Louisville City FC extended their unbeaten run to four games but were left ruing missed opportunities in a frustrating 2-2 home draw against Rio Grande Valley FC on Saturday night.

(Match Highlights Provided by LouCity)

The boys in purple twice took the lead through quality goals from Dylan Mares and Elijah Wynder. But defensive lapses allowed RGV to equalize on a pair of second-half set pieces. 

“Nowhere near good enough on the night — not even close,” said a frustrated LouCity coach Danny Cruz. “Too many guys were not switched on.”

This is my issue with this team. It seems like it takes a lot of effort to get the best out of the players on this team. In so many games this year, something has let us down. It was the attack for so long but that was held up by good defense. Now, the offense is doing better (when the starters are in) and the back line is an issue. This is one of the most inconsistent teams I have followed. 

Mares opened the scoring in the 42nd minute, bending in a shot from the right side after a strong run and pass by Manny Perez. But RGV leveled just eight minutes into the second half when Juan Cabezas headed in a corner.

The seesaw continued with Wynder hammering in the rebound after Amadou Dia struck the post. Yet more poor set-piece defending allowed Juan Galindrez to tap in another RGV corner to make it 2-2 in the 80th minute.

Cruz made it clear those errors will be a focus in training after similar lapses cost LouCity in a recent loss to Birmingham. Strong starts have been a trademark this season, with City notching its 17th shutout first half Saturday.

But maintaining concentration and organization for 90 minutes continues to plague the playoff (and championship) hopefuls.

“It does feel like a defeat, even though we tied,” said Perez. “That’s just the culture here. You always want to win.”

The draw halted LouCity’s momentum as they sought to climb the Eastern Conference standings. With ground to make up in the playoff race, dropping points against teams below them is especially costly. 

The road ahead will be channeling the frustration productively as LouCity looks to shore up lingering weaknesses while keeping its four-game unbeaten run intact. 

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