Louisville City rolled to a 3-0 win over Reading United AC Wednesday night at Lynn Stadium in Louisville, Ky. Louisville City coach John Hackworth said his team got exactly what they hoped for in the Second Round U.S. Open Cup match.
“At the end of the day that is exactly what we wanted and needed,” Hackworth said. “We had a lot of objectives going into this game and I think we accomplished all of them. You get guys like Chris Hubbard, their first start and performance. Huge shout out to him because he gets a shutout in his first appearance for us. More than that, it’s great to see him back and healthy. He’s had such a long road.
“You think about Rich (Ballard) coming back and getting on the field again and that gives us such a lift to have guys that have been out for a long time and injured, and they come back in and they contribute to a performance like that.
“Then other guys that haven’t really played at all for us. Another guy would be Geoff Dee who represents and was a worry all night ling. Sunny (Jane) has been coming back from injury and hasn’t played since the Atlanta game and he’s got a great free kick at the end.”
City got an early goal from Abdou Thiam, pushed the lead to 2-0 just seven minutes later on a great effort by George Davis IV. Louisville City held its 2-0 lead throughout the rest of the first half, controlling the action. LouCity’s final goal came on a perfectly struck free kick from Jane.
Louisville City used a different lineup for Wednesday night’s game, getting Hubbard, Ballard, Jane, Dee and other players more playing time than they have received in a long time.
“We were also able to rest a lot of guys too,” Hackworth said. “We had a lot of objectives going into this game and it’s hard to look back and say we didn’t accomplish all of them.”
Louisville City advanced to the Third Round of the U.S. Open Cup which will be played May 29 vs. Birmingham Legion FC. The match will be played at Lynn Stadium.
