June 17, 2016 USL Toronto FC II--FC Cincinnati vs Toronto FC II game preview (from fccincinnati.com)
Match Preview: 6/18 vs Toronto FC II A four match home stand for FC Cincinnati will come to a close this Saturday when the boys square up against Toronto FC II for the second time this season. It will also be the second straight week that an MLS reserve side from Canada will visit Nippert Stadium, following last weekend’s win over FC Montréal. What should we expect from the fixture? How did we fare last time out against “Two-ronto”? And what ways are there to follow along should you not be able to make it out to the stadium? Those questions and more are covered in detail below, as always, in our full match preview of FCC v TFCII. WHEN IS IT HAPPENING: Saturday, June 18th, 2016, at 7:00pm Get tickets here. THE OPPOSITION: Just as was the case last week against the Montréalais, predicting what team you’re going to get when facing the “MLS 2” side for Toronto FC is a bit like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re going to get. What we do know? Toronto currently sit nine places and eleven points adrift of FCC in the Eastern Conference standings. Also, the Reds have featured no less than 32 players so far this season, as they give developmental minutes to players from their academy and the players on the edge of their first team. RECENT RESULTS: FCC: The Orange & Blue‘s current impressive run of form continued last time out, when they downed FC Montréal 2-1 in front of a crowd of 14,267 last Saturday. That puts their current unbeaten run in the league at eight matches, stretching all the way back to April 24th when they beat — you guessed it — Toronto FC II in Ontario by a score of 2-1. That 5-0-3 run has also managed to keep FCC within striking distance of the conference leaders and well within the discussion of challenging for the playoffs in the club’s first season. Toronto: While things have gone well for FC Cincinnati since the two teams last met, things haven’t gone near as well for Toronto FC II. Starting with that April encounter, the Canadian outfit have gone 2-7-2 and with a -8 goal differential. However, the last three matches have shown signs of encouragement: 2 draws and a win over reigning USL Champions Rochester Rhinos have shown there’s still some fight in this Toronto team. Though with a short turnaround after their midweek draw with Montreal, how much fight they have remains to be seen. HEAD-TO-HEAD: The lone previous meeting between FCC and TFCII came on April 24, 2016, at the Ontario Soccer Complex, with the good guys coming out on top by a scoreline of 2-1. WHO TO WATCH: FCC: The form of forward Ugo Okoli has been searing hot over the last few matches with four goals in three matches. But also worthy of note is someone a little further back the pitch: midfielder Kenney Walker. Though he’s only tallied a single goal this season, Walker’s tireless effort in midfield the last few matches has been crucial to linking play as FCC’s dominates possession. On the flip side of the coin, Kenney is also responsible for a lot of the thankless dirty work when the team loses possession, often quickly winning the ball back in recent weeks and then launching the attacks. Toronto: When FCC last met Toronto, many of the eyes in Cincinnati were focused on local product Nick Hagglund. But the former Xavier standout has spent most of the recent weeks playing with and making appearances for Toronto’s MLS side, so don’t be surprised if he misses out on a homecoming at Nippert. Instead, keep an eye on youngster Malik Johnson (#56). The 18 year old midfielder has four goals on the season and three in his last six. THE VENUE: Saturday’s will be the fourth and final game in a four game home stand at Nippert Stadium. Directions to Nippert. FORECAST: Excellent weather awaits us at kickoff once again this weekend, as temperatures should be in the low 80’s and a zero percent chance of rain. HOW TO WATCH: Star 64 (WSTR) will once again be broadcasting the match live on local television on the following channels: •Over the Air: Channel 64 •Cincinnati Bell Fioptics: Channel 11 (SD) or 511 (HD) •Time Warner Cable (OH): Channel 11 (SD) or 1011 (HD) •Time Warner Cable (KY): Channel 11 (SD) or 915 (HD) •DirecTV: Channel 64 •DISH: Channel 8354 And as usual, all regular season USL games are broadcast live on the league YouTube channel. Following the action at this FCC vs Toronto specific link for Saturday’s game, as well as the USL Match Center too. HOW TO LISTEN: As is the case with all FCC regular season home matches will be broadcast over the radio waves on ESPN 1530. You can stream the match on iHeartRadio. SOCIAL: If you can’t make it to the stadium on Saturday, you can still follow along with the action on our Twitter feed at @fccincinnati. For live looks during and after the game, follow us on Snapchat “fccincinnati”, and on Instagram too. Halftime and full time updates will also be available on Facebook. About the Author DJ Switzer FCC Director of Communications
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