With the international break now in the rear window, all of FC Cincinnati’s international stars have returned to the club and The Orange and Blue are set for another chance at redemption as they make a trip to the south. After a weekend off FCC are now set to take on Atlanta United FC in a match that ends a three-game road swing, but also begins an extremely busy October.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV from Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Ahead of this matchup, here are a few key stories to keep in mind as The Orange and Blue look to earn all three points on the road.

Back after a Break

FC Cincinnati had the international break to go back and reflect after what Head Coach Pat Noonan described as a “confusing” performance; losing 3-1 on the road to Montreal.

The loss came in a performance where Noonan criticized the energy of the squad, which to him even stood out because drive and enthusiasm to win have never been problems for this team. This is a team that after all has come back to earn more points than anyone else this MLS season, and has shown time and time again that they don’t give up on games. 

Noonan said Thursday in his prematch press conference that it has felt like a long break between matches, but they’ve been able to utilize that time to evaluate and position themselves for the next few weeks.

"I think it helped us, obviously with training ideas, but also to get some guys some good fitness, and some new pieces with Tyrell and Julián and David involved,” Noonan shared. “We had a chance to just work, and I thought that aspect of it was good…energy was good. Typically, when you come out of that last game, and it wasn't good for us, you try to have that conversation so you can move forward, and that's kind of how we approached it.

“We worked on some things, and hopefully we can just go out and perform,” Noonan continued. “That's really what it comes down to now in this stretch. Every game, can we go out and perform and pick up some points?"

During that stretch between matches, which gave FCC a full weekend without a game, it wasn’t really a break. The Orange and Blue trained throughout the week and played an intersquad game over that off weekend to stay sharp.

“We’re just putting attention to some of the things on the defensive side of the ball. We know that continues to be our Achilles heel — conceding goals,” Noonan shared as to what they worked on in that time. “We’ve done a good job of creating chances and scoring goals. That's something that we continue to work on because it's a strength. But defensively, we put a lot of time in to try to improve intensity, duels, and structure. But you know, we can harp on it, talk all we want. We have to be able to do it in a better way on gameday." 

Be Better in the Details

One place Noonan said he feels the team can be better on game day, and can see really quick improvement in results if they are able to correct it, is being better in the small details more consistently.

FC Cincinnati has not always looked like a team who’s as bad as their record and stats may suggest. For large swaths of matches they play strong, competitive soccer that put them in positions to go and win games. There has been lots of positive play to pull examples from. 

But, in Noonan’s assessment, they too often allow themselves to be punished in moments where they are more than capable of executing.

"You're left shaking your head a lot because when you look at the performances, and I've mentioned some of the games previously where we don't pick up points, there's been plenty of good to get a result. But what's overshadowing it all is how we make mistakes,” Noonan said Thursday. “We miss out on a couple duels, I think just box defending that seems to be the biggest theme now…I don't think we defend the space for the knockdown or the deflection well, and that's something that's been addressed is our midfield positioning when the ball's wide and how we defend crosses.

“So that's kind where we're at with ‘you're left shaking your head.’ Where decisions, and in that particular instance tactically, I think we've seen the box defending where that can improve,” Noonan continued. “That for me, it was pretty simple to identify how we concede these goals and that we (did) do a lot of good things, which felt like we did, but here we are…so eliminate some of the obvious mistakes, and I think maybe we feel a little bit different and can start winning some games." 

Reinforcements arrive for race to the finish

It is now, officially, as if it wasn’t before, and all out sprint to Decision Day as FC Cincinnati begin a month-long stretch where they are scheduled to play every Saturday and Wednesday until Halloween.

The season will be defined in this stretch as picking up points will give FCC a pathway to the playoffs, but losing them will mean almost certainly not making it. 

Saturday night’s matchup with Atlanta kicks off that stretch. In order to get through it, Noonan says the team will continue to do what has brought them success over the years: focus on the next game and go from there. 

“We're preparing for Atlanta,” Noonan shared, clear eyed and with resolve. “We don't have an approach other than we know the schedule as far as the seven games. We have to put together a good performance against Atlanta and go from there. That's just kind of where we're at.”

“But as far as a long-term plan or a plan that gets us through it, we need to have a good performance against Atlanta and go from there." 

Fortunately for FC Cincinnati, they will have reinforcements ready to support them in this pivotal time. All of FCC’s players that were gone on international duty have returned in a good way, and had multiple days to get back in with the club and train.

Similarly, the trio of newcomers to the squad from the open transfer window have now officially and formally arrived and have trained with the squad for multiple weeks. David Douděra made his debut in FCC’s last match, but defenders Tyrell Malacia and Julián Malatini are available for selection now and are ready to make theirs as well.

FC Cincinnati kick off against Atlanta United FC on Saturday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with the action getting underway at 7:30 p.m.. For more information on streaming and radio broadcast information, click here.