New York Shockers Exit Amateur Cup in 3-2 Loss to Providence City FC
By Jim O’Leary/NPSL.com
It was a brisk and rainy evening Upstate as the New York Shockers hosted Providence City FC in the quarterfinal round of the Region I Amateur Cup. Despite the weather fans stayed in the stands at Afrim’s Sports Park through extra time, only to be disappointed when the home side lost 3-2.
New York had shown promising control of the game early on, keeping the ball well into the Rogues’ end of the field for the first few minutes of play. The visiting New Englanders eventually found a response to that though, employing a more direct and physical style of play that threw off the Shockers’ more finessed and technical approach.
As is often the case, that physical style of play had a cost and the Shockers were the first on the board after Adel Cekic converted a penalty kick in the 33rd minute to put the home team ahead. However, Providence City quickly responded with a goal of their own before the end of the first half.
Before the second half began both the wind and the rain picked up, blowing in the Shockers’ faces as they drove toward the Rogues goal. Though it didn’t keep New York off the ball for long as Bilal Hersi executed an impressive drive across the mouth of the goal before sending the ball into the back of the net to put the home side ahead in the 64th minute.
Unfortunately that lead was short-lived, as both teams refused to back down from any challenge or open ball, leading to an increase in fouls in the final half hour of regulation time. A providential penalty kick tied it up for Providence City FC in the 71st.
Tied after 90 minutes, the game proceeded into two 15-minute halves of extra time. The Shockers earned another penalty kick in the first half, but like the lightning on his badge Cekic didn’t strike twice and the ball was kept out of the back of the net by the Rogues goalkeeper. Though the New English team took the lead for the first time with just five minutes of extra time remaining, the ultimate result of the game was contested down to the final whistle with the Shockers showing impressive team coordination down to the final whistle of extra time.
Ultimately the scoreline showed how closely these two teams were matched, and it seems just that it would take the full length of regulation plus extra time to find a winner. Had the contest continued beyond extra time there could be no arguing that one team deserved it more than the other, and the coin-toss unpredictability of penalty kicks would have been as fair a way to decide the winner as any.
The win earned Providence the right to advance to the semifinal round of the Region I Amateur Cup where they’ll face the winner of the other quarterfinal match, either last year’s National Amateur Cup runners-up Newtown Pride or NY Pancyprian Freedoms.
The Shockers return to action on May 4th when they’ll host Syracuse FC to start their NPSL season.
Photo Credit: Jim O’Leary/NPSL.com
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