WHO:
New York Red Bulls II, 14-3-5, 47 points, 1st place Eastern Conference
WHAT:
Louisville City’s 25th USL game
WHEN:
Friday, August 19, 2016, 7:00 PM EDT
WHERE:
Red Bull Arena, 600 Cape May St, Harrison, NJ 07029
WATCH:
The club’s watch party is at Tony BoomBozz in St. Matthews. Against the Grain will be having their usual get-together with the live stream. You can also find the game at Saints, Great Flood, and probably other places if you ask nice enough. But if you can’t make it out because you’re under indictment from the Brazilian police, you can watch it on YouTube right here:
WHO, AGAIN?
Catch Taylor Hamblin’s game preview if you missed it yesterday. He, and most others, reached the fairly obvious conclusion that it’s gonna be a tall task to beat the New Jersey flugtag team tonight. They’ve probably been the best team all season, and City is on a bit of a slide. If City loses this game, it becomes highly unlikely that they win the league title. Finishing second even becomes problematic, as Cincinnati is truly right behind us. Stop that, Cincinnati.
New York is probably more talented. They’re huge. They’re fast. Louisville City is a mess right now. Our collective backs are against the wall. Will Team Purple rise to the occasion? I’m gonna hold on to hope, despite the overwhelming evidence that I shouldn’t. Something that should make us pause before spiraling into depression, though; New York’s lost twice at home this season, to Charlotte and Charleston. Despite Louisville not being located in the Carolinas or starting with the letter “C,” that’s not bad news. Those two teams are known for being very solid defensively and for being patient in attack. New York likes to play an open, attacking game. They can be gotten on the counter, but we’ve never seen Louisville City play that conservatively before. Perhaps it’s time to try.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
For New York, it’s mostly Junior Flemmings and Brandon Allen, although there are plenty of other guys that can score for them. Konrad Plewa is out, and whether Derrick Etienne plays for the big team or not will determine if he’s available for this game.
For Louisville, it’s questions that you’d think we’d know the answer to by this point in the season. Who starts? How are we going to react to a team as solid in the back as these guys? Why do the Red Bulls play in New Jersey when the branding clearly says New York? Where are all the Red Bulls fans? Is that Joe Vala holding a spear at midfield? So, so many questions. Let’s hope we get some good answers.
FEARLESS PREDICTIONS:
New York 2-1 Louisville City. I can’t decide if that’s an optimistic or pessimistic score line. It’s gonna take a smart game plan and excellent execution to beat this team, but we haven’t seen either one of those things from City for a few weeks now. Prove me wrong, Purple!
COME ON, CITY!
