Penn FC used a late flurry of brilliance on the road to top FC Motown, 3-1, and reach the Third Round of the 2018 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup on Wednesday night at Ranger Stadium in Madison, New Jersey.
The visitors managed to break down Motown on three occasions in the final 12 minutes to move into the next round of the US Open Cup, with Miguel Jaime, Prince Baffoe and Pedro Galvao all finding their way onto the scoresheet.
Jaime leveled the match at 1-1 in the 78th minute with a brilliant strike from distance after Penn created a turnover deep in the Motown half of the field. Meanwhile, Baffoe notched the game-winner two minutes later when he scored an equally-brilliant finish from outside the box.
Penn wasn’t done though, as Galvao scored the side’s third goal in the 90th minute to put the game out of reach for Motown with a tremendous individual run and finish.
Another one!@PennFCOfficial takes down @fc_motown 3-1 and is heading to the 3️⃣rd Round of the #USOC2018. @pedrofgalvao with the insurance goal in the 90th minute. pic.twitter.com/MnaFhIZjFn
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) May 17, 2018
Motown, based in Morristown, New Jersey (not Detroit), went ahead 1-0 in the 53rd minute after creating a quality chance off of a turnover. Dilly Duka’s left foot gave Motown the advantage early in the second half, with the former MLS attacker scoring his third goal in two Open Cup matches.
The poor conditions on the night forced both sides to adapt their playing styles, with the first half, in particular, presenting very few chances for either club.
Max Garcia’s long-range shot in the 28th minute afforded Penn goalkeeper Sean Lewis with his biggest challenge of the opening stanza, but the shot-stopper managed to make an impressive diving save to his left to keep the match scoreless.
Penn FC, the club formerly known as the Harrisburg City Islanders, will move on to the Third Round for the fifth year in a row. They are one of the top giant killers in the country, having upset five Major League Soccer teams in club history. In Round 3, they will move on to face another USL team, the Richmond Kickers, on the road on May 23.