Written By: Austin Holland
(Louisville, KY) Louisville City FC (8-2-4) returned home from a rough trip Harrisburg suffering their 4th loss of the season. Louisville City took on the Ottawa Fury for the first time in team history in a must win match for Louisville City. They answered the bell and defeated Ottawa by a score of 2-1 at Slugger Field. Louisville City is currently sitting in second place on the USL Eastern Conference standings, right behind the Charleston Battery.
Louisville City Captain Paolo Delpicclo and the rest of the team were determined to start the game fast, notching their first goal at the 13th minute mark by forward Brian Ownby. But the main story throughout the game was all the missed opportunities after gaining 16 corner kicks and not being able to find the back of the net on any of them.
Frustration didn’t set in though for Louisville City as they kept on the attack and managed to hold Ottawa scoreless in the first half of play. Seven corner kicks in the first half of the game was the big part for Louisville City’s tempo and energy, dominating the first half of the game. Many people in the crowd seemed frustrated that the score wasn’t larger than 1-0, as the team was leaving Ottawa in the game early. Many chances for Ottawa had everyone on the edge of their seats knowing that Louisville City should’ve been up by more points than what they were. That’s been a continuous theme this season, as Louisville City has struggled to put away opponents early and letting them linger around.
Louisville City could notch their second goal off a huge goal from forward Luke Spencer in the 71st minute bringing the score to 2-0. The defense was on top of their game, not allowing a goal until the 87th minute, when Ottawa forward Steeven Dos Santos headed a goal late in the game to cut the deficit to 2-1. That’s where this match ended as Louisville City took home a much needed 3 points.
The final score pretty much told the story of the game as Louisville City was not able to cash in on huge chances in the game. They were never able to put away the scrappy Ottawa team, going 2 for 16 on shots and dominated every statistic shooting-wise. They did lose the possession only controlling the ball 48.6 percent of the time compared to Ottawa’s 51.4 percent. After the possession arrow went Ottawa’s way, Louisville City could clear the ball 52 times compared to Ottawa’s 19. It was hard-fought victory, and well deserved one for Louisville. They got huge lifts from Spencer and forward Richard Ballard going in and bringing the energy and tempo back up.
The yellow card made its appearance several times for Ottawa, as four yellow cards were distributed between four different players. Louisville City collected only two yellow cards throughout the game. Louisville City holds the best defensive record in the Eastern Conference and 2nd in the US, as they have only allowed 11 goals in the last 14 games. Louisville City goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh had another stellar game, allowing one goal and being the huge difference maker in the game.
Louisville City’s next game will be against the Charleston Battery in Charleston. Louisville City has the opportunity to cut the point deficit and a chance to go up and take 3 points from Charleston. The last time these two teams met, they finished with a draw in a game where Louisville City head coach James O’ Connell stated, “If we have another 4 - 4 game I’m going to need a defibrillator”. It’s a matchup that USL and Louisville City fans are surely looking forwards to. The next time Louisville play at home, here at Louisville Slugger Field will be on July 15th, against rival FC Cincinnati.
Louisville City Captain Paolo Delpicclo and the rest of the team were determined to start the game fast, notching their first goal at the 13th minute mark by forward Brian Ownby. But the main story throughout the game was all the missed opportunities after gaining 16 corner kicks and not being able to find the back of the net on any of them.
Frustration didn’t set in though for Louisville City as they kept on the attack and managed to hold Ottawa scoreless in the first half of play. Seven corner kicks in the first half of the game was the big part for Louisville City’s tempo and energy, dominating the first half of the game. Many people in the crowd seemed frustrated that the score wasn’t larger than 1-0, as the team was leaving Ottawa in the game early. Many chances for Ottawa had everyone on the edge of their seats knowing that Louisville City should’ve been up by more points than what they were. That’s been a continuous theme this season, as Louisville City has struggled to put away opponents early and letting them linger around.
Louisville City could notch their second goal off a huge goal from forward Luke Spencer in the 71st minute bringing the score to 2-0. The defense was on top of their game, not allowing a goal until the 87th minute, when Ottawa forward Steeven Dos Santos headed a goal late in the game to cut the deficit to 2-1. That’s where this match ended as Louisville City took home a much needed 3 points.
The final score pretty much told the story of the game as Louisville City was not able to cash in on huge chances in the game. They were never able to put away the scrappy Ottawa team, going 2 for 16 on shots and dominated every statistic shooting-wise. They did lose the possession only controlling the ball 48.6 percent of the time compared to Ottawa’s 51.4 percent. After the possession arrow went Ottawa’s way, Louisville City could clear the ball 52 times compared to Ottawa’s 19. It was hard-fought victory, and well deserved one for Louisville. They got huge lifts from Spencer and forward Richard Ballard going in and bringing the energy and tempo back up.
The yellow card made its appearance several times for Ottawa, as four yellow cards were distributed between four different players. Louisville City collected only two yellow cards throughout the game. Louisville City holds the best defensive record in the Eastern Conference and 2nd in the US, as they have only allowed 11 goals in the last 14 games. Louisville City goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh had another stellar game, allowing one goal and being the huge difference maker in the game.
Louisville City’s next game will be against the Charleston Battery in Charleston. Louisville City has the opportunity to cut the point deficit and a chance to go up and take 3 points from Charleston. The last time these two teams met, they finished with a draw in a game where Louisville City head coach James O’ Connell stated, “If we have another 4 - 4 game I’m going to need a defibrillator”. It’s a matchup that USL and Louisville City fans are surely looking forwards to. The next time Louisville play at home, here at Louisville Slugger Field will be on July 15th, against rival FC Cincinnati.