May 5, 2023 – MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro) – Huntsville City Football Club News Release
Columbus,Ohio -â¯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. â¯
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. â¯â¯â¯
Box Score:â¯â¯â¯â¯â¯â¯â¯
Huntsville City FC (0W-4L-2D, 2SOW, 4 pts.) vs. Columbus Crew 2 (4W-1L-1D, 1SOW, 14 pts.)â¯â¯â¯â¯â¯
Historic Crew Stadium | Columbus, Ohio
Final Scoreâ¯â¯â¯â¯â¯
COL2: 1
HCFC: 0
Scoring Summaryâ¯â¯â¯â¯â¯â¯â¯
COL: Marco Micaletto (A: Charles Thomas Roberts) 19′
Disciplineâ¯â¯â¯â¯â¯â¯
COL: Coleman Gannon (caution) 45+3′
HCFC: Josh Drack (caution) 51′
COL: Xavier Zengue (caution) 58′
COL: Stanislav Lapkas (caution) 90′