Lansdowne Yonkers FC qualified for its a second consecutive US Open Cup with a 2-0 win over SC Vistula Garfield in New Jersey on Saturday.
Dean Dillon scored for Yonkers along with a second half own goal by Vistula moved the New York side to the tournament proper for the fourth time in team history.
Head coach Sean Kelly’s team started 2022 hot, winning an Open Cup match via penalty kicks against the Ocean City Nor’easters. Sunday’s result means they end the year with another tournament win.
“Us, as a club, should be in this competition,” Kelly said. “If we can keep this group together, which we kinda have, our goal is going to be … the last amateur team remaining.”
SC Vistula vs. Lansdowne Yonkers FC. @opencup 4th qualifying round. Powered by @newlogicaltech https://t.co/CXlKgRU67D
— Lansdowne Yonkers FC (@Lansdownebhoys) December 18, 2022
Lansdowne looked as though it went ahead just two minutes in, with both players and a match official seeing as such. A Julio Espinal free kick on the far side made it’s way into the Vistula box. A few headers brought the ball towards Steven Nolan on the right side, whose scissor kick shot was on target. He began to celebrate while the linesman raised his flag. The main referee ruled a good goal, leading to a few moments of confusion until the two officials discussed. It was officially ruled Nolan was offside, however.
Still, Lansdowne’s offense remained the main story for the entire match. Despite only scoring one goal themselves the team held possession for most of the game. Somewhere between 70-80% of the ball game saw the ball in Yonkers’ control. Vistula’s main form of counter whenever it had control was playing it long towards striker Paul Kondratowicz. A mix of bad passes and stout defense kept the ball from ever reaching keeper Abdou Karim “Kabbo” Danso.
According to Vistula player-coach Chris Karcz this was all according to plan. Knowing the type of team Lansdowne and knowing his team would be without a few players, the team decided to play more conservative.
“We kinda conceded a lot of the possession — we knew that we were going to do that,” Karcz said. “Couple injuries that we had, about three or four guys, we were missing today so we sort of sat back a little more.”
However Lansdowne’s increased time with the ball meant more chances for the visitors. A foul on the far side of the Garfield box gave Patryk Gruca the game’s first yellow and a free kick right behind the line. However the kick sailed high over the box and past the touchline for a goal kick. Garfield’s best chance came in the 43rd minute with its first corner kick which was brought down and grabbed by Danso.
The game looked to head into the break knotted at zero but the New Yorkers chances finally paid off. With two minutes of stoppage time, Lansdowne held possession for nearly the whole 120 seconds. Vistula had just cleared a corner kick attempt from the box with a header, but Yonkers recovered the ball quickly. A long pass from the far side headed towards the near post, where Dean — a former League of Ireland player — headed the chance on net. Garfield keeper Anthony Caruso, who’d made multiple saves up until this point, couldn’t block the shot as he dove.
“It was real unfortunate for us,” Karcz said. “The last five minutes of the half they put on a lot of pressure. Last kick of the first half, they scored. That really hurt us. I think if we ended the first half 0-0 (it would have been) a totally different game.”
It didn’t get much better for Garfield in the second half. In the 49th minute, Lansdowne attacked yet again. Countering off a broken up Vistula throw-in, the visitor’s passed up the near side before finding Nolan once again. He crossed in from the right side of the net and the ball hit off Gruca to make it 2-0.
From there physicality picked up while Garfield tried to bring the game back into their favor. Things like quickly taking free kicks to try and catch Lansdowne off guard had little effect. That didn’t deter the home fans from loudly supporting the group, including loud calls for a penalty in the 73rd minute for an alleged handball inside the Lansdowne box. While the crowd was mostly a mix of Yonkers’ supporters and members of the local Polish community, one more group came out. Torcida 96, a young New York Red Bulls supporter’s group, loudly cheered Vistula with smoke bombs at the ready for any potential goal.
To them, cheering for a New Jersey team that wears red and white against a team from north of Manhattan might as well have been a proxy war for the Hudson River Derby. It made sense considering Karcz formerly played for RBNY in the mid-2000s. Originally drafted by the Chicago Fire in the third round (27th overall) of the 2005 MLS Supplemental Draft, Karcz joined RBNY in 2007 but never made it past the reserve team.
Congratulations to Lansdowne Yonkers FC on qualifying for #USOC2023! They defeated SC Vistula Garfield, 2-0. #RBNY #NYCFC #USOpenCup #EPSL pic.twitter.com/OglPH78YVV
— Michael Battista (@MichaelBattista) December 18, 2022
Those same supportive fans had a lot to be vocal about. Throughout the night the lead official was consistently challenged by both sides, complaining about the quality of his calls. Best summed up at halftime by a Vistula player loudly voicing his displeasure on the bench asking “Who hired this ref?” followed by an expletive. In fairness, a few notable no-calls had both sides yelling from the benches. Late in the second half, the fourth official had to directly intervene on the Garfield bench and helped award a yellow card caution to non-rostered player for offering an official a disparaging remark.
The temperature continued to drop as the wind picked up in the second half. In turn, the home side picked up the pace in the last 20 minutes. Garfield matched Lansdowne in attempts even as they continued to be out-possessed. More long balls and set pieces tested Danso in net forcing him to make two key saves in the final moments. One play in the 89th minute forced a Yonkers defender to help clear the ball off the line after a cross got past Danso in net.
For Lansdowne the year will end on multiple high notes. After an incredible stretch between late 2020 and early 2022, including winning the National Amateur Cup, the team began to stumble this past spring. A loss in the semifinals of the Eastern Premier Soccer League conference semifinals meant no defense of its championship the previous season. Combined with a Second Round loss in the Open Cup and two straight state cup final losses (Amateur & Werner Fricker) in the last month has been a lot to take in. Elsewhere though the team has returned to form, including entering the EPSL’s winter break atop the Metropolitan Conference.
“Things are turning around, it’s not easy,” Kelly said. “We had a tough offseason in terms of losing a few players. Plus the season didn’t end the way we wanted to. But there was a lot that went with that, like injuries and fatigueness. We were going on, like, 14-15 months in a row.”
Vistula’s run to a tournament berth ends on a sour note but Karcz can still admire what his team has accomplished. Entering the winter break his team is second in the Garden State Soccer League’s Super Division. Meanwhile, 2022 has seen multiple high’s including a win in the regional Amateur Cup tournament and just reaching a “Win & You’re In” USOC qualifying game. While Vistula Garfield celebrated its 70th anniversary this year he thinks the team’s soccer history is only just beginning.
“It’s so great. The Red Bulls’ club, the Polish community is here supporting us. It feels great to where we were a year ago,” Karcz said. “So much improvement. It’s unlucky that we came so close to making this tournament but we had a great run against a lot of difficult teams, we got through them. Couldn’t make it over the finish line but I’m proud of our whole team for fighting every single game, all four of them.
“We’re gonna keep on going, keep on entering more cup tournaments, get more experience for the younger guys.”
