Teammates mob Dane Kelly in celebration of his second-half tally. Photo credit: Robbie Mehling/Soc Takes

INDIANAPOLIS — Outside Lucas Oil Stadium during the second half of Sunday’s match between the Indy Eleven and Saint Louis FC, a nasty thunderstorm began spewing down from the heavens. Inside the stadium, a mild tempest of its own formed around the same time.

After a nil-nil first half, an entertaining three-goal second interval ended with Indy holding off the visitors for a 2-1 win. The insertion of pacey Tyler Pasher at halftime might as well have served as the National Weather Service’s severe storm warning.

“It was another solid home win for us,” Pasher said. “We have a pretty good streak going on right now. As you can see, everybody’s starting to find their stride — find comfort — toward the second half of the season.”

Pasher regularly made himself dangerous with his top-end speed and dribbling skills, eventually opening the scoring with a stellar individual effort in the 67th minute. Isolated one-v-one in the corner after collecting a pass from Lucas Faris, Pasher skinned Saint Louis left back Paris Gee as the defender recklessly dove in and whiffed on an attempted tackle. The sequence resulted in Pasher cutting to the middle with too much space and finishing at the far post.

Pasher now has nine goals in 20 league appearances this season. Seven of those have come since the start of June. As the weather has heated up, so has the pacey winger.

Another second-half substitute, Dane Kelly, put an end to his scoring drought in the 81st minute and gave Indy a 2-nil advantage. It was his fifth tally of the season, but he hadn’t scored since April 28.

“With Dane, you know, Dane just needs one goal,” Pasher said. “And now it’s just going to keep coming for him.”

Here’s how Dane Kelly scored his 5th of the year and put the game away for Indy in the 81st minute.



IND 2:0 STL pic.twitter.com/poHK4PyNyK — Indy Eleven (@IndyEleven) August 18, 2019

“I think I came out with a bit of energy, “Kelly said. “That’s what coach wanted.”

The usually prolific Jamaican striker tracked a bouncing long ball from Paddy Barrett and out-wrestled Saint Louis defender Sam Fink, who lost his footing and tumbled to the turf. Kelly then lofted a gentle volley over goalkeeper Tomas Gomez for his first strike of the summer.

Dane Kelly flicks a volley over Tomas Gomez for his first goal since April 28. Photo credit: Robbie Mehling/Soc Takes

Saint Louis FC pulled one back in stoppage time on a class free kick off the boot of Lewis Hilton, but the hosts were able to cling to the three points until the fulltime whistle.

Eleven head coach Martin Rennie went with something resembling a 3-5-2 for the occasion. Captain Matt Watson, Tyler Gibson and Kenney Walker formed a trio of CDMs in the middle of the park, with usual suspects Ayoze and Farias manning the left and right flanks, respectively.

Rennie’s back three consisted of — from left to right — Neveal Hackshaw, Barrett and Karl Ouimette. Ilija Ilic and Eugene Starikov rounded out the starting XI, the latter of whom drew his first start since March after returning from injury to score the game winner Tuesday in a friendly at Detroit City FC. But on this night, it was Rennie’s substitutes who helped open the game up and impacted the proceedings the most.

Tyler Pasher explodes by Paris Gee in the second half. Photo credit: Robbie Mehling/Soc Takes

Saint Louis FC seemed content to allow Indy to hold the ball more, opting instead to get out and run on the counter. It worked for the visitors early on, as evidenced by both teams generating about the same number and quality of chances in the first half. But in the second, Rennie’s halftime subs and tactical adjustments quelled Saint Louis’ game plan.

“The biggest thing was, in the first half we were playing a lot of central balls to feet where Eugene and Ilic were,” Rennie explained. “In the second half, we played a lot more out of the pressure and out diagonally beyond their pressure. And that opened up the game quite a lot for us.”

The Brickyard Battalion echoes the sentiments of Alejandro Bedoya and many others. Photo credit: Robbie Mehling/Soc Takes

The three points jumped the Eleven to fourth in the USL Championship Eastern Conference standings. Saint Louis sits in 11th, just below the playoff line, after departing with zero points in tow. Both clubs have games in hand over most of the other Eastern Conference sides.

Indy will return to the Lucas Oil pitch next Sunday to host the Charlotte Independence, with kickoff set for 6 p.m. Saint Louis FC, meanwhile, will venture to Ottawa on Saturday to take on the in-form Fury.

The Eleven haven’t lost at home since July 4, 2018.

Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KJboxing.

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