FC Cincinnati head coach Alan Koch called his team's 3-0 Friday night loss to Real Salt Lake "incredibly disappointing" in a frank post-match interview on the home broadcast.
And while he expressed frustration with how the team's inaugural season is unfolding, he also expressed a belief in the long-term prospects of the team.
"I was incredibly frustrated for ourselves, and for our fans too, and it should be frustrating for everybody," Koch said. "I think there were large chunks where we played well tonight. There were moments that we didn't manage very well.
"I think our concentration needs to be significantly better, because for the first half, we played relatively well. We lost our concentration in the last five minutes of the first half, and essentially in those five minutes is when we lost the game tonight. So that's not good enough."
RSL grabbed a lead in the first half and didn't look back, as the pressure mounted on FC Cincinnati in front of the Nippert Stadium faithful.
Though his frustration was palpable, Koch then turned more reflective: "We have to stay true to this process. We're an expansion team, a new team in a new league, we're missing so many players. We need to get players back, we need to reflect on the first eight games this season."
The team — which hasn't scored a goal from open play in their last four matches — has been adjusting to the absence of striker Fanendo Adi, as well as injuries to Emmanuel Ledesma and Greg Garza.
"It was difficult enough with this group being so new, it's such a difficult project as it is, though it's an exciting project ... the sooner we get all our players back, the sooner we have everybody available for selection, I won't say it's going to be easier, but it's going to help us," Koch explained.
"We know we've had some good moments; we know we've had some tough moments," Koch said of the season to date. "Tonight was another tough moment. This hurts. You'll see in the changing room, when we get inside, players' heads will be down. Because we come here every time we can, to give everything we can for the club, the city, everybody. And when we don't manage moments like tonight, and when we have moments of lacking concentration, we get ourselves into trouble in this league."
He then encouraged fans to keep perspective, adding, "We've urged patience before we started this. We know we're building something. We know it's going to take time. I think, realistically, if we were expecting anything better than what we've had in these first eight games, we're really expecting miracles.
"So, yes, we're disappointed. Yes, we're disappointed, but we have to stay true to what we're doing. We will stay patient, we're not going to put our heads down, but what we've done so far, you reflect on these eight games, and we've actually had a decent start to the season," while also acknowledging, "We know it's not going to get easier."
