Lights FC finish shorthanded again in another road loss

Las Vegas Lights FC dropped another road result last night vs. Fresno FC.

For the third time this season, Las Vegas Lights FC finished with less than 11 players on the pitch in an away match. Also, they were defeated for the 8th time on the road this season, losing 2-1 at Fresno FC. Jaime Chavez scored a brace for the hosts while Pablo Cruz tallied in the second half for Las Vegas.

Key Stats

🔑 One red card. This is an obvious one, but when you already struggle on the road, putting yourself down a player nearly secures your fate. The club needs to play physical but with more awareness and control to avoid these situations. Jonathan Levin’s tackle was absolutely red card-worthy.

🔑 29% possession. Las Vegas did not see much of the ball in this one, hoping to defend well and steal a goal on the counter or a set piece. Once Jonathan Levin went out, they were chasing the game the rest of the night.

🔑 22% shot accuracy for Fresno. While Las Vegas went 4/4 with shots going on target, the Foxes were 4/18. A big part of that was simply inaccurate shooting, but the Lights also did their part to limit their efforts going on frame. If they had registered more shots on goal, this one could have been out of hand early.

Three Brightest Lights

💡💡💡 Pablo Cruz: He scored the lone goal for Las Vegas Lights FC, his first of the season.

💡💡 Gabe Robinson: The central defender had a great chance in the first half that was saved by CJ Cochran. He tallied five clearances, two tackles, and one interception.

💡 Christian Torres: His cross led to Robinson’s first-half headed chance and had two tackles and two clearances.

Quick Kicks

⚽ With a devastating leg injury to Arun Basuljevic and a couple of other minor knocks, there were 11 minutes of stoppage time given in the first half. That’s noteworthy because A. I think that was a record for the most amount of time I’ve ever seen and B. that’s when Levin’s red card took place. Also during that time, Jesus Gonzalez made a slide tackle and lifted up an entire chunk of the grass covering the baseball infield.

⚽ Edwin Rivas was playing much deeper in the formation than we have seen him play before. Typically a forward, he was playing as a left-back vs. Fresno and did not look overly comfortable during his 45-minute shift.

⚽ Fresno’s goalscorer Chavez played for Eric Wynalda for multiple clubs before. His first goal will absolutely be up for Goal of the Week and he seemed to purposefully run past the Las Vegas bench and turn his back towards his former manager.

Okay, What’s Next?

📅 A primetime match for Las Vegas Lights FC. They will face off against Sacramento Republic FC on Wednesday in an ESPN News match. The Lights handed Republic FC a 4-2 loss earlier this season.