FC Cincinnati back on the road, faces lowly New England

FC Cincinnati will look to keep its early-season roll going in its inaugural MLS campaign on Sunday when it hits the road again, traveling to New England take on the Revolution.

Mar 17, 2019; Cincinnati, OH, USA; FC Cincinnati forward Darren Mattocks (11), midfielder Leonardo Bertone (6), defender Mathieu Deplagne (17), and forward Roland Lamah (7) celebrate after a goal against the Portland Timbers in the second half at Nippert Stadium in the inaugural home match for FCC. FCC defefated the Timbers 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Game time is 4 p.m. EDT at Gillette Stadium.

For expansion Cincinnati, the early results have been solid. The club opened with a loss at Seattle, before rallying with a tie at defending champion Atlanta, then beating Portland 3-0 in its home opener in Week 3.

“It’s great to play at home and great to see what our fan base can do already for us as a group,” Cincinnati coach Alan Koch told reporters earlier this week. “But our jobs are between the white lines no matter where we play. We shouldn’t change the way we go about our work. We lose we shouldn’t change, we win, we shouldn’t change. Our preparation for every game is consistent.”

Defender Nick Hagglund feels that the quality of play Cincinnati has turned in early in the season has sent a message to the rest of the league.

“We are here,” Hagglund said. “We’re not just an expansion team that people are expecting to roll over. We are a team that’s ready to go. We’re hungry.”

New England, winless and holding just one point through three games, is coming off a 3-2 loss at Toronto. But the Revolution are confident as they return home.

“We know what we can do at home,” New England midfielder Diego Fagundez said. “We know what style of play we have and with the team we have, we can definitely win this game. We’re at home and we can definitely show them who’s going to be the boss here.”

Both sides will be missing some key pieces because of national team call-ups this weekend. New England will be without rookie forward Justin Rennicks, while Cincinnati will be missing Kendall Waston, Allan Cruz, Darren Mattocks and Alvas Powell.

—Field Level Media

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