The Opposition Report II — MD29 vs Corpus Christi FC
Fort Wayne Football Club travels to South Texas for a Wednesday night meeting with Corpus Christi FC, the club three points behind us in the race for the last playoff spot, and the plan starts with stopping one player.
Wednesday, Oct. 7 | 8:30 PM ET | Cabaniss Athletic Complex, Corpus Christi, TX | ESPN+
Prior Proceedings
All-Time vs Corpus Christi FC (W-L-D): 0-0-1
The Opposition Report
MD8 Recap & Analysis
Corpus Christi came to Ruoff Mortgage Stadium on May 20 at the bottom of the table, still looking for their first league win. Tiago Dias put us ahead early in the second half, heading in a Javier Armas corner for the first corner-kick goal in our professional history. Corpus Christi attacker Alexis Cerritos leveled it at 1-1 in the 63rd min., two minutes after coming off the bench. Midfielder Bubu Medina’s second yellow in the 72nd min. left them with ten men, and we pushed for a winner until the final whistle. Jack Thomas came closest, hitting the crossbar from close range in stoppage time. One point from a night we controlled.
Their first league win arrived two weeks later, at home against Portland Hearts of Pine. Since the night they left Fort Wayne, Corpus Christi has collected more points in the table than we have. Eleven points separated both clubs at the end of May. Three points separate them now, with Fort Wayne FC eighth, holding the final playoff place, and Corpus Christi ninth, the first team on the outside. Both clubs have four matches left. A Corpus Christi win on Wednesday pulls them level on points. We’d still sit above them on goal difference, but the cushion would be gone.
The Matchup II
Corpus Christi’s attack runs through Blake Bowen. The wide attacker leads them in goals and in assists, and nobody on their roster comes close to the chances he creates. He delivers their set pieces too. He signed in February as a defender, but his skill set plays well, if not even better, in the attack. He’s a fantastic overall player on the field and could be on the list for USL League One’s All-League Team.
Neutralize him and the rest of the attack thins out quickly. Corpus Christi plays direct, skips the midfield with long balls, and is comfortable without the ball.
JP Jordan should start at right back with one job for 90 minutes: stop Bowen. Bowen mostly attacks down their left, which means our right, and Greenville showed in September what happens when a team targets that side. Jordan is our ball-winner, the player who reads danger early and gets there first. When he isn’t pressing, he takes up great defensive positioning. He’s aware of the space around him and can shut down a quality USL League One attacker. The key will be to keep Bowen in front of him and avoid the unnecessary foul near the box, because his delivery from a dead ball is half the threat. I’d keep Logan Neidlinger on the bench to start, and depending on how the game unfolds, use him if we need to attack or press from the right side.
Expect a tight night. No team in the league has kept more clean sheets than these two, and Mason McCready, in goal for Corpus Christi’s last three matches, has been making saves in bunches. We played exactly that kind of match on Saturday in a scoreless draw against Forward Madison.
Great defending gets us a point. The other two points need a match-winner, someone who creates the big chance on a night when there may only be one, and someone who finishes it. Who that is, well, that’s what makes this game a must-watch. If Fort Wayne wants to control their playoff destiny, this team needs a hero.
Three points in Corpus Christi would put six points between us and the Sharks with three matches to play. Everything is bigger in Texas. And this match is as big as it gets.
Always FWD