CINCINNATI – As loathe as they were to say so at the time, the disparity between FC Cincinnati’s performance last Tuesday in the Semifinal of the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup against the New York Red Bulls and two league performances on the surroundings Saturdays that saw the side lose by a combined score of 9-0 illustrated the toll the run had taken on the squad.

“It’s not an excuse, of course, but I think the first game, it was pretty obvious that the Red Bulls game was on our minds,” said FCC Head Coach Alan Koch. “The second game, again, not an excuse, but it’s pretty obvious that the Red Bulls game had a huge bearing on our physical and mental abilities against the Red Bulls II.”

As memorable as last Tuesday night was, as FCC reached the verge of becoming the first USL club to reach the Open Cup Final since the Charleston Battery in 2008, the hit the side took in its losses to Lousiville City FC and the New York Red Bulls II put added pressure on Wednesday’s game against Ottawa Fury FC. Now sitting outside the playoff positions, FCC has work to do in the final quarter of the regular season.

After last week – which Koch termed as ‘horrendous’ – the team is certainly ready to wipe the slate clean.

“Everyone’s just ready to get back to work,” said FCC captain Austin Berry. “There’s been enough time in-between the Open Cup and now that we’re needing to move on and put the focus back on the league. Obviously, we had a let-down again this Saturday, that was a tough one, but I think it’s a good group of guys, and we know what’s at stake now, it’s backs against the wall time, so hopefully we’ll start playing our best soccer now.”

Cincinnati’s best soccer certainly should be enough to take it into the top eight by the end of the regular season. Illustrated not only in its performances in the Open Cup but also in its 3-2 road win against Louisville in July, or a 4-0 victory in the club’s home opener against Saint Louis FC, Cincinnati has hit some very high notes when the team has been on song.

Issues have arisen when the focus has been lacking, though. While the side was able to emerge with what on paper was a comfortable 3-0 win against the Harrisburg City Islanders on July 22, eliminating the slow starts that saw the visitors to Nippert Stadium that evening hold the upper hand before a lightning delay allowed FCC to regroup is essential down the home stretch of the regular season.

“There have been certain parts of the season where we’ve been good right from the get-go, and been able to step on,” said Berry a ”It’s just when you take that little bit of pressure off the gas and give teams a chance, like against Harrisburg – we were fortunate enough not to get punished by it – but then a couple of weeks later you play a Rochester and you get punished by not being ready from the get-go. I think for the team it’s frustrating because we know we have the quality, we know what we need to do on the day, and it just comes down to execution.

“For myself especially, as one of the older guys and a captain and a leader, that’s on me a little bit to make sure everybody’s ready to go right from the beginning.”

Adding to the tension for Wednesday night’s game is the fact that Ottawa is in a very similar predicament to Cincinnati. A side FCC met in preseason while the teams were at IMG Academy in Florida, the physicality that Fury FC brings will also provide a test of Cincinnati’s mental strength. But while the team is aware of what Ottawa brings the bigger focus for Koch and his staff is inward.

“We don’t worry about anybody else, we control our own destiny,” said Koch. “To control your own destiny, you’ve got to step up to the plate, and we’ve got a great opportunity to step up to the plate on Wednesday.”

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With visits to the Harrisburg City Islanders, Saint Louis FC and a return fixture in Ottawa still to come – all of whom sit below FCC with playoff aspirations of their own – the fight for the postseason will need FCC to bring its best game-in and game-out.

“We have the drive, and we know we can put that performance in,” said Berry. “It’s just doing that week-in and week-out, not waiting for 33,000 fans to show up and playing an MLS team and being on national television. It’s got to be in the tough arenas around the Eastern Conference as well as being at home.”