On the field in a must-win game over the weekend, Saint Louis FC played a wide-open, attacking style. As it turns out, that strategy suited Louisville City FC well.
But coach James O’Connor said Monday he’s not completely satisfied with a 5-1 victory, one that saw midfielder Magnus Rasmussen register a brace. Three other players — Kadeem Dacres, Cameron Lancaster, Ilija Ilic — also scored.
“I want more,” O’Connor told reporters with a smile at his weekly press conference. “For us, it’s great that we’re scoring goals, but the more people who can step up and score, that’s obviously something we’re going to need.”
LouCity since turned its attention to Saturday’s regular-season finale, a 7:30 p.m. home date with the Charlotte Independence at Slugger Field. On a run of four straight victories — the longest streak of the season — O’Connor has seen increased success offensively with a consistent group on the attack.
Cameron Lancaster has scored penalty kicks in back-to-back games, earning one himself against Saint Louis. Magnus Rasmussen, on the return from offseason surgery, made the starting lineup in August and has now scored three goals in two games. Winger Kadeem Dacres also ended a scoring drought Saturday that dated back to May.
“Confidence breeds confidence, so I think if you look at how (Rasmussen) and Kadeem have linked in, it’s been very pleasing to see,” O’Connor said. “I think Cameron has made some really strong run and obviously scored the last two games as well. There’s key parts to the team we feel we’re happy with, but equally we don’t stand and pat ourselves on the back.
“You work harder, and we try to improve upon what we’re doing.”
Here’s more from O’Connor’s weekly meeting with the media…
- On what he wants to see Saturday from the squad: “I want to see the same level of performance. I think the last two games, we’ve given really strong perfomances. I think that’s definitely something we definitely need to try and continue. We want to build some momentum going into the playoffs. We’re on a good run at the moment. We obviously want to keep that going.”
- On the importance of playoff seeding: “Very. I think it’s something that can be taken for granted. I think it’s important, A, to get into the playoffs. But then equally you want to be at home. For us to have such strong seeding is a testament to the group of guys we have and how well the guys have done. But it’s something you definitely want, for sure.”
- On the regular-season home finale: “Well, we want to get as many people as we can into Slugger. That’s the biggest thing for us — trying to make sure it’s an intimidating atmosphere for teams. I think for us, the next couple weeks we want to literally get the whole of Louisville to come out and watch the soccer team play.
“It’s been a great weekend for the city, if you like, with the (University of Louisville) soccer team on Friday night doing so well — obviously the football team doing so well — and hopefully everyone can get behind us and put Louisville on the map for pro soccer.”
