Rochester NY FC beat FC Motown in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup 2-2 (4-3 on penalties), despite being down to just nine men! Rochester now awaits the round of 32 draw, which takes place tomorrow at noon (EST) on the U.S. Open Cup's twitter page.
First Half:
The game started out well for Rochester NY FC, as they were able to largely control the flow of the game. Lamar Batista would pick up a yellow card in the 17th minute, the first of nine yellow cards given in this match by referee Christian Centeno.
In the 21st minute, Pedro Dolabella scored a goal, beating keeper David Greczek at his near after a beautiful through ball from Jesus Batiz to make it 1-0 Rochester.
After two quick yellows on separate Motown players, Rochester scored another in the 37th minute , as Gibran Rayo passed it to Dolabella in the box, who passed it to a wide open Wilterlynd Inalien who put in in the net, making it 2-0 Rochester! Motown would answer quickly scoring two minutes with a goal by Dilly Duka, and go on to control the rest of the half.
Second Half:
Motown continued its attacking pressure after the break. This pressure would only continue as Rochester Captain Lamar Bautista picked up a second yellow card in the 50th minute. Rochester would play the rest of the game with ten players. Rochester would adopt a defensive approach after the booking, with defender coming on Gerardo Lopez replaced midfielder Gabriel Costa.
After surviving a fury of chances by FC Motown, Rochester's Gibran Rayo would be taken down in the box by Samuel Pompée in the 78th minute. Wilterlynd Inalien would take the PK, getting stuffed by Greczek. The game would change, as Pedro Dolabella was shown a straight red card in the 84th minute due to "violent conduct". The now nine-man Rochester team would struggle to hold off Motown's relentless attack, with Rochester focusing completely on the defensive with defender Milan Vanacker coming on for Inalien, and forward Raymond Drai coming on for Gibran Rayo. Rochester was able to fend off Motown until the added time, as Joseph Fala scored an easy goal after the ball rebounded off the post. Rochester had one last chance as the ball dropped in for Jacob Akanyirige after a set piece, but the young RB kicked it over the goal posts.
Extra time:
In extra time, Rochester did an excellent job wasting time, and running the clock down. Rochester would only get one goal scoring chance, in the 122nd minute as Vanacker would send a close attempt out wide. Rochester keeper Phillip Ejimadu, who had been fighting injury for all of Extra time, would come off in the 120th minute, to be replaced by Caíque Santos.
Penalty Kicks:
Dilly Duka would take the first pk for Motown, but the former MLS midfielder would be denied by Caíque who made a jaw-dropping save. Gustavo Rissi woud step up and drill the next one to make it 1-0 Rochester. Joseph Fala and Johannes Pieles would score the next two kicks for Motown, as Rochester's Edward Williams and Ian Garrett were stopped by Greczek, making it 2-1 Motown. Federico Deoliveira would take the next penalty, only to be stuffed Caíque. Bubacar Djalo then came up, sent the keeper the other way, and scored to tie it up 2-2. Kian Alberto would come up for the 5th penalty, and was emphatically blocked by Caíque... only for the keeper to be ruled off the line, and on the second attempt Alberto would narrowly score. With all the pressure on young Raymond Drai, he would come through, hitting the ball past Greczek, to make it 4-3-l. In then moved to sudden-death, with Motown's Zach Perez sending the ball way over the crossbar. Milan Vanacker would step up, for a chance of redemption after missing an open opportunity in extra time. Vanacker would freeze the keeper, and put the ball into the bottom left corner!! Rochester wins 4-3 on penalties to stay alive in the U.S. Open cup!
North Star Ultras Player of the Match:
Pedro Dolabella is todays North Star Ultras Player of the Match! After assisting in the last U.S. Open cup game, Dolabella would score the opener for Rochester, while assisting on the second. Dolabella was a step quicker than the opposition, and created headaches for FC Motown, until he was sent off in the 84th minute
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