Louisville City FC went back to winning ways defeating King’s Cup rival St. Louis FC 4-1 at Toyota Stadium Saturday night.
Newcomer Daniel Jackson gave St. Louis the lead in stoppage time of the first half. Christian Volesky’s red card turned the game on its head, and City capitalized, scoring all four of their goals with the man advantage.
City dominated the stat sheet holding the shot advantage 10-3, but failed to trouble St. Louis goalkeeper Adam Grinwis.
What should have been an even contest heading into the break, St. Louis bagged a goal deep into stoppage time, shifting momentum in their favor. Octavio Guzman played a through ball in between City defenders, and Jackson calmly finished past Dobrowolski.
City came out aggressive and had a fantastic opportunity in the 47th minute. Brian Ownby had a 1v1 with Grinwis. Grinwis made a leg save to keep the game at 1-0.
St. Louis went down to ten men when Christian Volesky high footed Sean Reynolds in the head on a 50/50 challenge in the 47th minute. The act was not intentional, but the referee had no choice but to issue marching orders to Volesky for being reckless.
City immediately took advantage of the extra man and equalized in the 52nd minute. Oscar Jimenez danced around a St. Louis defender and fired a left footed shot past Grinwis.
St. Louis was rattled, and with the momentum heavily in favor of City, Paco Craig gave City the lead in the 57th minute. The Englishman tapped home a low cross sent in by Jimenez.
City was able to play their possession game once Volesky was sent off. City broke down St. Louis, particularly from the wing, which led to the two goals and demoralized St. Louis.
Late substitution Luke Spencer added the insurance goal in the 81st minute. City forced a St. Louis turnover in their half. Richard Ballard flicked a ball to Spencer, who took his time and finished past Grinwis.
Ballard assisted his second in the 85th minute to put the game away. Ballard ran into the box then passed off to Cameron Lancaster, who scored City’s fourth with a left foot finish.
The stat sheet showed the impact of the extra man. City finished the contest with 26 shots, with 13 on goal.
The boys in purple return home next week to take on defending champions New York Red Bulls II. Kick off is set for 7:30 p.m.