Baltimore MD - Crystal Palace FC USA goalkeeper Matt Nelson was one of Harrisburg's heroes in last season's USL2 Championship game, making several spectacular saves for the City Islanders in their upset victory over Richmond. But the Islanders' fans weren't exactly singing his praises last night. Nelson saved three of four penalty kicks in Palace's marathon US Open Cup second round win in Harrisburg. Palace will now face the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer in round three of the tournament next Tuesday July 1st in Baltimore.
Despite the referee dishing out six yellow cards, two red cards, ejecting Palace manager Pete Medd, and awarding a penalty in the dying seconds of extra time to send the game to a penalty shoot-out, the 1,100-plus fans in attendance enjoyed a gripping game of football between two very evenly matched teams. Harrisburg looked the brighter side in the opening minutes, pressing forward with speed and urgency.
But seven minutes in, Kevin King took advantage of a mistake by the City Islanders' back line on the edge of their box, pouncing on the loose ball and firing home into the bottom left corner.
Harrisburg kept their foot on the gas but Palace soaked up the pressure, using the counter-attack when the opportunity arose. On 19 minutes, Larry Mark took advantage of just such a breakaway, latching on to a nice through ball into the penalty area. With only the 'keeper to beat, Mark somehow managed to push his low shot just wide of the far post.
Five minutes later, Harrisburg's finally broke through when Englishman David Schofield's free kick from the left was floated to the far corner of the six yard box. Matt Nelson leapt to push the ball clear but it eluded him as he ran into traffic and Anthony Calvano was there to head home the equalizer for the Islanders.
The home side continued to test Nelson and on the half hour mark their cause was given a major boost. As Palace prepared to take a free-kick into the Harrisburg area, Anthony Calvano fell to the ground amidst the usual jostling for position in the box. After consulting with his assistant on the far side, the referee showed Palace goal-scorer King the red card for an apparent elbow to the chest of the Harrisburg player.
The man disadvantage seemed to spark the Palace players into action and they enjoyed their best spell of the game over the final quarter of an hour, but the score remained 1-1 as the halftime whistle blew.
As the teams came out for the second half, Palace Co-Managers Pete Medd and Jim Cherneski threw Cameroonian playmaker Matthew Mbuta into the mix, replacing Dan Lader. The end-to-end action continued, with a number of decent chances created by both teams. On 56 minutes, the referee abruptly held up play and trotted half way across the field to talk to his assistant on the side nearest the team benches. He then moved up the line to the fourth official and after a brief chat, pointed at Palace Co-Manager Pete Medd and ordered him to the stands, apparently for dissent.
The referee was in the thick of things again six minutes later - Harrisburg's Brian Ombiji was red-carded for stamping on prostrate Palace center-back Ibrahim Kante after a collision in the box. Chances were few and far between as the second half wore on, with both teams seemingly expecting the match to go to extra time. Kante had other ideas though when with one minute left on the clock, he launched one of his trademark pile-drivers from a narrow angle 12 yards out. But the shot flew straight at Islanders' goalie Brian Pope who held on. After four minutes of uneventful stoppage time, the game would move into two 15-minutes periods of extra time.
Co-Manager Jim Cherneski brought Val Teixeira on for Palace's top scorer, Gary Brooks, at the start of extra time. The Portuguese utility player made an immediate impact playing up front for only the second time this season, almost scoring with his first touch - a towering header from a well-placed cross by Paul Robson near the corner flag, which flew just over the bar.
Harrisburg barely troubled Matt Nelson as the first period of extra time wore on, with Palace looking more likely to break the deadlock. With just one minute remaining, the two substitutes combined to give Palace the lead again. Val Teixeira dribbled forward from midfield, took on his man just outside the box while Matthew Mbuta made a run to Teixeira's left. Teixeira dropped his right shoulder as if to cut inside, but made a perfect, no-look pass the other way to a waiting Mbuta. His left-footed rocket from a tight angle screamed across Pope and into the far corner.
