Columbus,Ohio(May 5, 2023) – Huntsville City Football Club fell 1-0 to reigning MLS NEXT Pro Champion Columbus Crew 2 on Friday night at Historic Crew Stadium. Huntsville City FC outshot the hosts 20-7 and had six more shots on goal but could not find the back of the net.
Huntsville created several opportunities early in the match, including a shot from Ollie Wright from well beyond 35 yards that was saved by the Columbus keeper. Huntsville also saw Shaun Joash’s effort beat the keeper in the 17th minute, but the goal was ruled offsides.
The home side found a breakthrough just before the 20-minute mark when Charles Thomas Roberts found captain Marco Micaletto, who sneaked the ball past Ben Martino for the opener.
Huntsville still had several chances. Jony Bolaños had two of his efforts saved, while Ollie Wright had one of his efforts saved just before the end of the first half.
Just past the hour mark, Huntsville brought on the team leaders in goals, Kemy Amiche and Azaad Liadi, for some attacking reinforcements. Liadi thought he had scored in his return after a four-match absence, but he was ruled offsides. The hosts held off Huntsville’s last push to secure the win.
Along with outshooting the hosts, Huntsville displayed its passing effectiveness tonight. The team had a higher passing accuracy and a higher accuracy in the final third versus the hosts.
After the match Head Coach Jack Collison addressed the team’s performance on the night and spoke about the effort the guys put in, finishing off chances, and the return of Liadi.
Huntsville City FC will return to action at 7 p.m. CT on Friday, May 12 against Chicago Fire 2 in the final it’s seven road trips to start the season. Fans will be to catch the action at the official watch party at Straight to Ale or on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.
Box Score:
Huntsville City FC (0W-4L-2D, 2SOW, 4 pts.) vs. Columbus Crew 2 (4W-1L-1D, 1SOW, 14 pts.)
Historic Crew Stadium | Columbus, Ohio
Final Score
COL2: 1
HCFC: 0
Scoring Summary
COL: Marco Micaletto (A: Charles Thomas Roberts) 19’
Discipline
COL: Coleman Gannon (caution) 45+3’
HCFC: Josh Drack (caution) 51’
COL: Xavier Zengue (caution) 58’
COL: Stanislav Lapkas (caution) 90’
Lineups:
HCFC Starters: Ben Martino, Cyrus Rad, Sean Suber, Chris N’sa(Joey Skinner 85’), Josh Drack (Perrin Barnes 85’), Isaiah Johnston(Kemy Amiche 64’), Nick Law (C), Joey DeZart, Ollie Wright(Tyler Freeman 70’), Shaun Joash (Azaad Liadi 64’), Jony Bolaños
Substitutes: John Berner, Jacob Grekowicz, Ahmed Longmire, Alejandro Carillo, Perrin Barnes
COL2Starters: Stanislav Lapkas, Xavier Zengue, Clay Holstad, Jordan Knight (Stuart Ritchie 78’), Noah Fuson, Giorgio De Libera, Charles Thomas Roberts, Cole Mrowka (Zion Scarlett 88’), Marco Micaletto (C) (Aidan Wolf 78’), Coleman Gannon (Mataeo Bunbury62’), Brett Adu-Gyamfi (Ariel Mbumba 46’)
Substitutes: Stephen Yerian, Ty Nero, Zion Scarlett
