By Caitlin Ladd
Saturday’s 1-0 road victory over the Rochester Rhinos left Louisville City FC’s James O’Connor with a strong sense of pride about his players’ performance. At a press conference Monday, the coach said he couldn’t “speak highly enough” after the Rhinos were defeated on their home pitch for the first time since 2014.
LouCity will attempt to carry the momentum back home Tuesday when hosting Toronto FC II. Game time is 7 p.m. at Louisville Slugger Field.
“The players deserve tremendous credit,” O’Connor said about the win. “We had some very good opportunities and, I’m very proud of the guys and how hard they worked. It was a great win for us.”
With a quick turnaround before the club’s next United Soccer League match, “It’s a case of rest recovery, and then analysis,” O’Connor said. He described the reserve side as having a “conveyor belt of talent” to its Major League Soccer parent, adding that “it’s a big game for us tomorrow night.”
Here’s more from O’Connor’s meeting with the media (watch it in full by clicking here):
On the first official day of summer and heat becoming more of an issue, O’Connor said “it’s something we’re mindful of.” Although O’Connor doesn’t think that the heat will be as bad as it was for last Saturday’s 6 p.m. start, he said “you need to try and make sure the guys are hydrated and eating well. There’s lots of factors that need to be considered…and heat will be one of those factors.”
When playing on the road, O’Connor says the “mentality comes into play.” Larger fields at soccer-specific venues benefit LouCity’s style. “I think playing on a bigger pitch, it suits us,” O’Connor commented. “We enjoy playing on those bigger pitches as well, because it gives us a chance to maybe possess and dominate the game like we try to do.”
LouCity’s Mark-Anthony Kaye will face some of his former teammates during Tuesday’s match. “I think Mark will be really excited to be playing against his old team,” O’Connor said of the midfielder who came up through the Toronto FC academy and played for II last year. “I think when you look at any of our players and they get to play against the team where they’ve just come from, they want to do well. For Mark, I’m sure it’s a game he’s looking forward to.”
