Entering the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup with a fresh rebrand, Brave SC — the club formerly known as Villages FC — looked to carry the torch for USL League Two as last season’s Southern Conference champions. Savannah Clovers arrived in Central Florida looking to represent NISA and start the year off right.
One of them would leave disappointed.
Perseverance pays off | Roddy Green ????@SavCloversFC | #USOC2024 pic.twitter.com/UbyUvDWtNC
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) March 19, 2024
Roddy Green and Vlad Jokic each scored a goal in the first half as Clovers shut out Brave, 2-0 in Tuesday night’s Open Cup opening round.
Right from the go, Savannah was on the attack. Green had multiple chances to give the Clovers an early lead but Brave goalkeeper Yago Darub was called into action and kept things at bay. Unfortunately for Darub, a miscalculation on a pass gave away the ball to Green which led to the opening goal of the match in the 29th minute.
Just before halftime, Jokic latched on to a rebound for a second-chance goal that doubled Clovers’ advantage.
Clovers had a decisive physical advantage over Brave SC, and the game turned cagey as physical challenges from both squads saw a total of seven players booked (four for Brave; three for the Clovers), mostly in the second half.
A brilliant strike from Jokic! ???? @SavCloversFC @opencup | #USOC2024 pic.twitter.com/6SBeXSWu0A
— NISA Official (@NISALeague) March 20, 2024
Clovers brought just three players on their bench and managed the lead against a Brave squad which had twice as many options in reserve.
Michael Florian made his Brave SC debut on the high school senior’s home field, expressing gratitude during the postgame press conference for the opportunity to make his Open Cup debut.
