(St. Louis, MO, May 24, 2015)- In the first ever Kings Cup home match in Saint Louis FC history, the home side drew 3-3 with Louisville City FC. The match was a barn burner, a penalty kick, eight yellow cards, and a one hour rain delay.
With the draw, Saint Louis FC are 3-3-2 (11 pts.) and Louisville City FC are 4-1-4 (16 pts.).
Saint Louis FC Draw In Wild Kings Cup Match
The match opened up a bit wide open, with the teams trading chances. Then in the 20th minute, forward Jermie Lynch made a run to pressure Louisville City keeper Scott Goodwin. Goodwin spilled the ball inside his own six yard box, and Lynch tapped it home to open the scoring.
Nine minutes later, Saint Louis FC would have a mix up at the back of their own. A backwards pass came between defender Richard Dixon and keeper Alec Kann. Dixon lost his mark, and the ball found forward Matt Fondy, who finished the chance.
The half ended 1-1, with the teams playing evenly. Louisville City had a bit more of the ball and the chances. The second half began with rain and small bursts of lighting in the background.
In the 61st minute, a long cross was cleared out of the box straight to forward Mike Ambersley. The St. Louis native took a touch and struck from the top of the box perfectly to the far corner of the goal to take the lead back, 2-1.
In the 63rd minute, the referee decided to stop play due to rain and lightning in the area. Players went to the locker room and fans hid from the rain for nearly an hour before the storm cleared up and the referee game gave the all clear to resume play.
The break seemed to benefit Louisville City who had lost the momentum in the second half. The visitors came out aggressive, creating several chances and winning restarts. In the 75th minute, a cross from a corner was deflected several times in the box. A miscommunication and a deflection later, and Fondy had his second of the game.
With the rain persisting, Ambersley made a run into the box all alone, and was tripped by Goodwin. The referee awarded a penalty and gave the keeper a yellow card caution. Bryan Gaul converted the penalty. The keeper dove to the wrong side, as Gaul found the corner of the net. It was 3-2 Saint Louis in the 77th minute.
Again Louisville City responded with a sense of urgency and just five minutes later, tied the match again. Nate Polak scored off a set piece outside the box in the 83rd minute.
The end of the match became very chippy, and heated to a boil beginning in the 70th minute as five yellow card were handed out in a ten minute span. A scuffle began as Captain James Musa and midfielder Juan Guzman became tangled up. A foul occurred and Guzman appeared to kick out at Musa. Musa shoved Guzman and he fell to the ground. Guzman got up to the ground and a crowd of players and officials gathered as a scrum ensued. Musa was given a yellow card as a result in the 90th minute.
The match ended 3-3. While disappointed in the result and a bit wet, Saint Louis FC have a U.S. Open Cup match with Minnesota United FC to look forward to on Wednesday at 7:00 PM CST. To add more heat to the Kings Cup rivalry, the Chupacabras then travel to Kentucky to take on Louisville City FC on Saturday, May 30 at 7:00 PM CST.
