April 21, 2024 – Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Cincinnati News Release
FC Cincinnati has set a high standard over the last three seasons, and that expectation has fueled the club’s success in such a short period of time. To win trophies and see season-long success, you must be emotionally committed to not accepting less than your best over a very long season.
The other edge of that blade, though, is when you stumble, or rather, fail to live up to your own expectations… that can hit you more dramatically than it should when judged in a vacuum.
FC Cincinnati entered match day nine, an away match with a dangerous and deservingly well-regarded Atlanta United FC side, on a two-game losing streak. While for many successful teams, a two-game losing streak may not be the end of the world, for this team, who had not lost consecutive games in nearly 24 months, it cast a long shadow over every part of the team.
Matt Miazga, for example, a summer transfer window addition from Premier League side Chelsea FC in 2022, who won MLS Defender of the Year in 2023, had never lost back-to-back games with FC Cincinnati before the last fortnight of play.
But what struck The Orange and Blue hardest wasn’t the results, though those certainly didn’t help the situation; it was the results in tandem with the performances. FCC hadn’t played like themselves, and to get back into the win column – which they did in dramatic and empathic fashion Saturday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta, Georgia – they first and foremost needed to get back to being themselves.
“We had the outcome or the potential outcome in the back of our head and we wanted to win. But it wasn’t really about that right now. It was about getting back to being ourselves,” Miazga said from the FC Cincinnati locker room after securing the 2-1 victory with a clearance in the final moments to avert danger. “Relentless, pressing, hard to beat, everyone covering for each other, everyone putting in 100%. Every action, every tackle we are alert, focused and winning our duels and I think you can see how we started. We said if we start strong and fast and be ourselves, the result will take care of itself.”
The result ultimately showed resilience and determination by all involved, but the pathway wasn’t clear until late into the game.
FC Cincinnati knew they needed to come out and put their best foot forward. They started the match by dominating the pace of play, pushing forward, and finding each other for dangerous…
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