Back home for a trio of games over the next eight days. First up is Penn FC, who have been on something of hot streak, winning three of their last four (and the fourth was an away draw at Louisville, itself an impressive result). No gimme here--this will be a test of Indy's recent return to form.
Thoroughly disjointed first half. Indy had a lot of possession, but little to no idea what to do with it.
The roof is open, which makes the evening uncomfortably warm for both players and fans. On the plus side, the Brickyard Battalion is always louder when the north window is open
Indy was able to see out the draw, which is good (or at least better than the alternative). But the game was largely dissatisfying. Indy's attackers played like they'd never shared a field before, and the refereeing was terrible (Penn players flopped like fish on a boat deck). This was always going to be a tough week, so I suppose a point without Saad isn't too bad. But Penn really wasn't very good; a win should have been possible.
Indy Eleven defender Karl Ouimette, a former Red Bull, has been suspended for one game after being sent off for receiving two yellow cards in a 1-1 draw with Penn FC last Saturday. Ouimette will be unavailable for Indy’s match against Ottawa Fury FC Wednesday night.
Indy lost to Ottawa last night, 1-0, in the Furries' only visit to Indy this season (and quite probably their last ever, as the new Canadian league is due to start play next year). A frustrating loss and a return to a toothless attack.
This stretch of three home games in eight days was always going to be tough. But after a draw with Penn and a loss to the Furries, it's down to this game for Indy to salvage something. Tonight's opponent, Charlotte, arguably poses the sternest test of the three. But Charlotte has been a curious team in the last couple of months. After winning five straight, Charlotte went cold, drawing four and then being blown out by Bethlehem in its last match. Are they due to return to form, or is this their true form? One plus for Indy: Pasher is back, having come on as a sub against Ottawa on Wednesday. He's still working his way back into playing shapes nd he probably won't start (and almost certainly won't play 90). But his return should give the club a boost.
No rest for the weary, as Indy, having seen off Charlotte in some style on Saturday, now faces its fourth game in 11 days, traveling to Charleston to start a long road trip. Both Braun and Venegas went off with hamstrings on Saturday, so the squad is going to be a bit thin, and those who are healthy are going to be tired going into a hot, muggy night in South Carolina. The middle of the table is fairly densely packed with ten teams ranging from 21 points (Ottawa) to 29 points (Louisville). Indy, at 28, is near the top of that range, and three points here would go a long way toward consolidating their position there. Even a draw would be helpful. A loss to Charleston (26 points), though, would throw Indy right back into the middle of the scrum. Indy has a 10-day break after this game, so they can afford to leave everything on the pitch. It's just a matter, after this tough stretch, of how much they have left to leave.
Indy returns to action teetering on the edge of the playoff places, in eighth place, but with fewer games played than their nearest rivals. One of those rivals, two points behind Indy in the table, is NCFC (they'll always be Railhawks to me), who comes to LOS tonight to begin Indy's run of Wednesday night home games. The game will be the first on LOS's new turf, which unfortunately will have gridiron lines for the Colts in place. Indy has added two players on loan from Chicago: forward Elliot Collier and attacking midfielder Diego Campos. Both had good college careers but have made little impact since joining Chicago via the 2018 draft. Neither is likely to be available tonight, but they should provide important depth in this compressed run of games over the next three weeks. No word on Pasher or Ayoze, as far as I can tell. Indy is sure to feel their absence.
Big, big win by Indy, with Guerra scoring the winner in the 90th minute. The goal rescued the Eleven after Indy blew a two-goal lead, including a lapse in concentration hat led to an NCFC goal in first-half stoppage time. Indy moved up to fifth place with the win, but it's a tight race for the playoff spots: Indy is only one point ahead of ninth-place Nashville.
Indy's compressed run of seven matches in 22 days continues today against Ottawa (I had thought the game was this evening, but no, it's at 2 pm). The Furries are only one point behind Indy; a loss here could well see the Eleven fall out of the playoff places. Ayoze is back, but Pasher evidently is not.
