Thursday night, Mark-Anthony Kaye had his mind on Canada’s CONCACAF Gold Cup run to the tournament’s quarterfinals. Forty-eight hours later, he was back on the field on Louisville City FC colors, thrown in as a starter despite the better part of a month away from the club.
Kaye and the rest of LouCity’s lineup played admirably in a 4-1 win over Saint Louis FC, against which the boys in purple were without defender Kyle Smith and midfielder Paolo DelPiccolo due to yellow card accumulation.
Both Smith and DelPiccolo are among LouCity’s leaders in minutes played this season.
“Any 11 that go out there, we have the same expectations and the same ceiling, basically,” said Paco Craig whose second half goal went down as the game-winner in a comeback victory. “Honestly, we could play any players from our squad and I’d feel confident in the outcome.
“You can even see it from Mark. He flew in yesterday, which is remarkable for him to be able to step into that. It’s a testament to the team and the strength and depth we have, plus to (coach) James (O’Connor) making sure we’re always on our game even if we’re not starters.”
Kaye’s fifth start of the season came two days after Jamaica knocked Canada out of the Gold Cup. The midfielder has now totaled three full international appearances and one start. While Canada bowed out of the Gold Cup, Kaye made a well-timed return to his club.
Here’s more of what we learned from Saturday’s game…
• Kaye’s insertion into the lineup wasn’t the only major change made by O’Connor. Tim Dobrowolski filled in at goalkeeper, making his first start since May 20, before Greg Ranjitsingh fully healed from an injury in Week 1. Midfielders Devon “Speedy” Williams and Niall McCabe also made their first appearances since June 11 and June 24, respectively.
• With DelPiccolo shelved for one game, forward Ilija Ilic received the captain’s armband for the first time in his pro career. Ilic also made his fourth straight start, continuing to see significant playing time after serving in a reserve role during LouCity’s first two seasons.
• They key call in Saturday’s game came in the 48th minute when Saint Louis forward Christian Volesky received a red card for a high kick that made contact with LouCity defender Sean Reynolds’ face. Playing up a man, LouCity went on to dominate the stat sheet from there.
