Aside from a 9-0 rout of an amateur side to open U.S. Open Cup play, goals have been difficult to come by lately for Louisville City FC.
The boys in purple hit the back of the net once in their last four games against professional competition, and a matchup looms Saturday against the Eastern Conference-leading Charleston Battery, whose goal differential of plus-10 also tops the table.
Struggles to score, players and coach James O’Connor say, don’t have to do with personnel, but rather mindset.
“I think the first thing is, you’ve got to believe,” said Oscar Jimenez, LouCity’s starting left back. “Right now when things aren’t going well, you kind of start doubting yourself when you’re shooting or when you’re serving a ball in or something. We just need to get away from that and start believing we can do that, because everybody has the quality on this team to do that.
“If we just start believing in ourselves, it’ll come together.”
To turn things around in Charleston — the end of a monthlong road swing for LouCity — would have implications in the league standings.
Though LouCity bowed out of Open Cup play Wednesday with a 1-0 loss at FC Cincinnati, only the Battery (23 points in 11 games) and Tampa Bay Rowdies (21 points in 12 games) sit ahead of the club in the standings. LouCity has played just eight games and earned 15 points from them.
But just a quarter of the season is down. In the short term, it’s about getting back on the scoreboard.
“We need to have that little bit of quality. I think that’s the piece that was missing for us tonight,” O’Connor said after the Cincinnati game. “We’ll have periods when we’re camped in and possessing the ball, but we need to get that finishing piece, too.”
The coach saw some nerves at Nippert Stadium in the latest battle between the River Cities Cup rivals. He felt attacks were hesitant as well when players were presented a chance to score.
“Obviously we need to keep working,” said midfielder Guy Abend. “We need to get better in the final third (of the field). Coach talked to us about it…We just need to make better decisions on the ball. Every small pass can be crucial if you make the good one.”
Perhaps there wouldn’t be such pressure to score were it not for LouCity’s potent offense during its first two seasons. USL Most Valuable Player Matt Fondy racked up 22 goals in 28 games in 2015, and Chandler Hoffman scored the bulk of his 14 goals in the first half of 2016.
This year, LouCity has leaned on a defense that has conceded only five goals in eight USL games. That figure will be tested against the Battery, who are led by forward Romario Williams’ eight goals. Two other players, Ataulla Guerra and Forrest Lasso, have scored four apiece.
In an evenly played game at FC Cincinnati, LouCity surrendered its only goal on a corner kick to open the second half. The club ended out-possessing the winning side, however.
“We had some long passages of play when we were in their half, but that little quality needed to come to form,” O’Connor said.
Now, it’s back to USL play against a Charleston side that’s also entering off a loss, a 2-1 defeat to defending champion New York Red Bulls II.
“It’s just that final third — we can’t get a good ball in or get a shot off,” Jimenez said. “Myself included. It’s just disappointing.”
“We’re going to work on it in training,” Abend added. “We’ll keep working on it, and hopefully it’ll get better soon.”
