Having played its first 10 games of the season, FC Montreal headed out of town on Thursday for a series of four away games in 11 days starting on Saturday, June 11, against FC Cincinnati at Nippert Stadium.
Cincinnati will be a strong opponent. The expansion team is currently third in the Eastern Conference standings and holds the USL record for the largest crowd, welcoming 23,375 fans for a game against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds last month.
The Bleu-blanc-noir’s other opponents will be Toronto FC II (June 15), the Pittsburgh Riverhounds (June 18) and the Harrisburg City Islanders (June 21).
The challenge is just as important in terms of preparation. With long-distance bus trips like those needed here, every detail matters to recover and be ready for game day.
“There will be fatigue with the trips every three days,” said fitness coach Benoit Deplagne. “But players have to adapt. It’s part of their learning process. It’s nothing new for them.”
This kind of trip also means the team is together 24/7, which can have some benefits.
“The advantage of being constantly together is that we can have better control over our food intake before and after the games, our sleep and other aspects of the off-the-field preparation,” added Deplagne. “For this, it’s good to be on the road.”
In 2015, the team made a similar trip in the middle of the season, with three games in eight days. FC Montreal got two wins and a draw.
After this trip and 14 games played in 2016, a total of 10 games will have been played outside of Montreal.
