Boston City Prep For Consecutive Road Matches
Boston City FC is preparing for a pair of road matches as the club comes off a draw in its season opener. On Wednesday night of next week, May 10, Boston City makes history with the club’s first-ever venture into the prestigious Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
NPSL Soccer News: Boston City FC recorded a 1-1 draw in its National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) season opener on Saturday versus the New York Cosmos B.
Coach Palhinha and his club head on the road to take on New York Athletic Club this Saturday and then face Western Mass Pioneers in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday, May 10th.
Boston City were left wondering what they had to do to claim all three points against the Cosmos as Paulo Henrique struck the cross bar with a 28-yard free kick. Homero Morais also rattled the post from 20 yards out.
The Lions took the lead after 11 minutes when Jhonata Batista collected a pass from new signing Nana Addai and created enough space to fire past Cosmos goalkeeper Kyle Zolbeck. Six minutes later, the Cosmos were level when Christian Thierjung raced onto a through ball that caught the home defense flat and chipped Boston goalkeeper Vitor Scariot.
“I think the nerves showed a little bit and 1-1 is not a terrible result against the Cosmos but I don’t care which team we play, I think we have a good enough squad to beat anyone” said Boston City captain Ronaldo Vieira. “It was one slip, one lapse in concentration that let them back in the game.”
Boston City will travel to take on New York Athletic Club on Saturday with a 2 p.m. ET kickoff. Athletic Club was the only tean that prevented the Lions from finding the net last season, winning 2-0 in Malden before grinding out a 0-0 stalemate in New York.
In-form striker Batista will aim to be the solution to that issue, having scored in each of his past four games, including preseason friendlies, since returning from a broken leg injury.
“We created many chances against them last season and did everything except score, which was very frustrating,” said Batista. “So now we have to build on a home draw against the former champions by coming home from New York with nothing less than a victory.”
The Lions will travel to Lusitano Stadium in Ludlow, MA, for a U.S. Open Cup matchup with the Western Mass Pioneers, who finished second in their Premier Development League (PDL) division last season. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET.
“We said on the day that we formed Boston City FC that we wanted to play in this competition and win,” said Coach Palhinha. “We are honored to compete in this famous tournament and face a tough test away to a club that has been established for many years and has great home support. We are excited that many of our fans plan to travel along the Mass Pike to the western part of the state to cheer us on. They were fantastic for us at home last weekend.”
Boston City will then return home to Brother Gilbert Stadium at Malden Catholic High School for a NPSL clash with local rival Rhode Island Reds at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 13.
Photo Credit: Boston City FC
