After a week spent on the road in Florida, the boys in Orange & Blue will once again return home to the Queen City for another weekend tilt against USL Eastern Conference opposition.
WHEN
Sunday, July 9th, at 6pm
TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE
Please note that this weekend’s match is on Sunday – our first Sunday home fixture of the campaign – and will kick off an hour earlier than normal at 6pm.
OPPOSITION
Joining us at Nippert for Sunday’s match are long-time USL club, Richmond Kickers.
VENUE
Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
DIRECTIONS
PROMOTION(S)
Two words: White Out.
We’ll be celebrating our second annual White Out night against Richmond Kickers, and encourage all of our amazing supporters to wear their brightest white FCC apparel for the match to turn Nippert white on Sunday Night! Don’t have any white gear to wear? Visit one of our many merchandise stands at the stadium tomorrow night!
FORM
FCC: Once again, the Orange & Blue head into this weekend’s match on the back of inconsistent play. While we’ve seen the team reach the highest of highs in recent weeks with a pair of wins over MLS competition, this past week’s trip to Florida was closer to the opposite end of the spectrum. After coming from behind to salvage a 1-1 draw at Orlando City B last Saturday, a massively rain-delayed match on Thursday saw the boys fail to overcome another first half deficit to lose 2-0 at the Tampa Bay Rowdies. So a return home – where we’ve picked up nearly three times the number of points per game in the league compared to away matches – will be welcomed by a team now holding on to the 8th and final playoff place in the East.
RK: While our form has been up and down, we’ll be meeting a Richmond side that’s suffering an even more difficult patch than ourselves. Currently lingering in 14th place and just a point above last-place Toronto, Richmond are now eleven matches without a win in the league and have lost three of their last five. Another promising set of stats for the home support: the Kickers have yet to win on the road in seven tries this season, and have only scored two goals since the start of June.
PLAYERS
FCC: With just a Djiby goal – his team-leading eighth of the season – against Orlando to show on the Floridian road trip, a return to Nippert could also mean a return to the goals. And with the big Senegalese striker coming off the bench in the midweek, don’t be surprised if he gets the start tomorrow. At the other end of the pitch, many will also be curious to see who mans the backline after Harrison Delbridge missed Thursday’s match and another midweek Cup match in the offing that will need to be considered as well.
RK: While we would normally want to keep an eye on the leading scorer of the opposition side, that won’t be a concern this weekend. Richmond’s D.C. United loanee Alhaji Kamara, who has four goals on the season, was sold at the end of June to Saudi club Al-Taawoun – perhaps that’s an explanation for why they’re goals have dried up recently? The next biggest threat has been Fred Owusu Sekyere who has two this year, and also took the shot that ended up getting redirected as an own goal when we visited the Kickers just over two months ago.
HISTORY
Sunday’s match will be our fourth against Richmond, and one where each side will look to finally get an upper hand on the other for the first time. All three previous meetings ended in draws: last season we tied 1-1 in Richmond – just as we did this year – after a 0-0 stalemate at Nippert. Here’s hoping we improve upon that scoreline this time at home.
WEATHER
Sunday’s forecast is shaping up to be just about perfect for our 6pm White Out fixture. Sunny skies are expected all day long, humidity under 50% too, and kickoff temperatures are expected to be in the low-80’s that will tail off to the high-70’s by the final whistle.
WATCH
This weekend’s match will be broadcast live on Star 64 (WSTR). Most local providers’ station information can be found below:
Over the Air: Channel 64
Cincinnati Bell Fioptics: Channel 11 (SD) or 511 (HD)
Spectrum/TWC (OH): Channel 11 (SD) or 1011 (HD)
Spectrum/TWC (KY): Channel 11 (SD) or 915 (HD)
DirecTV: Channel 64
DISH: Channel 8354
Not in the local viewing area? No problem! Every match in the USL is available to stream as well, and this match is available for free on YouTube.
LISTEN
All FC Cincinnati home matches are broadcast live on local radio on ESPN 1530, which can be streamed for free through their iHeartRadio feed.
SOCIAL
As is the case every match, you can follow along with the action on our Twitter feed at @fccincinnati. For live looks from before, during and after the match, follow us on Instagramand Snapchat by following 'fccincinnati', too. Halftime and full time updates will also be available on Facebook.
