| May
13th,
2007: USASA Amateur Cup - Rnd.
of 16
Hawks - 1, AC United (MD) - 2 (2 OT)
The Hawks took on MD finalists AC United
in Region 1 Round of 16 Amateur Cup play on a beautiful Sunday
afternoon for soccer at Catholic University. The game would
serve as the first of two straight matchups between the two
sides, as they will square off again on Sunday May 20th in a
Region 1 US Open Cup match with a berth in America's
oldest and most prestigious soccer competition at stake. In
a game where the Hawks missed many clear cut opportunities at
net, AC United snatched victory in the 115th
minute of overtime on a well orchestrated counter attack goal
to give the Hawks their first taste of defeat in over a year
of amateur play.
The Hawks opened up the game in impressive
fashion, dominating possession and with nice interplay between
the midfield and forwards creating several opportunities that
were not capitalized upon. In similar manner to last week's
match against the Greek-Americans, AC United found the scoreboard
first in the 15th minute against the run of play off a corner
kick that Hawks keeper Safi Barekzi could not punch out in a
crowd.
The
ensuing AC United header found it's mark despite almost being
cleared off the line by outide back Alex Nydal. The goal seemed
to spark AC United and the flow of the match started to go their
way for the following 15 minutes, including a nice 20 yard ripper
that clanked off the post, before the Hawks settled down and
took control of the play for the remainder
of
the half.
Their
efforts were rewarded in the 35th after a nice sequence of passing
found striker Robby Wright fire a shot in the box which ricochetted
onto the right boot of striking partner Geoff Thompson to even
up the match at 1-1, where it stood until halftime.
In the second stanza, both teams applied their
varying styles - the Hawks playing more of a possesion passing
game while AC United applying a trademark counter-attacking and
direct style. The entire game was well contested physically by
both teams with
several bone crunching tackles that set the tone for a competitive
clash of two proud clubs that did not want to be denied. As the
second half wore on, the Hawks opportunities became more numerous,
with several chances in the box missing the necessary quality
finish despite having all the dressings. The Hawks looked like
they
would take
the lead in the 75th when Hawks striker Robby Wright beat the
offsides trap and went in uncontested against the AC United keeper,
who made a fantastic save to keep the scoreline the same. Shortly
thereafter, second half substitute Bryan Viatagliano took a beautiful
touch into space, weaved his way through three AC United defenders
and unleashed a powerful liner that missed the goal by inches.
The teams traded blows as regulation wound to a close and AC
United almost ended things early at the end of regulation on
a powerful 30 yard blast that seemed destined for the right upper
90 but
kept
rising
instead.
Final whistles blew on regulation and the Hawks regrouped for overtime for the
second consecutive week.
The first half of overtime was all Hawks. They
seemed quicker and sharper than the tiring AC United side and
opportunities were coming after fantastic interior interplay
and effective diagonal balls into space, where threatening crosses
were being played in. The Hawks looked to be going in front off
a free kick at the edge of the box that landed and saw two Hawks
players inexplicably missing an open net in the sequence. The
second half
of overtime started and the game evened out yet again with both
teams equal in the amount of chances. As the second half of overtime
wore on, the Hawks begain pressing offensively, and AC United
made us pay in the 115th minute on a well orchestrated counter
attack that ended with a good passing sequence to provide an
AC United forward with a clear cut chance that was tucked away
with maturity for the go ahead 2-1 lead.
The remaining five minutes of overtime the Hawks pressured hard
and almost equalized twice; however, the final whistle was blown
and yet another last second result was not in the cards for the
Aegean Hawks.
An unfortunate result, but the Hawks did everything to win the
game except finish their chances, and in the end that's all that
matters. Congratulations to AC United who finished when it mattered
for a well fought victory. The Hawks can lift their heads and know
that
the
better
team did
not
win
the
match,
but
that is
the
nature
of
the game
sometimes.
It's not
often in these competitions that one has the opportunity for
revenge, but
that is exactly what
the
Hawks
have
when the two
teams will face off next Sunday night in a game with higher stakes.
The Hawks will be hungry, prepared, and ready with reinforcements
to show AC United that a competitive fire flows
through our veins and we will not be denied a second time. Bring
on next Sunday night! To view the USASA Region 1 brackets for National Cups, click here.
News/Match
Report Archives  |
