



ATLANTA UNITED 2 …. 0

LOUISVILLE CITY FC .. 1

3-15-19

Professional debutant Abdou Mbacke Thiam’s second half header was all Louisville City needed as the visiting Morados squeaked a win against an enthusiastic young Atlanta United 2 side in Kennesaw, Georgia Friday evening.

In light of the previous weekend’s disastrous performance in North Carolina coach John Hackworth had no compunction in shaking up the lineup. FCC loanee goalkeeper Ben Lundt got his first pro start, as well as inserting Shaun Francis at left back, with Sunny Jane slotting in behind Luke Spencer.

Atlanta were fielding a unit with only two members above the age of 23, midfielder and captain Jack Metcalf and goalkeeper Alec Kann.

The opening half of the game was pretty standard fare, not aided by a spate of foul stoppages, with both offenses only getting rare glimpses at the opposition goal.

A pair of Grade ‘A’ looks were blown at either end however, the first for Atlanta early on when a chip forward by outstanding 2019 draftee Anderson Asiedu dropped to ex Watford teenager Dion Pereira in far too much space between City’s defense and midfield. Pereira sliced the defense with an inch-perfect ball to Luiz Fernando Nascimento who got in behind Oscar Jimenez and Alexis Souahy, but from a handy angle the Richmond Kicker alum dragged his left-footer barely wide of the far post.

City’s best chance of the half fell to Luke after Niall pumped in a testing ball from wide and just inside the Atlanta half which neither Laurence Wyke nor George Campbell in central defense could figure out how to deal with. Both missed intercepting it, and suddenly Luke was all alone and with only goalkeeper Kann to beat. After trying to wait out Kann, who was inching forward but refusing to commit, Luke elected to try the nutmeg, with which he has had success in the past, but the well traveled ‘keeper, with 27 MLS games under his belt, had a leg in the right spot and was able to deflect it away for a rather grateful Campbell to finally clear.

Minutes later, Luke almost had a chance at redemption when Oscar hit him in stride with a precision ball, and Wyke, whilst challenging, lost his footing on the apparently treacherous surface allowing the striker to make his way into the area and get everything on his blast at the Atlanta net, but Kann was again ready and able to beat it away.

The second stanza began with City working hard to keep the home club at bay and take more initiative themselves and by ten minutes in The Boys In Purple appeared to be gaining control of the game, yet were unable to turn their ascendency into opportunities.

By the 63rd minute, Hack realized the team needed an injection of fresh blood in order to kickstart the offense and boldly took a risk in replacing Luke with Abdou Thiam who hadn’t even made the traveling 18 to North Carolina.

The Dakar, Senegal native, though fresh off of his senior year at UConn, turned 27 last month which already puts him bang at the mean age in this Louisville squad. After a glittering NCAA career with The Huskies he greatly impressed the City coaching staff at the recent MLS combine. When he was not selected in the 2019 draft they pounced on the opportunity with an offer and Abdou duly accepted.

Within 10 minutes of his entry he would spotlight both the decision to recruit him and to substitute him in on this evening as being most inspired, but not before Atlanta had asked serious questions of City, forcing two crucial Ben Lundt saves.

In minute 66, Oscar missed a challenge on the elusive Asiedu upfield and the diminutive Ghanaian swept forward and fed Luiz Fernando wide left. Fernando carried into the box, turned and beat Paolo, who had shifted over to cover for Oscar, and reached the byline. Alexis then made a near fatal decision, anticipating the ball would be passed square, however Fernando turned it back for Pereira who recognized Alexis’s error, checked back to give himself room, and fired from 9 yards to the near post. But there was Ben Lundt to give his best David de Gea impression with a fine kick-save to safety.

3 minutes on and again Paolo was beaten wide on the right, this time overcommitting and allowing the problematic Andrew Carleton to slide into space inside, receive from freshly subbed in Guillermo Benitez, and from the edge of the area fire off a devastating effort that was ticketed for the top left-hand corner. Once again Big Ben wasn’t having it as the German schlussmann [shot-stopper] employed about every one of his 78 inches, leaping acrobatically to tip over for a corner.

Andrew Carleton was left incredulous.

It was a world-class save and, again, an utterly crucial one as the visitors would have had a tough road extracting a result had they gone down 1-0 at this point.

But now was Abdou Thiam’s turn to shine.

The exciting new addition had come on and immediately settled into his lone striker role as if he were a veteran, employing his skills, intelligence and physical capabilities effectively in all situations.

In the 72nd, Shaun received from Paco and sent Brian away up the left. Right back Gallagher is a natural striker and no slouch but Brian, in classic fashion, hinted at cutting inside, pausing Gallagher, then bolted for the byline and clipped a glorious cross over the head of Wyke to the near post. Abdou, drifting into the gap between Wyke and Campbell, edged out Kann to the ball and headed home from close range with aplomb, much to the delight of himself, his teammates and his head coach.

George Davis IV had replaced Sunny and and been inserted at left wing and despite a nondescript outing might have iced the game for the away club.

In the 80th, Wyke gave the ball away in a precarious area to Brian who chipped perfectly across the area for GD IV, but the half-time substitute miscued badly on his volley attempt and the Kennesaw denizens were still in the contest.

