The Beale Street Boys are back in the Bluff City for a clash with another top Western Conference Club this Saturday at AutoZone Park at 3 p.m. CT.
This time, they’ll look to defend the home field against a strong Orange County SC club looking to extend their undefeated run in 2024. Orange County sits atop the Western Conference with a 2-0-2 record through four weeks with victories over Pittsburgh and Tulsa to go with draws at Sacramento and Miami at home.
Memphis will need a strong performance at the back of the formation to hold the Orange County attack, which leads the league in goals scored away from home with four in two matches. The club has spread the ball effectively this season with all seven goals coming from seven different players and five players to tally an assist.
The 901 FC defensive line held Sacramento off until an unlucky bounce found Jonathan Ricketts for the decisive goal in the final five minutes.
“I think there’s a lot of positives to take away from last game,” Head Coach Stephen Glass said. “We came away disappointed we got no points, but the performance was really good and resilient. The determination not to lose goals against a top team was really pleasing.
Memphis looks to return to their dangerous attacking ways on Saturday to challenge Orange County for their first defeat of the season.
“I think if we’re a little bit cleaner with the ball and continue the defensive work, we’ll be in a good position this weekend,” Glass said. “We know what we need to brush up on and we’ve been pretty good in the first couple of games when we’re attacking. If we can bring that back again with the resilience we showed against Sacramento, we’ll be fine this weekend and hopefully end up with a victory.”
Kickoff for the Western Conference clash at AutoZone Park is set for 3 p.m. CT. Single Match Tickets are available now and a portion of all ticket sales in Section 119 benefits the children of Cancer Kickers Soccer Club.
A Rare Silent Night
Last week’s 1-0 defeat in Sacramento marked a rare scoreless night for the Beale Street Boys under Head Coach Stephen Glass.
Last Saturday was the first time since September 9, 2023 Memphis has been shutout and only the second time in the last 12 matches 901 FC failed to score. Memphis found the back of the net in all but seven matches in 2023, the second least in the USL Championship
Back Line Reinforcements
Fullback Oscar Jimenez will be available for selection as he returns from a red card suspension in Saturday’s match. Jimenez along with the rest of the Bluff City backline will try to limit an Orange County attack that has scored seven goals in four matches.
Akeem Ward will miss Saturday’s match with two games left to serve on his suspension.
