Harpos FC exorcized its U.S. Open Cup qualifying demons Sunday, topping bitter league rivals Azteca FC 2-0 at Broomfield Commons.
Halftime substitutes Jack O’Brian and Adam Mickleson scored to put Harpos back into its fourth tournament proper after a four-year hiatus. Harpos last qualified for the 2020 tournament, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The win was Harpos’ first over Azteca in Open Cup qualifying in its fifth attempt with all four previous meetings decided by a single goal. Azteca, who has qualified for the Open Cup four times, entered Sunday’s match 18-0-0 against teams from Colorado in Open Cup qualifying.
Harpos started the Colorado Clássico on the front foot, when Baptiste Debuire took advantage of some indecisive passing from Azteca defenders in the opening minutes of the match, winning a 50-50 ball 20 yards from goal. Debuire was unable to capitalize on the gift, putting the ball just over the crossbar.
Azteca began to wrestle back control of the match around the quarter-hour mark, calming the frantic pace of the match that favored Harpos by taking control of the midfield. Breaden Jenkins had Azteca’s first and best opportunity of the half in the 16th minute, smashing a 30-yard shot into the upper corner after Harpos failed to fully clear one of Azteca’s three first half corners. With a good line of sight on the shot, Harpos goalkeeper Joel Chavez managed to get across his goal and spectacularly plucked the ball from the top corner to keep the score level.
The remainder of the half turned into trench warfare, with neither team able to mount a sustained attack for the remainder of the half as tempers and the referee began to be tested between the two overly-familiar sides. With play at a stalemate, both sides tinkered tactically during the interval, which included the introduction of O’Brian and Mickleson for Harpos.
“We went into the half knowing we needed some more pace out wide. Adam Mickleson gave us that pace and coverage in the back where we were exposed in the first half,” said Harpos managing director, Johnny Freeston.
Mickleson made his presence felt immediately in the second stanza, Harpos’ first attack of the second half came through Mickleson down the right flank. After turning the corner past a chasing defender, Mickleson drove a low cross to the top of the goal box, finding the streaking O’Brian unmarked eight yards from goal. O’Brian, a recent addition to the Harpos squad, tucked the ball back inside the far post to put Harpos up 1-0.
After nearly half-an-hour of bogged play as Harpos kept numbers behind the ball to fend off the waves of Azteca players coming forward, the speedy Mickleson doubled Harpos’ lead in the 76th minute off a Maradona-esque run through the stabbing Azteca defense that started on his own side of half. After outpacing one defender on the right flank and beating another defender in the penalty area before turning towards goal. Mickleson went around one final defender before going in on Azteca goalkeeper Gerardo Aguilar. An off-balance Mickelson awkwardly wrong-footed Aguilar, who helped Mickleson’s shot over the line to make it 2-0 Harpos.
“I got the ball around midfield and looked up and saw I had some space. I beat a couple guys and knew I had the pace to get around the last defender and go in on goal,” Mickleson said. “I got a little lucky putting it off the ‘keeper’s foot but I’ll take it.”
With the win, Harpos returns to the tournament proper for a fourth time, equaling Azteca’s Open Cup appearances. Meanwhile, Azteca’s 13-game unbeaten streak in the competition was snapped, along with its 12-game road winning streak
“This win gets us back where we want to be,” Freeston said. “We’ve completely rebuilt the team since 2020. We have the talent, and everyone has bought in to what we are doing. We know what it takes to make a run in the Open Cup. We’ve done it before. I think with this team we can do it again.”