Pat Noonan is happy with FC Cincinnati's preseason progress. Here's why

FC Cincinnati is two weeks into a preseason being used to lay the groundwork for a defense of its 2023 Supporters' Shield triumph, and the club's manager feels pretty good about where things are.

Now overseeing his third preseason at FC Cincinnati, head coach Pat Noonan said the 2024 iteration of the roster as it existed on Friday, which included some looming personnel questions, is further along in its prep work for the season to come than his last two teams.

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That's saying quite a lot considering Noonan's already presided over two playoff teams at FCC, and in 2023 oversaw a preseason with a stable core of returning star veterans that would go on to dominate the regular season.

"We're further along. I've been very pleased with the two weeks," Noonan said during a Friday news conference on Zoom. "On the field (and) off the field, I think we obviously have guys that have been around. This is going into our third preseason. There's just a comfort level, a better understanding of the expectations of what things are going to look like, so the way the new faces have been integrated is a credit to the returning players and helping them get up to speed. We've done a lot of video to try to provide as much as we could before this Austin game so we could take some of our ideas and evaluate them in the game setting. It's been a really productive two weeks.

FC Cincinnati capped its second week of preseason training, and its first in Clearwater, Florida, with a scrimmage against Austin FC.

Noonan liked everything vs. Austin except the result

FC Cincinnati lost its first preseason match of 2024, dropping a 2-1 decision to Austin FC at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The match wasn't live-streamed or broadcast, and details such as the specifics of a second-half FC Cincinnati trialist were omitted from the club's post-match news release.

"We got some answers and I was really pleased outside of the result," Noonan said. "With how many new faces were out there and getting them familiar with some of the things that we're asking, I thought the guys did a really good job. Pushed themselves from a fitness perspective and then, in terms of the chance creation, I think in the first half there were some really good looks. (Austin) goalkeeper made a couple good saves on a couple of Aaron's (Boupendza) opportunities aside from his goal, with I thought he took really well.

"Second half, there were some really good stretches of play. Just not the creativity in the final third. I think one of the biggest challenges today was just our quality from wider positions, specifically with the wing backs when we got them into the box."

The wing back positions remain open questions for FC Cincinnati. Some reports have pointed to right back Santiago Arias moving on from FC Cincinnati, leaving FCC with a big vacancy to fill as Arias was a key contributor to the club's attack in 2023.

On the opposite side of the back line, Alvaro Barreal still hasn't reported to preseason. The club allowed him to stay back up to this point as Barreal pursues a next chapter in Europe via transfer, but his absence deprives Cincinnati of a 2023 MLS All-Star and Best XI-caliber talent.

Matt Miazga did not play in Friday's preseason contest as a precaution after unexpected back spasms days earlier, Noonan said.

Here's how FC Cincinnati lined up against Austin:

• Starting XI: Luciano Acosta, Corey Baird, Aaron Boupendza, Roman Celentano, Isaiah Foster, Kipp Keller, Yuya Kubo, Ian Murphy, Obinna Nwobodo, Alvas Powell, Miles Robinson.

• Next XI (second half): London Aghedo, Marco Angulo, Nico Benalcazar, Kenji Mboma-Dem, Brett Halsey, Evan Louro (Paul Walters), Arquimides Ordoñez, Sergio Santos, Brain Schaefer, Trialist, Gerardo Valenzuela.

Boupendza producing after off-field matter

Boupendza scored FC Cincinnati's first goal of the preseason, burying a one-time finish to pull the club level at 1-1.

For anyone that hadn't seen one of Boupendza's productive training sessions prior to Friday's performance, the news of the goal was greeted as a positive development. After a sex tape on a stolen phone was held over Boupendza earlier this month, questions loomed over his focus, as well as what FC Cincinnati could reasonably expect from him.

But Boupendza appears to be rebounding well from the public incident that attracted international press clippings.

"No, no concerns. I think him playing is the best version of him right now," Noonan said of Boupendza. "In trainings, in terms of actions in front of goal, it's been good. Today's probably the best we've seen of that with chance-creation. I think the work rate is improving. The holdup play of our front two (players) can improve. Just the decision making of when to take more than one touch and allow us to move up the field.

"That part can improve with Aaron and with our entire attacking group but he was as active as any of the attacking players on the field (versus Austin) for both halves. Created some really good looks but he was doing what we expected him to do in terms of the ability to get in good spots and find opportunities. If he's creating like he did today then I think we're gonna be in a good place."

A new trend for FC Cincinnati fans

Major League Soccer's place in the global soccer marketplace combined with FC Cincinnati's success over the last two season is starting to bear fruit in the transfer market. The club is starting to send its best players abroad to play for bigger clubs, and those players are departing in exchange for big sums of money.

With Brenner Souza da Silva now healthy after an early season injury and plying his trade at top-flight Italian side Udinese, plus Brandon Vazquez playing for Mexican giant CF Monterrey, FC Cincinnati fans are pridefully tracking the movements of alums of their club.

If Barreal completes his desired transfer move, FCC fans will have a third player to track.

In the meantime, pockets of Udinese and Monterrey fans are popping up around Cincinnati. The Enquirer is yet to learn of organized watch parties and official supporters groups for Brenner's and Vazquez's clubs but it wouldn't be a surprise to see them materialize eventually.

On Wednesday, Vazquez scored in his first-ever start for Monterrey, and he did so in front of his home fans at Estadio BBVA against Queretaro.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Pat Noonan is happy with FC Cincinnati's preseason progress. Here's why