Louisville City fans voted midfielder George Davis IV their Man of the Match during LouCity’s 3-0 dominating win over Reading United AC. Davis tip-toed down the goal line and past the Reading United backline before slipping one past the opposition’s goalkeeper, doubling his side’s lead in the 19th minute.
“Well, we – good build up and Abdou [Mbacke-Thiam] got it wide to me and got myself isolated in the box,” Davis IV said on his goalscoring play. “I was looking to pick somebody out but [the defender] just kept getting closer to goal. Took my opportunity and luckily it went in.”
Davis IV’s striking ability combined with poise and consistent passing accuracy contributed to Louisville City’s 11 shots, nine of which were on target. Alongside veterans like Davis IV and Niall McCabe were younger talents including midfielders Geoff Dee and Napo Matsoso, who had not spent nearly as many minutes on the pitch as said veterans entering the night.
“It’s a good opportunity to get them on the field and one of the strengths of our team over the past couple years has been everybody on the roster able to compete, able to come in and contribute,” said Davis IV. “Credit to those guys who haven’t had many games and were able to come in and contribute in a massive way.”
While his playmaking ability earned the fans’ vote for Man of the Match, the former Richmond Kicker contributes to City’s positive locker room culture through a number of manners. One of these includes his impact on younger teammates as seen through his interaction with academy signee Elijah Wood as the 16-year-old made his debut with Louisville City.
“Obviously it’s natural for a kid his age to have nerves. He’s getting his debut and he’s surrounded by men telling him this, telling him that,” said Davis IV. “So for me, it was just settle down, enjoy the moment, play with confidence – all the intangibles and why we play the game is to have fun and enjoy it so that’s the most important thing to me.”
After Davis IV found the back of the net and pushed the Louisville City lead to 2-0, his club struck once more as the Boys in Purple advance in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Having learned LouCity will take on Birmingham Legion in the next round, Davis IV remained strong on the club’s thought process moving forward in the tournament.
“Like I said, regardless of the opponent it’s win and move on,” said Davis IV. “They beat us, we beat them so a bit of a rubber match. We just have to come correct.”
Davis and Louisville City takes on Saint Louis FC Saturday night in Slugger Field in a return to the USL Championship games.
