Another below-the-line opponent, another draw. Louisville City played about an hour of good soccer in this game, but the other 30-45 minutes were very uncharacteristic, and the scoreline more or less was fair. That’s the problem.

City started the match out very sluggish and gave up a goal because of it. It took at least 30-35 minutes for City to find a foothold in this match, the first time I can recall saying that since one or two of the 2016 games against Red Bulls II. At no point in that opening period did Morados have any control over the match. Instead, to NC’s credit, they kept possession, the initiative, and the vast bulk of the scoring opportunities. Daniel Rios’s opening goal in the 11th minute probably could have been doubled, and Louisville City were pretty lucky it hadn’t been before they found third gear.

Morados woke up a bit when Ilija Ilic’s goal was called back in the 36th minute for offside. I don’t think it was the right call as I’m near certain the ball didn’t touch Brian Ownby before hitting the back of the net, but the assistant referee either saw different or ruled that Ownby interfered with the North Carolina defender marking him (which I don’t buy, either). All of the sudden, purple chances came thick and fast, and Paco Craig put away one of Oscar’s patented corners three minutes later. City recorded three more really good shots on goal after that, and credit to Carolina keeper Alex Tambakis for saving them all.

The second half was a continuation of momentum. City probably could have scored two or three up to about the 70′ mark, but Ilija opened his account in the 59′ with some really patient play in traffic around the penalty spot, bided his time with the ball, and slotted an easy right footed shot past Alex Tambakis and a slow Carolina defense to put City in the lead. Unfortunately, City ran out of gas not long after that. Francis had already come on for Ownby in the 57th minute, and the game really changed when Cam Lancaster entered for Ilija Ilic in the 71st minute. After that, City started trying to close up shop and absorb North Carolina pressure, similar to what they’d done the week before against Harrisburg.

It didn’t work last week to the tune of two goals, and it didn’t work this week, either. I’m not sure if trying to bunker is something the team came up with on their own to save their legs thanks to a very congested schedule, or if it’s something James O’Connor told them to do. Either way, the proof is in the pudding – it’s a bad tactic. Not bad in theory, just bad for this group of players.

Louisville City’s best defense is its offense, keeping the ball and putting the other team on the back foot. When City cedes possession and invites the opponent to “take its best shot,” the other team obliges and usually scores. Parking the bus is a time-proven tactic to prevent the other team from scoring, but it’s not easy. It actually requires more energy and effort than keeping the ball does. Less talented teams do it because it frustrates the talented team with the ball, but you know who almost definitely doesn’t score when they’re parking the bus? The team with the bus.

Morados are not conditioned to sit back and take shots, and the personnel on the roster isn’t particularly well-suited to it, either. I don’t mean they don’t have the required energy or effort. I mean playing nothing but defense the entire last 20 minutes or so is a waste of their skill and ability. I mean these guys are built to attack for 90 minutes, and doing something other than that is like trying to get a sprinter to run 10,000 meters. They can do it, but it’s not their best event, and they probably won’t win. While it would be a nice wrinkle if City could execute that sort of thing, it doesn’t look like they can, and I hope I don’t see it again anytime soon.

Some numbers and other observations:

• Ilija played another great game. He won four of seven duels, created a chance of his own, scored, should have scored two, and once City finally got into the game, was hell on wheels for the North Carolina back line. They had no answer for him.
• North Carolina had 609 passes and 29 crosses. I can’t remember the last time City let another team pass the ball like they let Carolina pass it.
• Another case in point, North Carolina had 19 shots. That’s waaaaaayyyyy too many, and goes to illustrate my point about possession being Morados’ best defense. City has to keep the ball, because if they don’t, they are way too vulnerable to giving up goals.
• To their credit, Morados had ten shots and six were on target. Silver linings, I guess.
• City had no answer for Tiyi Shipalane, who came on for NCFC in the 74th minute

Tired legs are part of the explanation for this result. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: City’s roster is too small to play two competitions at the same time. This Open Cup thing is fun, but the last three results, draws against teams City should beat, are going to come home to roost in the form of losing home playoff games. Yes, City is still leading the conference in points per game, but not by much, and it’s not like they’ll be getting less tired with two more games this week. I guess we just have to hope the guys are something approaching super human and can maintain some level of intensity for the league until they finally get a normal week to rest and recover.

Now let’s go beat the Riverhounds on Wednesday.