I'm trying out a new format to recap FC Cincinnati's run towards the playoffs. The goal will be to highlight three things that popped out to me during the course of each game. Those things might be major moments that decided the match or just something small that I noticed and found interesting. So without further ado, here are three things that popped out to me in the Orange and Blue's 2-1 win over DC United.

1: Bouncing Back

Coming off a disappointing Hell is Real derby over the weekend, and a stretch of games that yielded just eight points out of possible 24, securing all three points was of paramount importance on Wednesday night. FC Cincinnati got the job done, although it wasn't always pretty.

The Orange and Blue allowed themselves, either willingly or not, to be dragged into a wide open game, with lots of space and opportunities for transition. Even if FCC didn't take advantage of those opportunities on the counter attack (more on that later), the team did enough to limit DCU to only a few good chances, including the goal which - as diplomatically as I can put it - maybe deserved a closer look from VAR.

Yes, FCC allowed the ball to move into its defensive third, but DCU couldn't find a way to move the ball into the most dangerous areas of the penalty area consistently. For a defense that has struggled for large stretches of the season to defend the penalty box, Wednesday felt like a step in the right direction. After a season of allowing lots of quality chances, just conceding two "good" chances is certainly an improvement.

After the game, manager Pat Noonan said, "where we lacked at times with decision making, we made up for in effort and box defending." He continued, "Where do we need to win the game: transition, set pieces, box defending, and I thought we got the set-piece goal on the second one, and defending the box well."

With Teenage Hadebe set piece goal and David Douděra's opener along with a very solid defensive effort, FCC got back into the winning column, making the most of its game in hand, and pushed back up the Eastern Conference standings.

2: Wing Back Contributions

Not a small amount of FCC's success hinges on getting attacking contributions from its wing backs. So David Douděra and Tyrell Malacia being the right guys at their respective positions has big implications for the future of the team, not just the rest of the season. On Wednesday night, Douděra and Malacia (plus Bryan Ramírez in the second half) all stepped up to help the Orange and Blue win the game.

Douděra's opening goal is the most obvious example. The Czech wing back's finish was mostly about being in the right place at the right time. However Malacia's slip pass against the grain put Tom Barlow in enough space to take the shot that fortuitously ended up at Douděra's foot and deserves recognition, too.

Douděra's contributions weren't limited to scoring, either. His crossing showed up in a major way, finding Tom Barlow in the first half and nearly Kévin Denkey in the second. His ability to hit the right kind of cross for the situation - a more feathered ball towards the back post for Barlow as opposed to a whipped ball into the no man's land between the penalty spot and the six-yard-box aimed for Denkey - should continue to provide varied options for teammates to attack.

The aforementioned Ramírez showed some burst after replacing Malacia at halftime, as well, and though the final ball wasn't there, for wing backs it's largely a numbers game. There's a big difference between a hopeful cross and a cut back from a better location and if FCC can start to gets its wing backs into more dangerous areas more consistently, an already potent offense could continue improving when the team needs to score goals the most.

3: Choices in Space

That the game was as close as the final score is a little bit of a disappointment. The Orange and Blue were consistently in advantageous counter attacking situations, but due to bad luck or bad decision making, the team ended up with very few legitimate scoring opportunities from them. Whether it was a pass just in front of or behind a teammate, a slightly heavy - or light - touch, or waiting a second too long, or not long enough, to make a decision, the Orange and Blue just didn't string together enough actions to really threaten Alex Bono in transition.

After the game, Noonan said, "How do you manage a different type of game to go and perform because we had to deal with a lot of direct play just like they did, and there was a lot of duels, there was a lot of knockdowns, there was transition moments for both teams." He continued, "I think we lost or missed out on some opportunities to get the third goal when we were middle of that second half towards the end, and those are certainly things that we have to improve."

Still, like the point about wing backs crossing above, it's a numbers game. And FCC found ways to get into advantageous transition situations consistently. If the team can replicate that success again on Saturday night in Southwest DC, we should expect another good result.