After a quick change of ends and more substitutions from each team, Harrisburg pushed up more and more as they sought a second equalizer. This left Palace with several great chances to counter-attack and four minutes into the second period of extra time, it was Teixeira playing provider once more. He tore down the left wing while Cecil Lewis made his run down the right with two Harrisburg defenders between them. Running at full tilt, Teixeira’s cross was half a yard too far in front of Lewis cutting into the box. Lewis just managed to corral the ball and with a Harrisburg defender bearing down on him, he lined up a powerful shot which ended up flying just wide of the near post.
The second period of extra time was a nervy affair as Harrisburg became more and more desperate. There were no clear-cut chances to speak of, with most of the action consisting of more substitutions and yellow cards. As the clock entered the final minute and the Palace fans were preparing to celebrate a fantastic victory, the referee was in the spotlight yet again, awarding a penalty to the Islanders after Ibrahim Kante fouled Adam Clay deep inside the area. Yu Hoshide stepped up and struck the spot kick along the ground to Nelson's right. The Palace keeper guessed correctly, but the ball flew a hair's breadth past his fingertips, striking the inside of the post and into the back of the net.
 Three minutes of stoppage time couldn't separate the sides, so the game would have to be decided by a penalty shoot-out. Palace would shoot first, with another former Islander - Mike Lookingland - incurring the wrath of the home fans as he placed the ball on the spot. Rookie 'keeper Brian Pope went the right way and saved easily to give Harrisburg the early edge. Matt Nelson was also suffering plenty of verbal abuse as he stood between the posts to face Yu Hoshide, who only minutes earlier had scored from the very same spot. Hoshide went the other way this time with a rising shot, but Nelson was on the same wavelength and pulled off a fine save. Ibrahim Kante and Brian Devlin both made it look easy in round two, but then Cecil Lewis sent his shot over the bar and the pressure was back on Matt Nelson again. Nelson came up huge once more, as he tipped a low Brett Weisner strike just past the post. Next up, rookie Pat Healey, showing the cool of a veteran, calmly sent Pope the wrong way and the ball into the top right corner. Adam Clay, who had earned Harrisburg's life-line penalty in the last minute of extra time, saw his effort blocked by Nelson, leaving Palace's fate in their own hands with the n ext spot kick. According to Palace Co-Manager Jim Cherneski, veteran Val Teixeira was a "sure thing" to score. He wasn't wrong. Teixeira's perfect penalty kick prompted a rush of players and coaches towards Teixeira and Matt Nelson to form a huge, jumping mass of exhausted and ecstatic bodies.
Palace hero Matt Nelson alternates as starting goalkeeper with Brian Rowland. Nelson looked ahead to the Red Bulls game: "Playing New York, whether it's Brian or me, it's going to be exciting. It's great for anyone in USL2 to play against a top-level team." When asked what he thought of Palace's chances, he replied: "Any team can win on any given day. There have been plenty of upsets in the Open Cup in the past. It's our biggest game of the season and for them it's just another game, this time against a lower division team, so anything can happen."
"The guys stepped up, hung in there with a ton of heart and got a well-deserved victory, against a lot of odds, for our biggest win in franchise history" said an overwhelmed Pete Medd. "It's just a great day and the guys worked their tails off." As for Kevin King's red card, he added: "You never plan to lose a player but we actually settled down after that."
Jim Cherneski praised the performance of the substitutes: "Matthew came in and changed the game, so Harrisburg had to try and deal with him, then Val coming in for the extra time was huge. They both made the game."
Medd talked about Palace's upcoming matches "We're going to get ready for the Red Bulls coming to town Tuesday, but we also have Real MD in the league on Sunday, so we have to balance that. The game on Tuesday if I'm being honest is more important to us. But as I've said before, this is why we have the roster we do, we can handle it. We're 6-3-1 in the league and we want to be 7-3-1 after this weekend."
He went on to point out the enormity of the clash with the New York Red Bulls: "I hope that all of our fans get behind us for this game. MLS has never been in Baltimore and won't be unless they play us, so it's a great opportunity for people in Baltimore."
Details of the venue, time and ticketing for the 3rd round match with the New York Red Bulls on Tuesday July 1st will be announced shortly. |
