By Quin Welch, LouCity Insider
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville City FC will take part in its second-ever Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday night against Detroit City FC of the National Premier Soccer League.
Players and coach James O’Connor met with local media on Tuesday to discuss the second-round Open Cup fixture against Detroit City FC on Wednesday at Bellarmine University (7 p.m. |TICKETS).
O’Connor on the first 2016 Open Cup contest and on playing Detroit City FC: “This Open Cup match is a big game for us. When you look at Detroit, they’ve got good history. They deserve a lot of credit. I watched them play on Sunday against Dayton. They’ve got some really good players. It’s a fabulous story they have in Detroit. They deserve a lot of credit and it’ll be a very tough game for us.”
O’Connor on playing at Bellarmine University:“We’ve never played at Bellarmine, so tomorrow we’ll go over there around lunchtime and have a little walk around to make sure everyone knows what to expect. We don’t like surprises. It’ll be a different dynamic for us, but we’re professional sportspeople so we’ll keep our heads down and get on with it.”
O’Connor on LouCity hosting an Open Cup match: “We’re very grateful that Bellarmine have given us an opportunity for us to play at home. Last year, we had Lansing away, which took us four or five hours to get there and back. It ended up being a lot of travel. We go to Richmond on Saturday and we leave and have three away games. I think it was important for us to get a home tie. So we’re very grateful and quite appreciative of Bellarmine for allowing us to have the game there.”
O’Connor on rotating the squad: “For us, we speak a lot about the importance of training. I think that’s something we’ve continually spoken to the guys about. It’s about who’s training well, who’s not training well, who’s performing well and who we think can help us win. There’s lots of factors that we look at. It’s equally trying to make sure that we put the right team on the field, which we always try to do.”
O’Connor on righting the ship defensively:“We were disappointed with the goals we conceded early on. I think it’s great we’ve had three clean sheets but we want more. It’s making sure people know their roles. Concentration and focus are always big assets when you’re trying to defend. It’s not just the defenders, either. A lot of people compliment the strikers when they put the ball in the back of the net and compliment the goalkeeper when they keep a clean sheet. There’s a lot more than that with both sides. Our first line of defense is our attackers and our first line of attack is our defenders. For us, it’s always making sure the team dynamic is in the right place and people understand their roles and responsibilities.”
O’Connor on trying to improve on Open Cup success from 2015: “First, we have a very difficult game against Detroit. I think the biggest thing is being mindful of their threats and trying to get past them. The Open Cup is something we’d love to have a run in, but in order to have a run in it you have to work hard and make sure you have your homework done. Hopefully we’ll do that, but let’s not dismiss Detroit. They were up 4-0 after 34 or 35 minutes this weekend, so they present their threats for sure.”
O’Connor on what Detroit does well: “They’ve got some good attackers and they move the ball well. They’re organized. They’re bold in transition and when they have the ball. They like to play and push the fullbacks high. Whether they do that against us, we’ll have to see. I know when they played against Michigan, they had a bit of a different gameplan. They have a squad of over 30 players, so for us to pick out who’s going to play is a challenge. For them, they’ve had a tough schedule. They played last Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, so their coach has rotated a lot of players as well. For us, it’s trying to give the guys some expectations of what they’ll do, but until the game starts it’ll be a challenge.”
Forward – Cameron Lancaster:
Lancaster on scoring the game-sealing penalty kick against Saint Louis: “The main thing was just to come on and make an impact. The team needed another goal and I’m just glad to get it.”
Lancaster on the feeling of scoring a winner: “It’s fun. Those are the sorts of positions you want to be in as a striker. You want to be in the position to score goals. So that’s all I can ask for.”
Lancaster on LouCity’s depth: “We push each other. When someone else has high standards, you’ve got to meet them. It’s good competition.”
Lancaster on his role: “I just like playing. If Coach wants to start me or put me on as a sub, then I’m happy with that.”
Lancaster on Detroit City: “It doesn’t matter who it is. We’re going to go play our game and hopefully come away with a win.”
Lancaster on LouCity’s 2016 success: “It’s because we train at a high intensity and we play at a high intensity. We’ve all bought into what the coach is saying. We like playing on the pitch, and we like winning. That’s the main thing.”
Midfielder – Paolo DelPiccolo
DelPiccolo on LouCity’s impressive form: “We’re on a good run right now and that’s something we’re happy with and want to continue. To keep the clean sheets is a big thing for us. We’ve been focusing for the game on Wednesday. Open Cup is always a great opportunity and something that Coach and the whole team takes very seriously. It’ll be a good match on Wednesday and something that we’re all getting ready for.”
DelPiccolo on his assist to George Davis IV against Saint Louis: “It was a great goal by George. There was a really good series of passes and then it came to me at the top of the box, and I slipped it through. It was just a great finish by him.”
DelPiccolo on the quick turnaround after the Saint Louis game: “It’s not easy but we have a lot of good players here and we can rotate players. That’s up to coach. He does a great job of making sure everyone’s dressing and everyone’s healthy for every game.”
DelPiccolo on nearly 300 minutes without conceding a goal: “It starts with the defenders and the goalkeeper. I mean, every game, you see Greg making two or three big saves where if they score, you wouldn’t blame him at all. But he’s making some incredible stops and the defense is limiting the shots, so right now we feel good about that.”
Midfielder – George Davis IV
Davis on scoring his first LouCity goal: “It’s good to break the ice and get that first goal off my back. Hopefully, it’ll give me some confidence moving forward. I think the game was a good team effort. We had another shutout which speaks highly of our team as a whole. We have a lot of games coming up so it’s important that everyone is sharp and up to the task.”
Davis on whether the goal was instinctive: “I watched it and yeah, it was instinctive. That’s how those things work sometimes with being in the moment. I was happy with how I took it. It was good combination play between Kadeem, Paolo and myself. I think it was a culmination of all the attacking and high pressure that was going on throughout the game.”
Davis on what LouCity has done to keep three straight shutouts: “Desire and willingness to tackle and to put pressure up the field. I think everybody on this team has bought into what the staff is wanting us to do and I think it’s paying off. However, it’s only May and we have a long season to go. So it’s important for us to stay hungry and maintain this level, keep it going and keep improving game by game.”
The Details
Next up for LouCity is the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup second-round match on Wednesday against Detroit City FC at Bellarmine University (7 p.m. | TICKETS).
Fans can stay up to date with all of Louisville City’s breaking news, roster updates and ticketing information by following the Club on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Season tickets are available for Louisville City’s historic second season via the Club’s official website.
