of form coming towards the end of July when they rattled off four wins in a row, including two 4-goal hauls against Long Island Rough Riders. Most of the rest of the time, however, win followed loss followed win followed loss, and all the while the Kings lost ground on the teams ahead of them. For the second consecutive year the Kings' US Open Cup run was a short one, going out at the first hurdle with a 2–1 loss to PDL side Michigan Bucks. However, despite losing their final two regular season games of the year to Pittsburgh Riverhounds and Western Mass Pioneers, their results were enough to leave them in fourth place in the table, and in the playoffs. They were drawn against Richmond Kickers in the semi final; Richmond took the first leg at home in Virginia 2–1, and despite a home crowd of 1,465, and despite outshooting the Kickers, the Kings simply couldn't find the net in the second leg, and Richmond went through to the final 2–1 on aggregate. Jeff Hughes and John Krause were Cincinnati's top scorers, with 4 goals each, Nowaf Jaman contributed 4 assists, and head coach Pickup was named USL2 Manager of the Year. 2007, however, was tough all round for the Ohioans. The year started positively with a move away from University accommodation to the Town and Country Sports Club, just across the border in Wilder, Kentucky, which owner Yacoub purchased as the Kings' permanent home for $11.3 million. On the field, however, the Kings' fortunes were much less favorable. The Kings only managed two wins – 1–0 over Crystal Palace Baltimore and 4–0 over New Hampshire Phantoms – in their first ten games, and by the end of June were already struggling to remain in contention for the playoffs. For the third year in a row the Kings' US Open Cup run lasted just one game, as they lost to a USASA side for the second time – this time a 1–0 defeat to National Premier Soccer League team Milwaukee Bavarians – and this seemed to signal Cincinnati's doom for the rest of the season. The Kings just managed to win just two more regular season games – 1–0 over Richmond Kickers in July and 3–1 over New Hampshire Phantoms on the last day of the season – eventually finishing a distant 8th in the table. Chad Eckerlin and