FC Cincinnati arrived in Chester, PA, on Wednesday night with an extra training block in their legs and a road test that looks more demanding by the day. A weather postponement last Saturday night handed them an impromptu weekend off, and Pat Noonan used the break to squeeze in work his team would not normally get.
Noonan said FC Cincinnati had a full-group session they typically would not have, part of a week spent pushing the players after losing the running that comes in a match. He said the staff also worked on a few things in preparation for Philly before moving into the normal match-day-minus-two and match-day-minus-one routine.
The timing matters because Philadelphia Union are not meeting FC Cincinnati at a soft point in the calendar. Philadelphia Union are undefeated since returning to league play after the summer break and have won five of those eight games, a run that has carried them into a playoff spot. Noonan said the form makes them one of the toughest teams in MLS right now, and that the challenge will be real in Chester.
FC Cincinnati, meanwhile, are trying to solve a road problem that has not looked like them. They have earned points in more than half of their trips this season, but the results still add up to one win, five draws and five losses in 2026. That is a sharp break from the standard they set over the last two seasons, when they were one of the best road teams in MLS history.
The numbers in Chester are even less forgiving. FC Cincinnati have a 1-4-2 regular-season record there, and their only league win in Chester came in a 2-1 victory in 2024. Noonan said he did not realize how poor the record was at first because some of the games felt better than the results, but he also said there are a lot of things this year that feel out of the norm.
That is why the extra training session may matter more than usual. FC Cincinnati did not just get a longer week; they got a chance to reset how they prepare for a road match that has already become a test of habits, not just form. Noonan said the group may need to talk about a road mentality more consistently, and Wednesday night offers a direct chance to see whether that message turns into points.
