Louisville City FC faces the Charlotte Independence in midweek action for the second of two meetings between the pair in the 2018 regular season. There is little room for maneuver for City, who are comfortably in fourth place in the Eastern Conference but must maintain their form should they look to catch leaders FC Cincinnati. Meanwhile, for Charlotte, sitting in 11th place in the conference means a win could bolster their hopes of tightening an already close race for the eight playoff spaces.
When & Where
The match will take place on Wednesday, August 22 at Sportsplex at Mathews in Charlotte, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.
The match will be aired on WMYO as well as streamed on ESPN+. Fans can listen to the match on 1080 WKJK. Fans can also follow #CLTvLOU on Twitter & Instagram.
TV: WMYO
RADIO: 1080 WKJK
STREAM: ESPN+
DOWNLOAD: LouCity app for iOS | LouCity app for Android
Where They Stand
Louisville City FC:
11-4-7, 40 points – 4th in EC
Charlotte Independence:
7-9-8, 29 points – 11th in EC
Last Time Out
Louisville City FC earned a point from a grudging defensive battle against Nashville SC, drawing 0-0 with the Music City club in front of nearly 10,000 fans at Slugger Field.
A physical first half saw the hosts pressing one of the USL’s stingiest backlines in Nashville SC with the “Boys in Purple” having difficulty coming within striking distance early in the match. The best of the first half opportunities came in the 44th minute from midfielder Devon “Speedy” Williams, whose shot far post nearly snuck past the Nashville back line and into the back of the net.
Both clubs were held scoreless headed into the break.
Just minutes into the second 45, Pickens spilled another shot from “Speedy” Williams just inside the penalty box, opening another opportunity for George Davis IV who was unable to finish.
The visitors nearly opened the scoring sheet in the 57th minute after Nashville forward Tucker Hume snuck past defender Sean Totsch, a move which led to SC’s Brandon Allen shot just wide of City goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh.
After a back-and-forth second half of empty opportunities, both sides left Slugger Field with a point after a scoreless draw.
WATCH: Hackworth examines #CLTvLOU
Rewind against Charlotte Independence
Louisville City FC and the Charlotte Independence last met on Saturday, July 21 when City dominated the visitors, 4-1, in an explosive performance at Slugger Field.
Niall McCabe opened the scoring for City in the first half and they held that advantage until the 72nd minute when Ilija Ilic would double the lead from the penalty spot. Goals from Cameron Lancaster and George Davis IV more than offset Charlotte’s late-minute consolation as City charged their way to another convincing victory.
KY Lottery Kees to the Game
Louisville City FC faces its only trip to Charlotte to face the Independence this season with plenty on the line…
Here are the KY Lottery Kees to the Game for #CLTvLOU:
- Don’t let Herrera off your hip
- Build off last two road performances
- Stay patient in the attacking third
Coach John Hackworth’s pre-match press conference:
On taking the field for the first time as head coach:
“It was fantastic. I walked along the back line here, and I guess I walked in front of the Coopers, they went ridiculously mad and you know, I stopped and kind of looked at them and gave them a little applause myself because they were just- it was fantastic. It was a lot of fun.”
On facing Charlotte:
“Yeah, I’ve tried to watch some film. I watched the entire game that Louisville played against them earlier. We have an idea, and the players certainly are familiar with them. They’re a good team, Mike Jeffries does a good job with them so they’re well coached, so it’ll be a challenge to go there on a midweek and get a result, but that’s exactly what we’re trying to do.”
On players returning from injury:
“Well, it doesn’t look as positive as I thought it was going to be, but yes, we’ll have a few more bodies for sure. We may be adding a player later on this afternoon, so that would be another help. So yes, we’ll have some more bodies one way or another. I was hopeful that maybe Ilija (Ilic) would be feeling a little bit better today than he was on Saturday, and maybe Brian Ownby, but both of those guys are still questionable at this point.”
On whether attacking is easier with a bigger bench:
“Absolutely. And specifically, you look a Brian Ownby and how important he’s been to this team going forward. And you look at Ilija [Ilic], he’s been as important. So, we have a couple guys that we’re really missing right now, and hopefully- to get them back on track would be fantastic. It’s great that we had Luke [Spencer] back and he was able to start and really be important for us on Saturday night, but we need, and would love, to have the full complement to choose from. That would be a nice problem to have as a coach.”
Team News
QUESTIONABLE – Ilija Ilic (Groin)
OUT – Magnus Rasmussen (Knee Sprain)
OUT – Richard Ballard (Stress Fracture)
