First things first, apologies for the missed preview, been a busy week.
Sunday, Huntsville City FC traveled to northern Kentucky to take on FC Cincinnati 2. The scores remained level at 0-0 for much of the game, with neither team proving clinical enough to capitalize on their chances.
Then, in the 86th minute, Cincinnati’s Stefan Chirila got past Tyshawn Rose as the latter lost his footing, and slotted home what would be the winner for the hosts. The loss sees Huntsville drop back to 7th in the East, though with games in hand on most of the clubs ahead of them.
Lineup
Erik Lauta started in goal, behind a back four featuring Blake Bowen, Gabi Alonso, Wyatt Meyer and Chris Applewhite. The midfield was a pairing of Pep Casas and Philip Mayaka.
These six players joined a front four featuring Alan Carleton, Gunnar Studenhofft, Ethan O’Brien and Damien Barker John. Off the bench, Tyshawn Rose, Jordan Knight, Christian Koffi and Alioune Ka were also introduced.
The Numbers
Huntsville City FC
Shots: 12
Shots on goal: 2
Possession: 66%
Corners: 3
Yellow Cards: 4 (Blake Bowen, Jordan Knight, Pep Casas, Gunnar Studenhofft)
FC Cincinnati 2
Shots: 14
Shots on goal: 4
Possession: 34%
Corners: 2
Yellow Cards: 4 (Tega Ikoba, Stiven Jimenez, Amir Daley, Benjamin Manfroy)
Analysis
Bad, bad loss to take, especially so close to the end. Both teams were sluggish, and ineffective in the final third throughout, but one, literal, slip and all three points stayed in Kentucky.
Huntsville has been really inconsistent of late, and it’s a trend that needs to be rectified somehow if they have designs on a top four finish. Next up is a Friday night bout with Columbus Crew 2, as the Capybaras make the trip to Alabama.
We’ll have a preview for that one Friday morning, see you then!