If it doesn’t seem like only yesterday since Union Omaha impressed in a 2-1 win at Central Valley Fuego to open the 2024 season, that’s because it’s been far from it. With a wonky schedule, an unexpected sequel to “The Night the Lights Never Existed in Not-Quite Georgia” and two U.S. Open Cup victories against two amateur clubs (well, one and a half amateur clubs), Union Omaha will finally play a second USL League One game when they travel to One Knoxville this Friday.
Union Omaha will have nine days in between matches when this game kicks off, so they’ve had time to reset the lineup if manager Dominic Casciato chooses to. They had 13 days between their U.S. Open Cup matches, and with that time Casciato inserted defender Dion Acoff back into the starting XI. He also mixed with tactics some, letting the wings collect long balls deeper into the attacking zone while trusting them to hustle back and support the three center-back line that was introduced in the first round against Western Mass Pioneers. All in all, only 14 players on the roster have played in at least two matches so far this season, but 20 have played in at least one, so the regular XI for this team is nowhere near predictable yet.
Knoxville will have the same amount of rest as Omaha, they suffered a 3-2 defeat to Greenville Triumph at home in their last match during the second round of the U.S. Open Cup. This will be Knoxville’s fourth straight game at home, only their 2-1 victory at Charlotte Independence on March 16 in their season open was away from home. Knoxville showed similar looks in all three of their games, starting the same three backs in a similar look to what Omaha has played recently. Knoxville has yet to really favor one side over the other in their attacking, which has been frequent in part due to their high press. Knoxville took at least 20 shots in two of their first three league games, with Angelo Kelly-Rosales and Stuart Ritchie being their primary creators in the attack.
This will be part of a busier stretch for Omaha, and quite the opposite for Knoxville. Omaha will host El Paso Locomotive of USL Championship in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup the following Wednesday, before hosting Charlotte Independence next Saturday for their official home opener. Knoxville won’t play again until they go to Chattanooga (allegedly) for match day 1 of the USL Jägermeister Cup on April 27. With the game being streamed on the Goalazo Network, neither team will likely be lacking motivation.
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