Luciano Acosta knows the weight of the 'Hell is Real' derby

FC Cincinnati’s Luciano Acosta has read the comments of Columbus Crew fans online. He’s felt the intensity in the locker room this week as his team prepares for the “Hell is Real” derby on Friday, and although it will be his first time competing in the coveted rivalry match, he has an idea of what’s at stake.

“It’s exciting to play against this classic rivalry,” Acosta said through a team interpreter on Wednesday. “We still want to win against them so hopefully this time we’ll win.”

A win for FC Cincinnati against the defending MLS Cup champions looks a bit more in the cards now than it did several weeks ago. FCC’s unbeaten three-game road stint went beyond giving the team some momentum as they return home.

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In recent weeks, fans have seen FC Cincinnati struggle to finish on near-perfect chances. Head coach Jaap Stam has driven home the narrative of looking at the positives of those opportunities and trusting in his athletes to grow into their roles as the season continues. 

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Acosta said the seven points on the road shows that all the pieces are coming together.

“One doesn’t really know when that’s going to happen, it’s hard to know but it’s the process of building up that confidence,” Acosta said. “Now we have that confidence and I feel like now we are ready.”

For Acosta, the confidence came to him after his 68th minute goal against Toronto on June 26. It was his first goal since the team played Nashville on April 17 and it was also the first time FC Cincinnati scored more than one goal in a match since May 22 against CF Montréal.

The dagger secured FC Cincinnati another three points and saved them from a Toronto equalizer. 

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“Personally it gives confidence for one to score goals," Acosta said. "Overall it just brings the team and morale up for us to keep winning.”

This will be the seventh all-time MLS meeting between the Crew and FC Cincinnati. Nick Hagglund and Yuya Kubo are the only two current FCC players who have scored goals against the Crew.

But the weight in this match truly lies in the opportunity for FC Cincinnati to grab its first win at TQL Stadium. The Orange and Blue are just one of two clubs (Inter Miami CF) who have not earned a home victory this season.

“We feel that we owe the win to our fans and we want to do everything we can on Friday to get that win," Acosta said. "We feel obligated to get the win on Friday.”