With the loss to Birmingham, Louisville City was on their first 3 game losing streak since 2015. With not a lot going LouCity’s way of late, there was a glimmer of hope. Coach Cruz got the CB he has been wanting and a rivalry match against Indy (who Louisville topped earlier in the season) for the club’s Fill The Fam match presented the squad with a golden opportunity to rebound from their slump. What better time to turn the tides? On the flip side, another suboptimal performance could dampen spirits even further. Could the boys in purple capatilize on the occasion presented to them?
Lineup
Match Highlights
28’ - Wynder
65’ - Lancaster
By The Numbers
The story of this match was shot suppression. Despite having the (significant) majority of possession, IND only managed to find seven shots, all of which were off target. They could hardly get in dangerous positions against the Louisville defense! Over 2/3rds of their passes were in their own end. With only 0.53 xG (the majority of which was desperation at the end of the match), it was clear what the value of the Kyle Adams acquisition was in terms of allowing the team to leverage a suffocating back three rather than the various other back four shapes that have not been successful as of late. Offensively, they scored twice on an xG of 2.15 on five on-target shots.
Player Of The Match
Oscar Jimenez thrived in his wingback role that allowed for him to be more offensively oriented.
“Today I played as a wingback, and when I first got here in 2017, that’s the position I played,” Jimenez said after the match. “I had a lot of joy doing it, so all day today I just said I’m going to go out there and have fun.” He created five chances and earned two assists (putting him in second for assists all-time). One of which was to his longtime friend, Cameron Lancaster. It was easily his best performance in a while.
Full-Time Thoughts
Coach Danny Cruz was noticably optimistic during the media availability leading up to LOUvIND. It’s almost like he knew exactly what was about to happen with his new CB and the ability to roll out a back three formation. The mentality was the one element needed to bring it all together, and the squad had their heads on right for a big win. “You could see the mentality of the group was up to the level that we expect of ourselves,” Coach Cruz said. “I asked the group before the game to fight. I asked them that when your backs are against the wall, to make sure we don’t lay over. I think it starts there.” In front of 13,200+, the boys in purple put on a performance fans have not seen in a while. Defense was stellar, and the attack finally had some teeth.
It was feeling like doom-and-gloom for a bit (I know I was feeling it after the DET and BHM losses) but the team powered through and took advantage of a huge opportunity. A season-high crowd. Rivalry win. Multiple goals. A clean sheet with only seven shots registered against (zero on target). It was exactly the night that Louisville City needed to get back on track. That kind of play helps one to forget about the previous few matches rather quickly.
“They have a lot to be proud of with the performance tonight, but we have to build on it now,” Coach Cruz said. “It’s not getting complacent. It’s not getting comfortable. It’s building on it and making sure we have that mentality week in and week out — and we control that.” With confidence back up (and the injury list shortening), it really feels like LouCity is back. If they can go onto the pitch and put forth that effort for the remainder of the regular season, they will put themselves in prime position come playoff time. They took advantage of the moment of the night now it’s time to take advantage of the momentum they created with that win.
Parting Thoughts
Want to do a little more reading on LouCity? I suggest the following:
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