Result: Firsts State Cup Qrt-Final 4/19/09

Polonia S.C 0 Barnstonworth Rovers 1

The Rovers, with quality abound, blazed past Polonia and their numerous fans at McCarren Park 1-0. The telling moment came in the 60th minute when Andy tenaciously closed down the Polonia defender besides the box, won the ball, and released the overlapping Oren. He broke to the end line before cutting his pass back to Colin arriving just at the six, who then delicately slotted it to the far post and the Rovers to the their 2nd State Cup Semi in 3 seasons.
This time the Rovers had the effectiveness and determination that was necessary to make their superior quality show on the score-sheet. They dominated possession the entire first 45, with Broach a virtual spectator, and both flank players terrorized the slower Polonia backs. But they fashioned few clear cut chances as everyone opted for an additional pass in the final third when shooting would have sufficed. The best came from a build up on the right. Jordi swung a trademark cross; Pugli rose at the penalty spot but headed just wide.
The Rovers should have gone ahead early in the 2nd. A nifty build on the left and Einar sprung for Andy on the right, inside the box. He won the first ball and a kind bounce set him with only the keeper to beat. The Pole made a sprawling save, but had Andy not lamented his miss, he could have still scored on the rebound.
He made up for it with his hustle a few minutes later, setting up the only goal of the match.
The Rovers lost control of the tempo in the final 25 minutes but their class and grit guided them safely to the end. The Firsts' defense was brilliantly strong, stable and always organized against one of the most physical teams in the league. The Poles threatened only sparingly. The first time with an inexplicable – crowd appeasing – indirect free kick away from the play inside the Rover D that was blocked by the wall. Then on a counter that Fonzi raced back to tackle just outside the area, and with 5 minutes to play when a ball squirted in the area but Broach was quick to dive to his left for the save.
The Rovers had several chances to kill the match off, Jordi’s effort was well saved from an angle, Nessa’s header went over the bar, Pugli’s one timer from a good position flattered wildly and Sam – on for Pugli – kept possession near the very end instead of going to goal after stealing the ball from the sweeper. In the end no more was necessary.
The Rovers are off to another semi-final.
Team: Dave Borchard, Jon Nessa, Vidar Ekehaug, Mark Kushemba, Andrew George, Colin Marshall, Oren Nhaissi, Jordan Chirico, Einar Benedktsson, Andy Abramovits, Stephen Pugliese. Subs: (all played) Randi Lee, Alfonzo Nanclares, Sam Minaya.