Louisville City FC’s head coach, John Hackworth, on Thursday discussed his club’s preseason progress, an approach to the USL Championship’s new division system for 2021 and a much-debated closed-door, preseason friendly with FC Cincinnati.
It all happened as the Soccer City radio show, powered by Kentuckiana Toyota Dealers, returned to the airwaves on ESPN Louisville’s AM 680 and FM 105.7. The show has moved to a 6-7 p.m. time slot, allowing for a number of exclusive team interviews this season.
A few takeaways…
• Within the USL’s Central Division this season, LouCity will see seven opponents four times. “You need to be tactically flexible. When you play that many times, you learn what guys are doing. We had the problem last year when you look at just the way we played Saint Louis (FC)…We feel like we are good enough to shape-shift within a game if we need to.”
• Hackworth addressed the departure of midfielder Speedy Williams, who signed this offseason with Miami FC, saying, “I think Tyler Gibson is an excellent choice to go in there and play the six, but we also have players here on the roster who are excellent central midfielders. Honestly, we feel like we have six central midfielders who could start on any USL Championship team.”
• And about FC Cincinnati, which LouCity defeated by a 3-0 score last weekend? “It’s going to be ramped up a bit” when the teams meet again in April in another exhibition. said Hackworth, who noticed the social media chatter about the result. “At the same time, I’m laughing because it’s not like FC Cincinnati came into that game and didn’t try to compete.”
Hear Hackworth’s full interview, which begins around the 13-minute mark, below:
