Tola Showunmi came back to Louisville City FC for moments like last Friday.
The 26-year-old Englishman is in his second stint with Louisville City, after playing 10 games with the boys in purple in 2024, scoring two goals.
He left Louisville late in that season to return to England, moving to Crawley Town FC.
For a young man from the North London market town of Enfield, signing a professional contract with a club roughly 90 minutes from home might have seemed like a dream come true.
But Showunmi couldn’t help but feel that he was leaving something behind, back across the pond in Louisville.
“To be honest like being here in 2024, there was always like in the back of my mind in England that there was unfinished business (in Louisville),” Showunmi told Soccer City Radio in April.
That feeling brought Showunmi back to Louisville in January, ahead of this season. He said he made the choice for several reasons, including that LouCity’s high standards in training fostered improvement in his game.
But he also felt he had more to give to the club — and on Friday, he delivered on that promise, scoring the winning goal in LouCity’s 1-0 playoff victory over the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
“I want to score a lot of goals at Lynn Family Stadium,” Showunmi said in the April interview. “I want to have moments here and I didn’t have as many moments as I wanted to in 2024.”
Showunmi’s moment on Friday came with his trademark physicality — interim head coach Simon Bird called him, “a handful” after the game.
Battling for possession in the 106th minute, the 6-foot-3 Showunmi got tangled up with Owen Mikoy, Pittsburgh’s 6-foot-5 central defender. Showunmi hit the turf but did enough to keep the ball alive for his team.
When it reached the feet of Amadou Dia, left of the penalty area, Showunmi had regained his feet, lurking behind Mikoy on the edge of the six-yard box, watching the play unfold and awaiting his chance for retribution.
As Dia delivered the ball into the middle, an alert Showunmi reacted first, reaching around an unaware Mikoy with his right foot to redirect the ball over the line, sending the crowd of 7,438 into delirium.
“All of our outside backs, I’m thinking they can beat their man and the ball’s coming in,” Showunmi said of the goal. “So it’s all about timing.”
In a season that has featured highs — his U.S. Open Cup goal against Austin FC comes to mind — the moment was long awaited. It was Showunmi’s first goal since May 23 and sixth of the season overall.
“Obviously, there’s going to be ups and downs in a long season like this,” Showunmi said after the win. “So, with the downs, I’ve tried to keep the same mentality, trying hard in training, trying to take care of myself. And thankfully, and God willing, tonight it was able to happen for me.”
But Friday’s goal reminded Showunmi of why he returned — to create memories for himself and a few thousand purple-clad faithful.
“If you seen how the playoffs have gone for us for the last couple years, it’s good to get this one off our back,” Showunmi said. “Yeah, (it’s) unfinished business for sure.”
