Sunday, June 9, 2013
READING, Pa. – Reading United’s home match against F.A. Euro-New York Magic had plenty of drama. Like any compelling drama, this match had three distinct acts. Following an uneventful first half, United tallied three second half goals before surviving a late scare from the Magic. In the end, United held on for a 3-2 win to stay unbeaten and moved into first place in the Premier Development League’s Mid Atlantic Division.
The first half was largely uneventful. Reading maintained possession over much of the half, but the United forwards struggled to break through the F.A. Euro defense. The Magic elected to drop eight men behind the ball during the first 45 minutes of the match, and swarmed United’s attackers. Neither keeper was forced to make a save during the first half as the teams went into the locker room knotted at 0-0.
United came out of the locker room with much more urgency and applied heavy pressure in search of the opening goal. The match took its first dramatic turn in the 49th minute when a seemingly mundane challenge resulted in a pushing and shoving match. Damion Lowe dispossesed Viktor Bakkioui near the sideline, with both players going to the ground. Bakkioui got up and put a hand to Lowe’s face, which the big defender swatted away as the two exchanged words. Referee Benjamin Larason intervened and showed Lowe a straight red card. After conferring with the linesman, Larason also sent Bakkioui to the showers.
With more space to work, United pounced. Kadeem Dacres spotted Darius Madison in the Magic penalty area and hit the Union Academy product with a great pass. Madison fired through traffic and past New York keeper Alexander Naples to give Reading a deserved 1-0 lead.
Head Coach Brendan Burke sensed more goals were to be had and inserted crafty midfielder Dante Marini in the 61st minute. Offensive minded midfielder Manolo Sanchez entered the fray in the 65th minute. Sanchez had the Reading fans out of their seats as he nearly got his third goal of 2013, heading a lovely Dacres’ cross just inches wide in the 70th minute.
United doubled their advantage in the 74th minute off a Jason Plumhoff corner kick. The Magic failed to deal with the corner, with the ball finally landing at Ben Sweat’s feet. The left back fired the ball back into the area. Fatai Alashe’s flicked on header went to Larry Ndjock at the far post. Ndjock settled the ball with a quick touch and slotted the ball past Naples.
Ndjock got his second goal of the night in the 79th minute. Sanchez found space down the right flank and played a perfect cross to Ndjock. The forward from Loyola made no mistake and put United up 3-0. Ndjock credited Sanchez for his finish.
“Manolo took a few touches and put the ball in, it was a beautiful pass from him and I was completely free,” said Ndjock.
The three points looked to be safe and secure, but the Magic had other ideas. With Reading on cruise control, F.A. Euro scored what looked like a consolation goal. Some sloppy defending allowed the Magic’s Christian Marcel to score on a tap in at the back post, ending United’s shutout streak at 449 minutes.
Just after the goal, the fourth official signaled that there would be three minutes of stoppage time. Magic quickly won possession following the restart and again pressed forward. Following a corner, Dominick Falanga was left unmarked on the left side of the United penalty area. The midfield fired his shot into the upper 90 of the goal to give the Magic a lifeline.
As the seconds ticked down, New York was unable to mount a final attack. As the referee signaled for full time, United and their faithful could exhale. With the nervy win, United improved their league record to 4-0-1 and leap-frogged next week’s opponent, the Ocean City Nor’easters, into first place.
Reading returns to Exeter’s Don Thomas Stadium on Saturday, June 15th to face their division rivals, the Ocean City Nor’Easters in a battle for first place in the PDL’s Mid-Atlantic Division. Both sides are unbeaten in league play heading into next weekend’s showdown. Tickets are available at www.readingunitedac.com. Reading United offer 2013 Game Day Youth Packages, Group Discount Packages, Birthday Parties and Fundraising Ticket Packages. Contact Denise Strohmayr at denise@readingunitedac.com for all your group needs.