Louisville City FC coach James O’Connor admitted that when it came to Greg Ranjitsingh’s return to the starting lineup Wednesday night, “I didn’t think he had too much to do.”
Consider it a mostly successful 90 minutes between the posts for the goalkeeper, who made his first appearance since the March 25 USL opener. LouCity went on to fall 1-0 to to FC Cincinnati in Ranjitsingh’s latest spell on the pitch, but he was credited with four saves and punched out two more chances in the Third Round U.S. Open Cup game at Nippert Stadium.
“I thought he made an important save for us in the first half, so I was pleased for him,” O’Connor said.
Ranjitsingh, who has also been called up at the International level for Trinidad and Tobago, tipped a 79th minute header by Cincinnati’s Dani Konig safely over the bar as well.
And so with Ranjitsingh back from a hip flexor injury, consider the battle for playing time on with Tim Dobrowolski, who racked up a pair of USL Save of the Week honors during his time as the starter.
Here’s more of what we took away from Wednesday’s game…
• LouCity found itself in a familiar position: taking quality shots, but not getting the desired result — a goal. On a night the club controlled 53 percent of the possession, LouCity couldn’t capitalize on opportunities. Six shots were attempted — half of them on goal — but now LouCity has tallied eight goals this season in nine games against professional opponents.
• It was a highly physical game. Forward Luke Spencer took an early exit, subbed off before the 20th minute, after going down on a tackle. Defender Tarek Morad also received attention from the trainer, though he stayed on. The clubs tallied 22 total fouls, with 15 of them on FC Cincinnati.
• LouCity didn’t move on to a meeting with Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew later in the Open Cup. But the weeks ahead remain busy nonetheless. After Saturday’s game at USL Eastern Conference-leading Charleston, fixtures are set for Wednesday (Charlotte at home), the following Sunday (New York away) and the Saturday after that (Pittsburgh at home).