is something he'll need to clean up. I also thought his individual response in the moments following the third goal was shaky. Kann forced a dangerous pass toward in Austin player that was deflected back toward his net, and ultimately out for a goal-kick.
Beyond those two moments, I don't think there was a lot Kann could have done to salvage the day for an FC Cincinnati team that looked like it had never previously defended together.
I'm not preaching patience with Kann. I'm preaching common sense. The defending in front of him was pretty useless at times, and the knock-on effects of that led to an insurmountable 3-0 lead by halftime. Let's revisit Kann's body of work after several more matches and see where things stand. If the conversation warrants including this fact, I'll remind you that GM Chris Albright essentially said during preseason that he left FCC with flexibility to re-address the goalkeeping position if needed.
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For now, Kann is still the guy to elevate the goalkeeping position.
What's next?
FC Cincinnati hosts D.C. United in the home opener on Saturday (6 p.m.). DCU is coming off a wide-margin victory against expansion side Charlotte FC, but it wasn't altogether convincing.
United scored its goals via a penalty kick and two deflections. And, again, the opponent was a Charlotte FC side playing its first game in the league. Job done but not necessarily an inspiring performance.
DCU went 14-15-5 in 2021 and finished one point outside the playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.
Noonan has preached accountability since he was hired in December. If the players are held to account for the Austin FC debacle, there's no reason they can't take three points off United. That would serve to put plenty of distance between FCC and the 5-0 loss that constituted one of the worst days of its MLS existence.
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