Louisville City FC is seeking a comeback after two straight league defeats dropped them to third in the Eastern Conference, though with a game in hand. City fell on Derby Day by one goal in Indianapolis, then dropped a 2-0 contest against Nashville SC on Mother’s Day.
LouCity is also in a bit of unchartered territory in regards to back-to-back defeats. You would have to look back to two straight losses in July 2016 (FCC, OCB) to find the last time O’Connor’s squad has been in this position. The last time the club dropped three straight in the USL regular season? September 2015, where they closed out with defeats at NYRBII, Charleston Battery, and Saint Louis FC.
When & Where
City is back at Louisville Slugger Field for the first time since the end of April when they face Atlanta United FC 2 at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night.
WBNA carries the match on the tube while 840 WHAS will broadcast the match live over the airwaves. Fans can also follow #LOUvATL on Twitter & Instagram.
TV: WBNA
RADIO: 840 WHAS
STREAM: ESPN+
DOWNLOAD: LouCity app for iOS | LouCity app for Android
Last Time Out
Louisville City FC traveled to Music City to play Nashville SC for the second time in the 2018 season, beating their foes 2-0 on opening day in Louisville.
The reverse fixture also saw a reverse scoreline, with the future MLS club knocking off LouCity, 2-0, on two goals from midfielder Lebo Moloto. The South African footballer found the back of the net once in the first half and again in the 86th minute to bury the game, while City was shut out for just the second time this year.
U.S. OPEN CUP: LouCity hosts Saint Louis FC in Third Round clash
Rewind against ATLANTA UNITED FC 2
The only time these two have met previously came on Saturday, April 21 at Coolray Field in Gwinnett County, GA, with the pair sharing the points.
LouCity forward Cameron Lancaster opened the scoring in the second half to tally his second goal of the year only for a converted stoppage-time penalty from ATL midfielder Andrew Carleton to level the line.
KY Lottery Kees to the Game
Looking to keep all three points in Louisville, here are a few Kees to the Game presented by Kentucky Lottery:
1. Feed the forward line
2. Stay compact defensively
3. Use the size advantage
James O’Connor’s pre-match press conference:
On lulls in the season:
“We’ve had it throughout my time here—you get an instance where you get a run of games where you maybe start wrong or the referee… there’s something. For us, we never look and try to make excuses. We always look at our own performance. We look inwardly, and I look at myself first and think how I can get better but more importantly, what can we learn? So, what can we learn from these experiences? When you’re winning three-, four-, five-nil, it’s easy. Everyone is excited and everyone moves on. But, every experience both positive and negative you should be trying to learn from that experience. For us, there’s an opportunity for growth and there are lessons here that, if we’re sensible, we can learn from and take into the rest of the season. If we win our game in hand, we go back to the top of the table. For us it’s about perspective while also trying to understand what allows for success and try to get more of those actions that allow for success.”
On three matches in six days:
“In the cup, you’re actually allowed five international players. In USL, the Canadians are classed as international players so it adds a different dynamic. We have eight international players when you include Greg [Ranjitsingh] so three of those obviously can’t be involved. When we’ve got a small squad, there’s three that are gone then you have a few others that are missing through injury and all of the sudden you start to lose some numbers. We’ve tried to prepare for that as best we can this week. Unfortunately, Franno [Shaun Francis] came on coming back from a hamstring injury and looks like maybe he’s hurt his hamstring again but there are certain aspects that you can’t control so you focus on what you can control. You need to be prepared and ready to go. The biggest thing for us is making sure we get our preparation right, we give our best effort, we got on our front foot, then we play to enjoy the game because we all play to enjoy the game. That’s what we’re hoping to do on Wednesday.”
On squad depth:
“Throughout the course of this year, we’ve had very unusual circumstances. We’ve never had the stuff we’ve had. To be honest, I’m sort of sick of talking about injuries. I’d rather focus on the ones who are fit and let’s go get after it! Whoever it is in the eleven, all our guys are capable of playing. So for us, no excuses, the eleven that are picked let’s go out there and give a good, strong performance and let’s get back to the performances we know we’re all capable of.”
On playing in front of home support again:
“We’re really excited to play in front of our supporters, I think we’ve said that many times. I want to also thank all of the supporters who came to Nashville. For both the away games in Indy and Nashville, we’ve had tremendous support. Genuinely, it is heartfelt thanks from myself and all of the players to everyone who has traveled down. Again, they made the trip on Mother’s Day and the journey the week before was Derby yet we had people travel up to Indy. I think it’s an indication of the support we’ve garnered throughout our time and it’s a massive thank you from everyone associated with the club to everyone who’s traveled.”
Team News
OUT – Richard Ballard (stress fracture, out for foreseeable future)
QUESTIONABLE – Shaun Francis (hamstring)
