BSC International

I was quite surprised when I checked my email yesterday to find that our home opening game against Lancaster United was changed to be against Lackawanna Yemen. The previous meeting between the two clubs at Yemen’s home field resulted in a loss for BSC.

The weather for today’s game greeted the players with temperatures in the low 50s and a consistent wind out of the west. The rain we saw throughout the weekend ceased for the day, but players still shivered throughout the game nonetheless.

Today’s first half was slightly dominated by Yemen who, 3/4 of the way in, took a 1-0 lead off a ~30 yard shot from straight on. The ball dropped around the 6 yard box & after hitting the dirt took a typical unpredictable Delaware Main bounce, proving too difficult for our keeper to handle & unfortunately ending up in the back of the net. The goal was fitting for the field & our club had nothing to complain about. Immediately after the goal went in, a Yemen player was issued a caution for his extremely ambitious celebration, where he taunted many of the BSC players.

Highlights for BSC in the first half included a off footed lob of a shot from Marc Petryk and a goal line save from keeper Frank Callocchia.

The second half was a little more even, yet saw no goals until around 15 minutes remaining, when BSC attacker Ryan Knapp bumped into a Yemen defender around the corner of the 18 yard box,  turned with the ball and buryied it in the far side of the net.

BSC showed a resurgence after the goal. Our main stopper Ken Gibson nearly put the club ahead with an authoritative header with only a couple minutes left, but was robbed by a beautiful save from the Yemen keeper. Afterwards, play continued evenly until the end of the match, resulting a 1-1 tie.

Overall, the game was cleaner than many may have expected. The whistle was blown appropriately and fouls seemed to even out for both sides. The officiating was well done and both teams walked away content. My favorite comment of the game came from a Yemen player, who I overheard saying “1-1 is a fair result” - I agree.

Best luck to Yemen throughout the rest of the year!

Filed under: recaps