This seemed to spark new belief in the plucky kids in red and black and as time wound down they thrust forward furiously to salvage what they could reasonably claim was a deserved point from the game.

Patrick Okonkwo, who had hit the target versus City at Slugger Field last season while on loan at Charleston, was now on for Jackson Conway and twice the ungainly frontrunner might have repeated the exploit.

An Alexis error left him one-on-one with Ben but the Nigerian-born striker’s touch let him down as the City ‘keeper closed on him and made some upper body contact. Knowing there are referees who will award penalties on such plays, Onkonkwo dropped to the turf, but Elton Garcia who had a solid game in the middle wasn’t prepared to bite.

Later, in the 89th, a Gallagher cross found Okonkwo unmarked again, only for him to direct his header from out in front wide of the frame and the ATLUTD2 comeback surge was over.

But for patches of City dominance, all in all this was hardly a commanding performance against a typically fresh-faced MLS feeder team.

Of course, the scoreline was an improvement over the 1-1 draw the dogged ATLUTD2 managed in 2018’s similar early season fixture.

That said, only three players, Gallagher, Metcalf and Carleton, remained from that side.

With efficient Atlanta finishing the result of this game might have been different, and although Hackworth’s heroes did just about enough to prevail, too much did they allow their opponents leeway from which to take charge and possibly effect a breakthrough. Partly this was down to individual mistakes, but to a degree also due to the match tactics which at times resulted in too much space opening up between defenders and midfielders.

Another small matter of concern will be that, unlike in that equivalent fixture last season, and in fact all three 2018 meetings with Atlanta, in this match City conceded the advantage in possession, shots, and corners, and would have preferred more than their 3 own attempts on target versus rather less fancied opposition to follow up the 2 registered last week at NCFC.

Nevertheless, there were positives and mercies to be taken from the game.

A pleasing level of discipline has been maintained, with no cautions being incurred in two straight contests.

And although the squad is clearly not yet in prime condition nor firing on all cylinders, there were improvements from last weekend in several departments.

The shuffling of the lineup gave a different look and on the whole was helpful in discerning who will be suited to fit where as the team adjusts to life without four of its brightest stars from years past.

So, most unexpectedly the solution to Los Morados ‘Dead Whale’ woes was discovered, at least short term, to be with two rookie pros occupying opposing poles on the field, Ben Lundt and Abdou Thiam.

While not counting any chickens the coaching staff and fans alike would have to be ecstatic after the inaugural performances of these two lads who, between them, might just have helped their club get on track – or at least closer to it – a little quicker.

Presuming he is fully fit Sunny gets a trip to Africa next week to represent Lesotho in an African Cup of Nations qualifier.

Other than that, with the emergence of Ben, Abdou and Shaun, guessing how Hack and co. approach team selection for Saturday’s home opener against Hartford Athletic becomes curiouser and curiouser.

Do stay tuned.

Vamos Morados!

ARBITRARY LOU CITY FC PLAYER RATINGS OUT OF 10:

Fight Club: 8

Doesn’t get forward with the ball so much as is customary for city wing backs, but did feed Brian on the goal assist and his rangy throw-ins added a useful extra dimension on offense. Most importantly, performed his defensive duties highly diligently.

Paco: 7 1/2

Somewhat improved in most facets this week, benefitting the entire rearguard, though holes still appear at inopportune moments.

A.S.A.Y.: 6 1/2

Aided by his partner’s improvement, though still noticeably short of his sharpest.

El Mago: 6 1/2

Mostly satisfactory, having been switched over to the right side, but still well below the required consistency with key deliveries.

Il Capitano: 7

Missed on a few outlet passes. Held down the midfield as best he could, though no longer having the luxury of Speedy next door at times left him isolated and hard-pressed to match the pace of the AU2 youngsters, especially when drawn wide. This will need to be addressed.

Ownby: 7 1/2

Not totally consistent yet ever a threat and once again supplied an exquisite aerial delivery for the game winner.

Speedy: 7

Did not necessarily stand out but got through a ton of work between the boxes. Distribution can be better. Still adjusting to his redeployment higher up the field.

Niall: 7

Did well enough, while again asked to adjust roles midstream as tactics altered. Threatened the ATL defenders with a couple of superb balls into the area in the first half, though, as with Speedy, work rate outweighed profile generally in this game.

Sunny: 6 1/2

Unfortunate departure at halftime due to injury tweak.

Luke: 6 1/2

Another uphill outing. Squandered one golden chance and unable to make enough impact before making way for Abdou Thiam.

Abdou Thiam: 9

A revelation in his maiden pro appearance. Showed attributes of being a fine target man. Added mobility, and brilliantly sensed and converted his one opportunity on goal.

Cuatro: 5 1/2

Got in the full 2nd half as a sub but unable to establish himself and awkward again in front of goal.

Totschy: 7

Tactical sub to shore up at holding midfield for the closing minutes.

“LOUISVILLE CITY FC NO. 1 ⭐️ OF THE GAME”

⭐️⭐️⭐️ BIG BEN LUNDT ⭐️⭐️⭐️: 9 1/2

Tremendously accomplished debut performance from the youngster (though had he played for Atlanta he would have been third eldest). Appeared confident and poised virtually from minute one. Precise in his positioning, sure-footed in distribution, and turned away everything that came in his direction, including that fabulous tip over on Carleton’s strike.

