One Knox continues playoff pursuit with gritty win vs Lexington
One Knoxville SC has won the first-ever Barrel Brawl with a 1-0 win over Lexington SC on Friday night. One Knox finished with a 2-0-1 overall record over Lexington with an aggregate score of 5-3 over three games played throughout the season.
It was a gritty performance by One Knox who played a man down for most of the match. Despite a red card being shown to Gio Calixtro in the 39th minute and conceding 63.6% possession, One Knox was able to outshoot and shut out Lexington for 90 minutes.
The two sides traded chances for the first thirty minutes with One Knox putting four shots on target and Lexington shooting twice on target. The first significant development of the match came in the 39th minute when forward Gio Calixtro was given a red card for a high kick on Lexington defender Terique Mohammed, forcing One Knox to play with a man down for the remaining 50 minutes of the match. Lexington could not capitalize in the first half, so the sides went into halftime level at 0-0.
In the second half, Lexington dominated the possession at 78.1% and outpassed One Knox 261 to 77. Despite this, they could not break through on offense, producing only two shots on target.
One Knox’s game-winning goal came from a moment of magic in the 49th minute by midfielder Angelo Kelly-Rosales. After receiving the ball in the midfield, he dribbled to just outside the 18-yard box and curled a beautiful shot into the top right corner of the goal to give One Knox the 1-0 lead. This score held until the final whistle, earning One Knox the inaugural Barrell Brawl trophy.
This victory gives One Knox three wins in their last four games and moves them to 31 points through 24 games, making them 7th in the current standings. That is just two points behind sixth-place Greenville Triumph SC, who currently occupies the final playoff spot. Lexington remains in 10th place with 24 points in 23 games.
One Knox’s next contest is at home at Regal Stadium against the Charlotte Independence this Saturday, August 26th at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are now on sale at oneknoxsc.com and walk-up tickets will be available for purchase at the gate. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.