Baltimore MD - An enthusiastic crowd of 3,104 was on hand to witness an emphatic victory for Palace in their 2008 season opener on their new home field at UMBC stadium.
It was end-to-end play from the kick-off. Each team attacked with venom every time they took possession, taking numerous shots on goal in the opening minutes. Even a high number of foul calls couldn't slow the pace but it did quickly lead to the first yellow card of the night, issued to Cecil Lewis for a tackle from behind on Chris Riley on six minutes.
 Palace opened the scoring in the 8th minute after a trademark 50-yard cross-field pass from centre back Abe Kante to Matthew Mbuta in space on the right, deep in Pittsburgh's half. After playing a nice one-two with Cecil Lewis to get to the edge of the penalty box, Mbuta floated a lovely cross to last season's top scorer for Palace, Gary Brooks, lurking at the far post. The Jamaican forward headed perfectly back across and out of reach of the Pittsburgh 'keeper, Zach Varga, and the ball nestled inside the right post, sending the huge home crowd into ecstasy.
The pace of the game didn't slow down at all over the following 15 minutes, as each team continued to attack, moving the ball around with precise, swift passing along the ground. Thabiso "Boyzzz" Khumalo was the biggest threat for Pittsburgh, with probing runs up the left channel. For Palace, the pace of Cecil Lewis and Matthew Mbuta was giving Pittsburgh quite a headache, but, as with Pittsburgh's offense, the final ball wasn't being allowed through.
In the twentieth minute, Palace captain Ibrahim Kante carelessly gave the ball away to Pittsburgh's Jason Kutney just outside the Palace penalty area. As Kutney sprinted into the box, Kante appeared to trip him. The referee certainly had no doubts and immediately brandished a yellow card, then pointed to the penalty spot. Jean Robens Jerome stepped up to take the spot kick for the Riverhounds, but his well-placed strike was brilliantly saved by new Palace goalie, Matt Nelson, leaping high to his right to palm the ball away.
 Almost immediately following the dramatic save, Palace went on the counter attack. Cecil Lewis and Matthew Mbuta combined well, but their back-to-back chances were blocked and deflected by a shell-shocked Pittsburgh defense.
Not surprisingly, the pace finally became somewhat less frenetic with each side content to show more patience, holding the ball a little longer, resulting in fewer clear-cut chances.
In the 38th minute, Palace were awarded a free kick near the right touch-line about 30 yards from goal. Cecil Lewis whipped in a dipping ball which somehow eluded several players' heads but landed right at the feet of Palace right back, Andrew Marshall. He failed to connect properly, but the ball bounced to Alex Ughivohe standing directly in front of goal from where he stabbed home with his left foot to double Palace's lead.
As the half drew to a close, Pittsburgh had a couple of half chances, one from a free-kick, the other a speculative shot from distance. For Palace, Andrew Marhsall made a lung-bursting run from deep in his own half all the way to the Pittsburgh box. He crossed perfectly to an open Matthew Mbuta who will undoubtedly rue having taken too many touches, eventually shooting from too tight an angle when perhaps a first time shot could have made it 3-0 going into the break.
For the opening period of the second half, each team seemed to have trouble getting the ball into their opponent's penalty box. On ten minutes, Palace were awarded a free kick on the right touch-line inside the Pittsburgh half, from which nothing resulted. However, as the free kick was being set up, Gary Brooks was booked for dissent. A minute later and Alex Ughiovhe's late tackle received the same punishment.
 On 17 minutes, Gary Brooks showed his strength as he held the ball well under pressure as he made his way up the left touch-line. His square ball was picked up 22 yards from goal by Cameroonian team-mate, Matthew Mbuta. He teed up a low strike which smacked off the bottom of the right post, much to the dismay of the fans.
Pittsburgh came straight back up the field. Jean Robens Jerome accelerated towards the box and had the ball tackled away well by Palace left back, Paul Robson, just outside the box on the edge of the "D". The referee adjudged the Englishman's tackle a foul and showed him the yellow card. Pittsburgh substitute Jeff Hughes wasted the opportunity to get back into the game, firing over the bar.
In the 22nd minute, Alex Ughiovhe received his second yellow card for a foul on Jason Kutney and was on his way to the locker rooms. Kutney's leg was examined for several minutes on the field before being carried to the sideline for further evaluation by medical staff. Kutney was also shown the red card for kicking Ughiovhe in the back, in reaction to the initial foul.
In the 34th, Bryan Harkin stormed out of the Palace half, releasing Cecil Lewis off down the left wing with a beautiful lead pass. Lewis cut inside, took on substitute defender John Liersemann, then moved back to the outside, striking with his left foot, but Varga was equal to it, palming the shot away.
Two minutes later, it was Khumalo for Pittsburgh who came close when he started a move into Palace territory, played it out wide right to Liersemann pushing up from the back. His cross found Khumalo wide open just beyond the corner of the six yard box but his header back across goal bounced off the post and was cleared by Kante.
Cecil Lewis almost capitalized on some lax defending by Pittsburgh on 37 but his feed to Mbuta on the box missed its mark. Lewis’ evening was over two minutes after that when he received his second yellow card after a foul outside the Pittsburgh penalty area.
 Despite being one man down, Palace kept pressing forward and the always dangerous Mbuta earned a free-kick outside the area in the 42nd minute. That effort was cleared but Palace sealed the victory from the ensuing corner - Andrew Marshall got his head to Harkin's fine delivery before the 'keeper could get his hands on it, flicking on to new signing, Pat Healey waiting in the six yard box for the easiest of finishes.
The remainder of the match, which included five minutes of stoppage time due to Kutney's injury, saw Pittsburgh dominate possession but their finishing touch eluded them and the Palace back line helped Nelson maintain a clean sheet on his debut.
Palace Co-Manager Pete Medd was clearly delighted with the result. "It was a great opening night. We got off to a fast start, which we had talked about in the locker room beforehand. That first goal really did wonders for us and it was a perfect team goal - the inch-perfect 50 yard pass from our centre back, Abe Kante, right on to Mbuta's boots, he takes on a couple of guys, a great ball to Brooksy who did what he does best."
Medd also commented on the other two goals. "We've been working on set pieces the past three weeks and that has paid off - two goals off two set pieces. If we can add set pieces to the open play goals we're going to score, we're in really, really good shape."
In response to concerns over the number of cards issued, he added "Our guys made tackles trying to win the ball - we're a physical team. We defend hard, we get into challenges, that's professional soccer. I'm not sure those tackles warranted cards."
"We really appreciate the support of the fans, it was awesome. Hopefully they enjoyed the performance - we're looking forward to their continued support throughout the year!"
Medd wasn't worried about missing two starters for the next game after being sent off in tonight's contest. "Alex has been doing well in the middle of the park, but we have players that can come in and do well. We are confident in our depth, the guys are confident in their abilities. I don't expect us to miss a beat."
The next game for Palace is at UMBC on Sunday May 4th against the Richmond Kickers. Kick-off is at 4:00pm. |
