Louisville City heads to Charlotte Saturday hungry for a win in an Eastern Conference matchup.
“We need to continue to work on how we attack,” Louisville City coach John Hackworth said. “Clearly we haven’t put the ball in the back of the net in the last couple games, and that has to be a focus of ours. At the same time, we need to be better defensively. I don’t think I’m giving away secrets when I say those are two of our biggest objectives this week.”
Louisville City hasn’t scored the last two weeks and is looking to break that streak vs. the Independence.
“Obviously it’s on us to have a really positive response to the last result, and that’s all we can do,” Hackworth said.
And on defense, Hackworth wants to see his team respond quickly to counter-attacks.
“We’re a pressing team, and when we press that means we’re vulnerable to counters,” Hackworth said. “We need to do a better job of making sure that we get re-organized and we do that sooner and we don’t take for granted when we do get re-organized.”
The last time these two teams played, it ended in a 1-1 draw as Louisville City fell behind in the 12’ on a Charlotte counter-attack and had to fight back with a goal by Luke Spencer in the 77’ to get the draw.
Charlotte had a few strong performances in a row after a recent coaching change.
“They’ve been playing well, with the exception of this last week they went down to Birmingham and lost, but they’ve been playing well,” Hackworth said. “They’re very organized. They’re a very experienced team. They have some excellent attacking players and some really good defenders that have had a lot of experience not only in the USL Championship but in the MLS, so we have our work cut out for us.”
Both clubs this weekend are feeling pressure to get points as the USL Championship season starts getting into its final quarter. The top 10 teams make the playoffs. Louisville City is currently 8th in the East with 30 points and Charlotte is currently 11th in the East with 24 points.
“They are a team that’s fighting for playoff position, and we are a team that needs a response to ensure that we stay in a good position and improve on our position,” Hackworth said.
Louisville City and Charlotte Independence kick off at 7 p.m. at Audi Field. The game will be broadcast locally on WBKI and streamed online on ESPN+.
The radio broadcast with Kevin Kernen and Jeff Greer will be on 840 WHAS at 6:45, from the LouCity Watch Party at Falls City Taproom.
