All square between Knoxville and Naples
Fairly drab affair, no change in the table
One Knoxville SC and FC Naples played out a 0-0 tie on Wednesday night at Covenant Health Park. Starting proceedings in 3rd and 4th respectively, they ended the day unchanged as Madison’s 3-0 win over Texoma had no bearing on them.
Just over 1,500 fans were in attendance on a beautiful midweek night in Knoxville to witness what would be a fairly low-key affair between two sides that don’t score nor concede a huge amount of goals. The previous meeting between them was a 1-0 win for Knoxville, through a penalty. So, it was probably predictable that a 0-0 tie might be on offer.
There were chances though, and the goalframe was struck twice. In the first half Max Glasser and Jake Dengler went close for Naples. Karsen Henderlong hit the post on 23 minutes from a free-kick outside the box. Meanwhile the home side’s prodding at goal by Babacar Diene, Jordan Skelton, and Mikkel Gøling came to nothing.
Things proceeded in a similar fashion in the second 45. Diene, Jaheim Brown, and Kimarni Smith had opportunities to win it for the home side, while Dengler and Marc Torrellas came near to claiming victory for Naples. The men from Florida came agonizingly close again on 83 minutes when substitute Kevin O'Connor somewhat repeated Henderlong’s trick, hitting the bar this time, off of another direct free kick.
The result sees both Knoxville and Naples stay in 3rd and 4th respectively. Knoxville are now three points off second-place Spokane, who visit Covenant Health Park this Saturday, Spokane has a game-in-hand, so three points that evening will be a must for Knoxville. Naples, meanwhile, remain just one point off Knoxville, but have played a game more. They return home to face bottom-of-the-table Westchester this Saturday. The very likely outcome of a win for Naples that evening puts additional pressure on Knoxville to claim victory that night too.
Box score
One Knoxville SC - FC Naples
USL League One
Venue: Covenant Health Park | Knoxville, TN
Attendance: 1,547
Final Score: Knoxville 0-0 Naples
Referee: John Matto
Discipline:
30’: J. Brown (KNX) - yellow
54’: A. Caputo (KNX) - yellow
57’: J. Cisneros (NPL) - yellow
80’: S. Zarokóstas (KNX) - yellow
87’: B. Evans (NPL) - yellow
90’: J. Thomas (KNX) - yellow
Man of the Match: Jake Dengler (NPL) - played the full 90 minutes making 14 defensive contributions and contributing two goal attempts.
Line-ups:
One Knoxville SC (4-2-3-1): Sean Lewis; Stuart Ritchie, Sivert Haugli, Jordan Skelton (C), Jaheim Brown (James Thomas 56’); Abel Caputo (Callum Johnson ‘76), Angelo Kelly-Rosales; Nicola Rosamilia (Stávros Zarokóstas ‘65), Mikkel Gøling (Kempes Tekiela ‘76), Kimarni Smith (Gio Calixtro ‘65); Babacar Diene
Substitutes not used: Johan Garibay, Dani Fernández
Head Coach: Ian Fuller
FC Naples (4-1-4-1): Lalo Delgado (C); Julian Cisneros, Brecc Evans, Jake Dengler, Max Glasser; Chris Heckenberg; Ian Cerro (Ian Garrett ‘65), Marc Torrellas, Luka Prpa (Kevin O'Connor ‘65), Andrés Ferrín (Dominick Bachstein ‘88); Karsen Henderlong
Substitutes not used: Joel Serrano, Tomas Ritondale, Rodolfo Sulia, Tyler Pasnik
Head Coach: Matt Poland
Next Games
• August 30th, 17:00 (ET): One Knoxville SC v Spokane Velocity FC, Covenant Health Park, Knoxville, TN (USL League One)
• August 30th, 19:00 (ET): FC Naples v Westchester SC, Paradise Coast Sports Complex, Naples, FL (USL League One)