Match preview: Bethlehem Steel FC vs Louisville City

Match: Bethlehem Steel FC v Louisville City

Date: Saturday, August 27th

Time: 7:30pm EST

Referees: REF: Tony Crush AR1: Cory Richardson AR2: Benjamin Hall-Volpenhein 4TH: Reiss Baxter

Venue: Louisville Slugger Field, Louisville, KY

Stream:

All-Time Record: 0-0-1 (teams drew 0-0 on May 1st)

Bethlehem continue their road trip with a trip to Louisville to face Eastern Conference powerhouse Louisville City. Lou City have a hyper charged attack (hooray) and will look to exploit some of the recent poor form that Steel FC’s defense has had.

What Bethlehem will look like:
Hopefully everything that they were against FC Montreal without the horrific defensive lapses. Two games in a very short time frame will see Steel FC probably play the usual core of USL mainstays tomorrow night and then get some youth in the side for a quick turnaround fixture against Harrisburg. Eric Ayuk and Ryan Richter tortured the Montreal defense for a large chunk of the game. Leo Fernandes had his best performance this year at either level, creating a good bit of offense and making the right decision on his passes 90% of the time. Josh Heard was dynamic (albeit offside a good bit) on the wing and Cory Burke has won himself a Jamaican National Team call up for his recent run of form. Defensively I really hope Bethlehem goes for Trusty and Bibbs in the middle, or even loans recently snakebitten Ken Tribbett so he can get a solid performance under his belt.

What Lou City will look like:
Deep breath I am afraid of Jon Chandler Hoffman. The former Philadelphia Union first round SuperDraft pick buried 14 goals this year, which is good enough for second in all of USL. His supporting cast of Kyle Smith and Paolo DelPiccolo are lethal. Hoffman’s even said he’s “knocking on the door” for more goals. He’s getting kind of greedy, but at this point his aforementioned “door” could be a revolving one if he gets going against BSFC. Lou City have been lighting the East on fire lately. Hoffman runs the show and although he was held scoreless in a largely uneventful 0-0 draw the last time out, the downhill game Lou City like to play could prove to be a fruitful endeavor for them.

What to expect:
J. Chandler Hoffman vs The World. If Steel FC can break him down they have a lot better of a chance of winning. For Bethlehem, getting Cory Burke fed early and often will be a key, as I think he has another goal or two in him before he’s off for Jamaica on the 30th. I’ll go against my usual and say Steel FC get dropped again on the road by a final of 3-1.