Louisville City FC will return to Louisville with a point in hand following the team’s 2-2 draw with North Carolina FC at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC on Saturday night. The result extends City’s unbeaten run to eight games across all competitions and leaves them in second place in the Eastern Conference on 25 points with 13 games played, five points behind FC Cincinnati (30 pts) on 15 games played.
Defender Paco Craig scored City’s equalizer from a set piece after NC forward Daniel Rios initially put the hosts in front in the first half. Near the hour mark, it was City’s turn to go ahead via a goal from forward Ilija Ilic, before a late equalizer, again from Rios, secured a point for both sides.
What Happened?
LouCity head coach James O’Connor made three changes to the team that beat Nashville SC in the U.S. Open Cup midweek, opting for the return of goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh in league play with defender Alexis Souahy and midfielder Niall McCabe also sliding in the lineup.
A slow start saw NCFC test Ranjitsingh a few times in the opening minutes, with midfielder Steven Miller getting the first solid look on goal just five minutes in. Eventually firing off a short one-two with a teammate, Miller watched as his right-footed effort clipped the outside of the post and away from goal. However, six minutes later, NCFC found their first goal of the evening. Breaking into the middle, forward Daniel Rios nodded home a pass by Kyle Bekker from close range to go in front.
City was quick to work their way back into the match, though, with a chance coming almost immediately after conceding. Fifteen minutes in, captain Paolo DelPiccolo slipped a gorgeous pass into the box for defender Oscar Jimenez to chase, but despite his best efforts, the chance would go missing.
In the 36th minute, City forward Ilija Ilic would put the ball in the back of the net after some pinball around the top of the penalty area, but the flag went up on the near side for interference as the ricocheted effort off an NCFC defender was ruled out. Not relenting, though, City broke through just three minutes later.
With 39 minutes gone, Jimenez delivered a perfect ball in from a corner that landed squarely on the head of defender Paco Craig and bounced into the back of the net. The goal was Craig’s second of the season in all competitions and the first in the USL regular season. An onslaught of chances came for City at the end of the first half but they could not capitalize on late pressure and went level into the halftime break.
Coming out the aggressors again, City pushed forward and midfielder Brian Ownby nearly unlocked the NCFC defense just ten minutes into the second half. Collecting a pass from 20 yards out, Ownby settled before unleashing a blast that came right back off the crossbar before NCFC were able to get it away. However, again finding success off pressuring the defense, City found themselves in front three minutes after Ownby’s effort smacked the bar.
Just before the hour mark, an attacking move from City looked like it had broken down before the ball somehow fell loosely to Ilic in the box. Turning around a few defenders, Ilic pulled himself away from goal and produced a clever finish at the back post to give his side the lead.
As NCFC continued to pile bodies forward, reinforcements for City in the form of Shaun Francis, Cameron Lancaster, and Pat McMahon were brought on. The home side kept knocking on goal as time ticked on, and in the 87th minute, the game’s final goal came in the form of an NCFC equalizer. Substitute midfielder Tiyi Shipalane found Rios again and again the forward produced, beating Ranjitsingh for the second time on the evening.
Despite an incredible effort in coming back from down a goal, City could not secure all three points and instead keeps an important point on the road in returning home.
O’Connor’s side sees a quick turnaround with two home matches inside four days as they welcome Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m., and New York Red Bulls II on Saturday at 7:30 p.m., both at Slugger Field. Tickets for both contests are available for as low as $12 at LouisvilleCityFC.com.
The Key Points:
- NCFC forward Daniel Rios put his side in front after 11 minutes
- City thought they found an equalizer in the 36th minute only for the flag to go up for offside
- City defender Paco Craig would not be denied as he equalized off an Oscar Jimenez corner
- City forward Ilija Ilic scored his fifth goal of the regular season when he put his team up, 2-1, just before the hour mark
- An equalizer from Rios gifted his side a point in the 87th minute
James O’Connor’s post-match comments:
On the way the match finished:
“At the end, we looked pinned in and looked really tired, to be honest. I think it’s something that we’ve spoken about in trying to be intentional about our energy and I think overall, for us, it was a little bit flat. I thought they came into it in the second half and we started to sit deep and couldn’t really get out. We tried to defend the lead and then got caught. From their standpoint, it’s a good goal but from our standpoint it’s not a great goal to concede. It’s very disappointing to have the lead and then lose it in the last few minutes again. I’m really disappointed for the lads.”
On Oscar Jimenez’s delivery for the goal:
“It’s fantastic delivery from Oscar [Jimenez]—his quality was really good. I think when you look at Paco [Craig] attacking the ball, it was good from him to get his head on it. Oscar has tremendous delivery and Paco has been doing a really good job of trying to attack the ball and be intentional. From that standpoint, it was pleasing. It’s just that, for the lads, it’s very disappointing when you concede a goal like that again late and you go from an opportunity of having three points to ending up with one. We just need to manage that a little bit better.”
On Ilija Ilic’s form:
“He’s been fantastic. It was a great finish from Illy and he had a great shot in the first half as well where the ‘keeper made a decent save. I think all in all, when you look at his performance, his character was great, his attitude and his work ethic as well. We’re really pleased for Illy. He’s been working exceptionally hard and he’s having a phenomenal season for us.”
On the most important thing for his side with a quick turnaround on Wednesday:
“We need to try and get some energy back. We had a massive game against Nashville [SC] on Wednesday in the Open Cup and again, I think we just need to be coming off those Open Cup games without the flatness on a Saturday. We need to try and rid ourselves of that. I think that’s something we need to be better at. It’s fantastic that we’ve had the Open Cup run, but we don’t want that to be the priority. We need to make sure we’re focusing on both [Open Cup and USL regular season]. That’s something the players deserve enormous credit for, the way they’ve been able to keep going and keep going. It’s just disappointing when you get that in the last couple of minutes when we concede like that.”
Injury Report:
OUT – Richard Ballard (stress fracture)
OUT – Luke Spencer (knee)
North Carolina FC 2 : 2 Louisville City FC
Saturday, June 23, 2018
WakeMed Soccer Park | Cary, NC
88 degrees / sunny
Attendance:
Scoring Summary:
NC – Daniel Rios (Kyle Bekker) 11’
LOU – Paco Craig (Oscar Jimenez) 39’
LOU – Ilija Ilic 59’
NC – Daniel Rios (Tiyi Shipalane) 87’
Disciplinary Summary:
LOU – Daniel Rios 47’
LOU – Niall McCabe 72’
NC – Marcel Kandziora 90+3’
Starting XI (4-1-4-1): Greg Ranjitsingh (GK); Oscar Jimenez, Sean Totsch (Pat McMahon 83’), Paco Craig, Alexis Souahy; Paolo DelPiccolo; Kyle Smith, Devon “Speedy” Williams, Brian Ownby (Shaun Francis 58’), Niall McCabe; Ilija Ilic (Cameron Lancaster 70’)
Bench: Chris Hubbard, Tim Dobrowolski, George Davis IV, Magnus Rasmussen
