AC St. Louis Communications
AC St. Louis defeated the Des Moines Menace 1-0 in the opening round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tonight at Valley Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. The match was the first ever in this competition for the expansion AC St. Louis franchise.
Mike Ambersley continued his streak of offensive contributions by netting a 70th minute goal to give AC St. Louis a hard earned 1-0 lead. Ambersley found himself in a one-on-one situation with Menace goalkeeper Jason Williams. The St. Louis forward slotted the ball under Williams, relieving some of the pressure that had been building on St. Louis throughout a tight match.
The game got off to a bad start for AC St. Louis. Defender Jack Traynor picked up an injury in just the third minute of action, forcing Claude Anelka to substitute for him with John Lesko. Des Moines took advantage in the ensuing minutes, pushing the attack on St. Louis during the opening quarter-hour of the game. The Menace efforts nearly resulted in a dramatic 17th minute goal on a bicycle attempt from midfielder Logan McDaniel.
St. Louis came to life minutes later as Gauchinho connected with a well placed cross that sailed just over the crossbar. Des Moines would find the crossbar 10 minutes later on a shot from Stefan De Las as both teams began to trade scoring chances. Brad Stisser made a bid for his second goal in as many games in the 36th minute only to have defender Sam Morris come in to disrupt his effort. St. Louis forward Alex Titton would put a header on goal a minute later, and the Menace’s Luis Piffer forced Alec Dufty into a fine kick-save in the 40th minute as each team continued to look for an opening goal.
Des Moines’ Lebogang Moloto almost found that opening strike just before halftime as his long-range effort went just inches over the crossbar.
The second half opened with a flurry of yellow cards in the opening 15 minutes. Mike Ambersley and Tim Velten each received one for St. Louis, while Clark Bradford picked up his second yellow of the half as Des Moines was reduced to 10 men for the remainder of the game. The loss of Bradford came just minutes after Menace substitute Sterling Copeland nearly handed them the lead with a shot that beat Alec Dufty, but also sailed just past the post.
Luis Piffer came close again for Des Moines in the 69th minute with an effort that went just inches wide of the post. The missed opportunity proved vital, as Ambersley would net the go ahead goal just one minute later.
St. Louis advances to the next round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup next week on June 22 when they face either the NSC Minnesota Stars or the Kansas City Athletics.