Having entered Louisville City FC’s first game week since March, coach and sporting director John Hackworth says he’s “really pleased with our preparation especially being a condensed time to really get ready.”
Hackworth, who spoke to reporters Monday at Lynn Family Stadium, did so a day after the boys in purple completed their third and final intrasquad scrimmage. The dress rehearsals were designed to lead up to Sunday’s 5 p.m. kickoff against Pittsburgh Riverhounds FC.
Hackworth said there’s little 2020 film to go off from this opponent, as the Hounds are one of a few USL Championship squads that didn’t open their season before play paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The fact that they didn’t play a game really leaves a lot of questions that won’t be answered until we kickoff,” Hackworth said.
WATCH: Coach Hackworth’s full press conference
Yet with Bob Lilley at the helm for Pittsburgh, a defensive-minded rival figures to enter Lynn Family Stadium matching up with LouCity’s more open style of play.
These clubs met in the Hounds’ most-recent game, the USL’s Eastern Conference semifinals. LouCity posted a 2-1 away victory en route to winning the conference title for a third straight season.
There’s plenty of focus on what’s happening off the pitch, too, leading into Sunday’s showdown airing on ESPN2, News Radio 840 WHAS and SiriusXM FC.
“We as a team have been having some really good and hard, difficult conversations since two weeks before we started the season back in March,” Hackworth said.
LouCity’s neither carrying injuries into the restart nor has the roster experienced a COVID-19 positive. Players and staff are tested regularly per league rules.
Life around the game has looked a little different for everyone, Hackworth added, but they’re attacking it as a team.
“We just try to make sure we’re being safe,” he said.
Many players are self-isolating away from the pitch, avoiding practices such as eating out or attending gatherings. Accordingly, low coronavirus numbers in Kentucky have allowed fans in the building and LouCity a national showcase as it opens Lynn Family Stadium.
“From a selfish standpoint, I’m really excited about people around this country seeing what we look like and how we go out and play,” Hackworth said. “That’s an opportunity that all of us don’t want to miss.”
