Louisville City FC looked like anything but a bunch of players stressing the postseason Tuesday afternoon.
Coach James O’Connor let his squad sleep in, and to follow was a noon session when soccer met a mix of tennis and volleyball. O’Connor, assistant coach Daniel Byrd and the boys in purple split into four teams, chipping and heading shots over makeshift nets.
“I’ve got a big final in a second when I get back,” joked O’Connor, who took a break to speak with reporters. “We’re playing so many minutes. We need to get rest into the guys. Today’s obviously been a light day, yesterday they were off, and we start focusing again tomorrow.
“We’re looking forward to it.”
LouCity played 120-plus minutes Sunday night, using overtime to defeat the Richmond Kickers 2-0 in the first round of the USL Cup Playoffs. The club next hosts the Charleston Battery at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in a rematch of the 2015 Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Asked who most took soccer-tennis seriously Tuesday, O’Connor said, “There’s a few, to be honest.” Certainly, he was among them. O’Connor also chided his “officials,” director of operations Brandon Morris and Scott Ritter, the team’s athletic trainer.
“I think when you have a game like we had (Sunday) it’s important to get some recovery, some rest, and we’ll show people that we’re going to be ready for Saturday,” O’Connor said. “But equally, you’ve got to get your mind right. You need a bit of freedom first.”
Here’s more from training…
- Also Tuesday, O’Connor spoke to the North Bullitt High School boys’ soccer team and invited the squad out to training with school out for Fall Break. “In a team environment, it’s making sure that the team comes first and everyone buys into it,” O’Connor said. “That was something that we’re happy to share. I spoke to them, I think Niall (McCabe) has had a chance with them, and then I think they’re going to have a kickaround with the guys.”
- Goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh said even after having to play the extra 30 minute Sunday, morale is high in LouCity’s locker room. “The guys are happy,” Ranjitsingh added. “It’s always good when you get to extend your season — one game at a time. We’ve just got to to play the next game like any other game. We’re really fighting for our season here.”
- O’Connor said that when looking ahead to Saturday’s playoff game, he’ll view film both of Charleston’s 2-1 win Sunday over FC Cincinnati — a No. 6 seed upsetting a No. 3 — and LouCity’s two previous games against the Battery. “I think knowing Mike (Anhaeuser, Charleston’s coach) and knowing them, at this stage, they’re going to know us and we’re going to know them.”
