Navigating through the first month of the inaugural season in Major League Soccer, FC Cincinnati has dealt with a handful of obstacles, including international call-ups, a torrential downpour in a disappointing home loss against Philadelphia, and now the suspension of Fanendo Adi.

FCC handled the international call-ups in remarkable fashion, giving four players their initial MLS starts in a 2-0 win at New England, but still reeling from the loss to the Union, the team now faces the prolonged loss of Adi.

This past Sunday Adi was stopped for speeding and cited for Operating a Vehicle While Impaired (OVI) by the Ohio State Patrol. 

The club took a gamble when it traded with Portland for Adi, hoping the 6-foot-4 goalscorer would be the marquee player to lead a young team. 

Adi was hurt before halftime in the second game, sitting out the second half in FCC’s win over Portland, and the same ankle injury forced the veteran to miss the last two games.

Adi now faces a long road back as he is currently suspended from all team activities pending the completion of the substance abuse and behavioral health program assessment. 

“We have had some ups and some downs, and we knew we were going to have some tough moments during the course of the season,” FCC coach Alan Koch said after practice Tuesday, prior to the teams announcement regarding Adi. “It’s been a roller coaster of a start and it is going to continue to be a roller coaster.”

Despite the obstacles, FCC has maintained a steady mental edge while posting a 2-2-1 Eastern Conference record and the Orange-and-Blue faithful can find comfort in the calm shown by Adi’s potential replacement, Darren Mattocks. 

Mattocks started in place of Adi against the Union and expects to be out there again when FCC hosts Sporting Kansas City this Sunday at Nippert Stadium.  

“I felt pretty good on Saturday [against the Union] to be honest,” Mattocks said. “I felt pretty good going into the game. We can’t have an excuse as we lost, but we have to learn from it. We bounced back pretty good from Seattle, so we have to do it again. “

An eight-year veteran, Mattocks is known for his speed and creativity in the final third, able to play midfield or forward. With Adi out, Mattocks is a good option to pair with Kekuta Manneh, in addition to Kenny Saief and Allan Cruz helping shape up the midfield.

Mattocks came in for Adi in the second half against Portland and made an instant impact. Mattocks said he and Manneh are capable of putting up numbers but need to form more chemistry.

When asked about the collective speed being an advantage, Mattocks said, “It does. We just have to put it in a more consistent basis. We have to get back to the drawing board and figure out what we did good and what we didn’t do good, and hopefully this time against Kansas City we put it all together.”

Mattocks is capable of putting up decent numbers, scoring a career-high 10 goals last season with D.C. In two seasons with Portland, Mattocks tallied five goals and seven assists. 

Mattocks missed the New England game, getting called up to play for Jamaica. He has 14 goals and 42 caps for Jamaica. 

Mattocks said several players are capable of stepping up when players are missing, regardless of the reason. 

“I think the squad is pretty deep,” Mattocks said. “Like the guys who went to Boston to beat New England. I mean, most of the guys weren’t there, like four guys on break or were injured so we have guys who seem to get it done.”