Photo courtesy of Louisville City FC
LOUISVILLE – Louisville City FC’s Guy Abend headed home a first-half goal to lead the host side to a 1-0 victory against Bethlehem Steel FC on Saturday in front of a crowd of 6,788 at Slugger Field. Abend’s 15th-minute header off of an Aodhan Quinn free kick was a big boost for Louisville, which had posted only one win in its previous six matches. Louisville is now 14-4-8 (50 points) overall and 5-2-6 at home. Bethlehem lost its fifth consecutive road match, moving to 6-11-8 (26 points) overall and 2-7-4 on the road. Louisville and Bethlehem played to a scoreless draw on May 1 in their first meeting this season.
Scoring:
15’ – LOU – Guy Abend (Aodhan Quinn)
Three Things That Mattered:
1. Guy Abend sacrificed his body with his score, so much so that it was his final effort of a shortened evening. With Ben Newnam serving a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation, Louisville’s set piece options primarily went to Aodhan Quinn, who drove in a precision left-footed kick from the left side. Abend rose for the header and drove it into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. However, in doing so, Abend collided with Bethlehem’s Derrick Jones. Both players were slow to get up. When they did, Abend had a massive welt over his right eye, and ultimately in the 19th minute was officially subbed out as Paolo DelPiccolo was called upon to replace him.
2. With the win, Louisville moves to within three points of the New York Red Bulls II, who face third-place FC Cincinnati on Sunday. It was an important three points for Louisville to try and also create separate from Cincinnati. City FC also earned its first shutout since a 2-0 victory on July 4 against FC Montreal.
3. Bethlehem, even with its struggles, had not been shut out in quite some time. This was the first time the Steel were held scoreless since a 1-0 loss to the Harrisburg City Islanders on July 21. Already sitting on the outside of the postseason picture, expansion Bethlehem is certainly going to need an impressive five-game stretch to try and stay in the picture.
USLSoccer.com Man of the Match:
Guy Abend, Louisville City FC – Though his night was limited to only 15 minutes, he did the damage necessary to help Louisville earn a much-needed victory.
Upcoming Games:
Louisville City FC at FC Montreal – Sept. 3, 3 p.m. ET, Complexe Sportif Claude-Robillard
Bethlehem Steel FC at Harrisburg City Islanders – Aug. 30, 7 p.m. ET, FNB Field
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