Q&A: Louisville City coach previews Game 3

With nearly two weeks between Game 2 (a 1-1 draw April 4 vs. the Richmond Kickers) and Game 3 (Thursday's 7:30 p.m. home match vs. the Rochester Rhinos), the new Louisville City Football Club tuned up with a friendly at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.

Though Louisville City FC lost 1-0 on the road last Wednesday, the USL club waited out a lengthy rain delay in doing so. Coach James O'Connor on Tuesday looked back at that friendly, plus previewed what's ahead with The Courier-Journal.

How'd you end up playing SIU-E?

"I got to know (coach) Mario (Sanchez, a former U of L assistant) very well, and I think it was important on many levels for us to go and have a game. There was a lot behind it that we've chatted about, so it was a good experience.

What did you take away from it?

A lot – some very good lessons. With the weather delay, most people would have left it. But Mario and myself have similar mindsets. We're going to have a weather delay during the season, so it was a test for the players. It was a free game where we were able to benefit from the experience and also build a mentality, attitude and character. I'm very thankful to Mario and their whole staff…We've come back and trained well. Now it's on to the Rochester game.

That was your first game without starting midfielder Guy Abend (who was injured on a tackle in the Richmond game). What's the latest on him?

We're still trying to figure out exactly. He will have an operation. It's looking like it could be – he has a meniscus tear. So, we just need to see how bad the tear is. Hopefully, the tear isn't too bad, and we have to make sure the ACL isn't damaged. He's going to be out for a number of weeks, which is obviously a blow. He's a big presence for us and was doing very well.

Who do you think will start in his place? Do you have anybody in mind?

That's something we're going to go through again. We'll work on a couple things and try to figure out (who will be the best fit) for Rochester. Each individual game, it's, what are their strengths? What can we get out of them? For us, this game is a great opportunity. They're obviously unbeaten. They went up to Montreal and won 3-nil, so they've started very well. It's a good game for us. We're looking forward to it.

What's Rochester's style, and how does yours compare to it?

They've got some great players – some pace to their team. One of their forwards is quick, and (Alex) Dixon is quick…They've signed a couple of new center backs as well. We'll do a presentation on them tomorrow with the players. We've already talked about what we need there and what their strengths are. Then we'll make sure they're fully aware.

You guys happy to be back home for a game?

It'll be great. We hope this rain goes away. But we're really excited. It'll be nice to be back at Slugger. We got fantastic support in the first game, and hopefully we get the same kind of support Thursday night.

I know this is kind of random, but with last week's release of the US Open Cup dates, it doesn't look like you all will be able to host. Would you have liked to?

Yeah, I mean, obviously you want to be at home. Without question, the less travel you can do, the better…In an ideal scenario, we would have liked to be at home, but it's something we don't have control over (with the Louisville Bats at home).