Saturday's scoreless draw against the Furries wasn't a disaster--it maintained Indy's position in sixth place, a point ahead of the Furries. But it didn't really help, either, as it left Indy just a pointaway from dropping out of the playoff spots. If nothing else, the draw underscores the importance of beating both Toronto and Atlanta this week--these are the two weakest teams in the East, and Indy can't afford to drop any points if it wants to maintain its playoff position. Toronto has won two of its last four, the most success it's had all season. Both of those wins were at home, though--Toronto has yet to earn a point on the road--and one of those games was against fellow bottom-feeder Richmond. Indy won at Toronto in mid-June, and a repeat of that performance is essential. It's unclear whether Dylan Mares will play against Toronto. Mares hasn't played a competitive match since August 5, when he scored as Miami FC 2 won the NPSL national championship. That's not too long a break. But Mares will have had virtually no time to practice with his new teammates or to acclimate himself to Coach Rennie's system. It's a home game, though, and Mares is a talismanic figure for Indy Eleven; I'm sure he'll see the pitch at some point during the match.
It's hard in a sense to think of this as a must-win, with ten games remaining to be played after tonight. But in another sense it really is. Toronto is dreadful. It has a -28 goal differential. It has yet to secure a single point on the road this year (having played 11 road games). There's no easier path to three points on the schedule. And Indy needs all the points it can get.
Well, that was a lot harder than it should have been. But Indy got the win it needed, and in dramatic fashion, with Dylan Mares scoring the winning goal on his return. Having Mares back makes the team feel like Indy Eleven again to me.
i turned it off once we were up 2-0. saw it was tied 2-2 when we went to bed. saw 3-2 final this morning on twitter, but i didn't see mares scored the winner. good deal. you're right though. it shouldn't have ever been in doubt.
Tonight marks the midpoint of Indy's brutal stretch of seven games in 22 days. The host, Atlanta FC2, actually has a semi-respectable home record for a team lying 15th in the Eastern Conference. That said, Atlanta is winless in its last six; the two draws were with teams (Richmond and Ottawa) below Indy in the table; and Atlanta's last home game was a 5-1 drubbing at the hands (or feet) of FC Cincinnati. This is a winnable game, and I would have thought it a relatively straightforward game until Indy struggled Wednesday at home against bottom-dwelling Toronto. Ben Speas was signed during the 2016-17 offseason to replace Dylan Mares, so it was in a sense surprising to see them on the field together. Yet the lineup clearly helped to spur the offense, with both Speas and Mares scoring in the 3-2 win. That offense may have come at the expense of a bit of defensive solidity, though, and it will be interesting to see what Coach Rennie does this evening. Speas did not play in last weekend's goalless draw against Toronto, so he ought to be able to handle another match if Rennie decides to go that way. And Mares of course is coming off a two-week break following Miami FC 2's championship win. Longtime Indy fans will hope to see Mares and Brad Ring on the pitch together.
This team is absolutely infuriating. Atlanta levels in the sixth minute of added time? You’ve got to be kidding.
i only saw the result, but 4 points out of two "probably must win" games isn't as bad as it could have been.
What a bizarre game. Indy once again surrendered a stoppage time goal, this one in the waning seconds of the first half to bring Pittsburgh level. Although that left a full half to play, there's no question that it took some wind out of Indy's sails and set a tone for the second half, during which Pittsburgh took the lead. But then a Pittsburgh defender was sent off for a studs-up tackle, and somehow, in the final seconds of the game, JMac scored to rescue a point for Indy. If Saturday's draw felt in a sense like a loss, this one feels in a sense like a win. But it's still marred by the surrender of another stoppage time goal. Indy needs to do a better job of maintaining focus until the whistle blows. Two more games to go in this grueling stretch of seven games in 22 days. Saturday's game will be Indy's first weekend home game in eight weeks. Richmond (like Toronto and Atlanta) is a terrible team, but it did beat Indy in Richmond earlier in the season, and Indy showed against Atlanta that it continues to be perfectly capable of surrendering points to an inferior opponent. Especially after draws in the last two matches, this feels like a must-win.