A couple hundred fans packed into Shiloh High School in Snellville, Ga. playing salsa music, banging bleachers, and showing home support for first time Open Cup qualifying Kalonji Pro-Profile in a 1-0 win over UPSL rivals Potros FC.
After 11 chaotic opening minutes, with possession mostly controlled by Potros, Kalonji had the game’s first scoring opportunity. Former Atlanta United 2 standout Karim Tmimi played a low ball from the left wing straight to an open Thierry Joules in the box, but Cameron Verona came up huge in goal for Potros with a kick-save to stop the effort from point-blank range.
In the 17th minute, Kalonji’s Owanja Medard ran centrally from the right wing, controlled the through ball with his chest, and was running towards goal before a light shove from a Potros defender sent him into the turf. It was a tough decision to make, but the referee did not give a penalty.
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Thirteen minutes later, Potros had their first big chance on goal. A cross into the box from the left side found the head of Nazario Mbomio, but he headed it just wide of the right post.
The away side’s biggest chance would shortly follow in the 33rd minute when a cross from the left by Pedro Valenzuela fell towards Sebi Morrello. While moving and facing away from goal, Morrello flicked the ball with his back heel towards the top left corner. Goalkeeper Ashon Maynard of Kalonji dove rapidly to his right and made a ridiculous save, pushing the ball with one hand onto the crossbar.
“That’s a youngster. That’s a 2007”, said Pro-Profile Head Coach Bruno Kalonji, “an amazing keeper, as you can see.”
With just 5 minutes to go in the first half, Potros’ Benjamin Uranga picked up a yellow card. The ensuing free kick dipped considerably late into the 6 yard box, causing Uranga to head the ball backwards as he attempted to clear the danger. Cameron Verona was there to save the day again in goal just like the previous round, jumping up to push the ball over the crossbar. Verona and his backline would see off the remaining danger to keep things level at halftime.
Nine minutes into the second half, Kalonji won a corner and rocketed a shot back towards goal from 30 yards out. It was blocked by Potros, and then the ref confidently pointed to the spot for a handball! From the stands and on replay, it was impossible to tell how correct the decision was with the pace on the shot, but the home side would not miss out on their chance to take the lead. Left back Grant Carr would step up and slot the ball home in the bottom right corner, and young Kalonji fans would invade the pitch to celebrate.
“We have a lot of experience on the field in the mix with the younger guys, you know, so we knew that we were going to score a goal eventually”, said Coach Kalonji. “Whether the PK, whether a regular goal, we knew we were going to score, so the tactics were to defend, defend, defend, to hold the game.”
And defend they did. Potros could not come close to replicating their ball movement and chance creation from the first half, and they could not play as well late as they did the round before against Atletico Buford. Kalonji Pro-Profile held onto the 1-0 lead for the remaining 38 minutes and earned their first ever Open Cup qualification in club history.