After a lengthy stint away from Louisville Slugger Field, Louisville City FC returned home to face a Charlotte Independence side in its best run of form this year. The Independence had won three of their last five games and came away with a point Sunday against the Tampa Bay Rowdies, who sit second in the USL Eastern Conference.
LouCity stuck to the script Wednesday nonetheless. The boys in purple dominated possession, claiming 59.8 percent of it. They forced the Independence to make 35 clearances. And they capitalized on a sending off early in the second half to pull out a 1-0 win.
A victory boosted LouCity to third on the table, five points behind the Charleston Battery and three behind Tampa Bay. The club has two and three games in hand, respectively, on its rivals.
Here’s more of what we learned from Wednesday’s game:
- Louisville native Richard Ballard, just a rookie out of Indiana University, has a bright career ahead. Minutes after scoring the game-winner, he used one-on-one skills to set up another opportunity in the box. Ultimately, his 57th-minute strike was all the club got — but also all it needed.
- For much of the going, LouCity appeared to push up its outside backs, lining up in more of a 3-4-3 formation. While Charlotte was able to piece together some counters, most of the game was spent in the Independence’s half of the field.
- A high amount of possession came days after LouCity also managed to keep the ball for 59.3 percent of its 4-4 draw at Charleston. While just four of 18 shots were on target, 14 were attempted from inside the box, forcing Charlotte’s defense to remain active.
