CINCINNATI — FC Cincinnati head coach Alan Koch says he has “two to three” tough decisions to make about his starting XI ahead of Sunday’s visit from Sporting KC.
For the first time this season, Koch will have nearly his entire squad at his disposal. Between injuries and last month’s international break, FCC has been deprived of upwards of seven players at a time. Several squad players have stepped up in their absence, logging impressive performances in the process. And that’s created some selection headaches for the coaching staff.
“You want to have some tough decisions,” Koch said, undeterred by the challenge. “I think there’s a couple of positions where it’s very, very difficult to decide exactly who’s going to start. Those are good decision to have to make.”
And with FC Cincinnati looking to rebound from a 2-0 loss to Philadelphia last weekend at home, some competition for places in the team can only be a good thing.
One of the hard decisions Koch and his staff will have to make comes in goal.
Youngster Spencer Richey has been one of the team’s standout performers this season, twice earning MLS Team of the Week nods. And Richey only got his chance in goal thanks to an injury to Przemysław Tytoń in the week 1 loss at Seattle. But with the Polish netminder an active participant in training all week, Koch will have to decide whether he’s ready for a return to the matchday squad.
“It looked like he got through everything [goalkeeper coach Jack Stern] put him get through, so that’s promising,” answered Koch in repsonse to whether Tytoń was ready to go. He continued, “But getting through it and then being sharp, obviously that’s a huge challenge. So I don’t know. We’ll have to have an assessment and make a decision.”
Another tough choice for the coaching staff lies in defense. There, Kendall Waston’s return from a niggling international injury complicates things. Rookie Forrest Lasso made his first two MLS starts in central defense while Waston was out of action. But with a high-octane Kansas City attack coming to town, the temptation to restore the team captain to the starting XI will be strong.
One player not in contention for minutes this week, however, is striker Fanendo Adi. Though nearly returned from his own injury, an impaired driving charge last weekend means Adi faces a lengthier spell out of action. But even his absence creates selection issues for Koch.
Jamaican Darren Mattocks is most likely to be the beneficiary. Though who joins him in the Cincy attack remains to be seen.
Kekuta Manneh has seen time up top during Adi’s injury spell. Roland Lamah and Kenny Saief have also featured prominently so far this season, though the later was curiously absent from last Sunday’s starting squad. And FC Cincinnati USL standout Emmanuel Ledesma has also shown well in his limited action this season. Any of the four could feature Sunday at Nippert.
Of course, Sporting KC have their own selection issues with which to deal. A midweek trip to Monterrey means Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes will have to balance his veteran squad’s time carefully against Cincinnati.
Koch, however, isn’t letting Sporting’s situation impact his own choices.
“Before they played that game last night, they knew they were coming into our house to play for three points. And we knew we’re going to play the three points. So I don’t think anything changes… They’ve probably got 15, 16, 17 starters essentially. We know 11 of those guys are going to play. So I don’t think much has changed in terms of how we prepare and how we go about our business.”