Not a bad game against a not very good team. An own goal from Abdou Thiam made this match a little less comfortable than anyone would like. Given how this season has progressed, no one should really be complaining about a win and three points so I won’t. Plus, we got to see Luke and Cuatro back on the field, which was nice.
MAG RAM’s goal was nice in that it was refreshing to see the opposition get punished for a bad mistake for a change. It was probably one of the easiest goals Lou City might score all season except Mkosana’s in the second half might have been even more inevitable. Thiam’s decision after taking advantage of a misplayed ball that deflected off of Todd Pratzner was a smart one, and all Lucky really had to do was touch it. We’ve seen him crumble in 1v1 vs. the keeper situations before, but he’s two for two in the last two games so I like to think he’s past that now.
Ben Lundt played pretty well in goal all game, but he’s going to shoulder some blame for the own goal in the 71′. The Berliner blocked Joshua Morton’s point-blank header, but his inability to catch or keep the ball after that put the City’s defenders (which included Thiam, for some reason) in a panic. Thiam’s attempted clearance went in, and that made us a bit nervous until the final whistle.
The truth, though, is that Memphis never really threatened to score on their own and City had this game well in hand once Magnus’s opener went in. Morados had over 60% of the possession in the game, though they ceded some in the second half. City took 22 shots to Memphis’s nine, and 901 only put one on target themselves the entire game, the aforementioned Morton header. City wasn’t particularly accurate as they only managed three on frame themselves, but it wasn’t for lack of some good shooting opportunities. Morados didn’t really bring their shooting boots as most of those open looks ended up being shanked wide or put over the crossbar. Again, it didn’t really matter in this match, but in the future that kind of inaccuracy could be punished.
City lined up the same way they have the previous two games, with the same personnel. Opta likes to call the setup a 4-1-4-1, but I still see it as more of a 4-3-3 with Niall and Lucky tucking in to make space for Oscar and Franno’s vertical runs up the touchline. Sean Totsch gets more and more comfortable in his hybrid centerback/central defensive midfielder all the time, and Thiam looked quite good playing as a lone striker, in my view.
Louisville City passed the ball pretty well in this game despite not having a great hold on the midfield, going 77% overall and 64% in Memphis’s half. While Louisville City might not be very strong in possession in the middle of the field, Memphis is somehow worse, which helped.
Individually, I thought Paco Craig and Taylor Peay played exceptionally well in defense. Jochem Graf, 901’s mostly lone striker, was seemingly on an island for a good chunk of the game so the central defenders did not have a lot to do. Nonetheless, Peay had four tackles, five clearances, and three interceptions, plus a chance created off a corner – very good numbers. He also went 8 of 10 in 1v1s. Paco did even better there, going 8 for 9 and won all six of his aerials.
Franno and Oscar both had solid games, too. Oscar created six scoring chances, though somehow none of them resulted in goals, while Fight Club had two of his own. Franno also won six of ten duels and had two tackles.
Totsch was obviously busy defensively, with three tackles, four clearances and two interceptions. The Chicagoan also won seven of eleven duels and otherwise did a great job playing wrecking ball in Memphis’s midfield. MAG RAM played fine if slightly below his usual standard, but his decision-making was very good and I liked his attacking ideas, something that doesn’t really show up on a stat sheet. The goal does, of course
Speedy might be my MOTM for this game, and he’d have been yours, too, if he could find his shooting boots. Williams completed 88% of his passes, and over 93% in Memphis’s half, and created two scoring chances. He was fabulous in midfield, and is starting to combine pretty well with Rasmussen to the point that they could really start tearing opposing defenses apart.
Niall played fabulous, passing for 78% and 65.5% in Memphis’s half. He wasn’t very good in 1v1s, but still managed to keep 901 honest with five shots in the game. Lucky scored the second goal and created a chance of his own. Thiam was effective as a center forward, though he didn’t create much offense or shots for himself. Nonetheless, he played a perfect ball to Mkosana for the game winner, and that’s what counts.
I was glad to see Alexis make and appearance in the game, and he played flawless in his opportunity. Luke and George were fine, if a little rusty, and need to get some game minutes in their legs. That said, they’ve proven their worth to LouCity over and over, and I’m sure will be back to their usual selves very soon.
Overall, it was a good win, even if a little plodding. We’ll take it.
