Louisville City FC falls to rival FC Cincinnati in extra time in U.S. Open Cup

Louisville City FC lost on the road at rival FC Cincinnati on Wednesday night in the U.S. Open Cup fourth round, 2-1.

"It's a tough way to lose an Open Cup game, especially against Cincinnati," said LouCity head coach John Hackworth. "I thought for good stretches we played some really good soccer.

"I thought we showed our quality, that we created some good moments for ourselves. I thought it was going to be a battle the whole time, (but) I didn't think that we would lose this game on the plays that we lost it on."

LouCity put pressure on early, taking five shots to FCC's three. They struggled to place the ball where they wanted though, with only one shot being on goal. Hackworth noted that his team having a height disadvantage played a role in the match, but mentioned that better ball control would have solved that problem.

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"I think the ball dictates a lot of what the game really does, and I think we needed to do a better job with the ball so we can't let something like height effect the outcome of this game."

FCC scored first as forward Fernendo Adi put it home after stealing the ball from LouCity defender Paco Craig in the 23rd minute. 

"They have some big bodies there," LouCity forward Luke Spencer said. "Forrest Lasso and Nick Hagglund are big guys, they're good in the air."

Louisville City got a momentum swingnine minutes later when Magnus Rasmussen's pass found Lucky Mkosana, who scored to equalize the game.

FCC cranked up their aggression in the second half, but Louisville's defense kept them in the game. LouCity midfielder Niall McCabe blocked a shot from FCC defender Mathieu Deplagne, and LouCity defender Alexis Souahy had a huge clearance in the 90th minute to keep the game tied up. 

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After a couple of close calls, the second half ended with the game still tied at 1-1.

The two teams played for an 30 additional minutes and Kekuta Manneh scored 13 minutes into extra time , putting FC Cincinnati up, 2-1. FCC would hold on to the lead for the remainder of extra time to take the win and move on.

Hackworth was asked after the game if the performance proved LouCity was among the best teams in the country.

"Honestly no. I said it all along, we are as good as anyone in this country, but you don't prove that when you lose," Hackworth said. "We play good soccer every time we play an opponent, so anyone that watches us knows what we are. But we needed to win today to prove that." 

LouCity's stays on the road, taking on New York Red Bulls II on June 16.