USL2 Game Recap: West Chester United SC 3 – 1 Reading United AC
On Tuesday, June 2nd, Reading United AC traveled to Wayne, PA, to face West Chester United SC, falling to a 3-1 defeat.
A beautiful summer night set the stage for a showdown between two sides looking to climb the league table and get points on the board. The early tempo was fast, with both teams battling for a foothold. West Chester United SC settled into early possession, patiently spraying the ball around the backline.
The first real chance of the match came around the 13th minute, when West Chester’s Thomas Robertson peeled off his defender and fired a quick shot at RUAC goalkeeper Eion Kennedy, who got down low to his right to make a diving save. Robertson, however, would not be denied. Minutes later, a solid passage of West Chester play found the ball switched out left. The delivery was deflected perfectly into Robertson’s path — peeling off his defender once more — and he fired a laser into the left side of the net that left Kennedy with no chance.
Looking for an equalizer, RUAC surged forward. Around the 29th minute, Reading spotted an overload and countered down the right flank. The cross found Adrian Kang Hagman at the back post, who whipped in a dangerous low driven ball met by the sliding foot of Michiharu Takanashi for the equalizer. From there, the match began to open up, with chances falling to Shugai Kaliisa and Takanashi, but no breakthrough could be found.
Sensing the pressure, West Chester slowly wrestled back possession and began to dictate the game on their own terms. A quick line-splitting through ball found Caden Grabfelder, who created an inch of space before threading it to a wide-open Michael Howard, who curled a beauty into the right side of the net.
West Chester were cruising before the break, and two massive saves from RUAC goalkeeper Eoin Kennedy, one on Tyler Flynn and another on Robertson, may very well have kept Reading in the match. West Chester took a 2-1 advantage into halftime.
The second half saw the sides switch ends, but otherwise picked up right where it left off, with Kennedy called into action almost immediately to deny a world-class outside-of-the-boot strike from West Chester.
Midway through the second half, the match began to die down, with both sides showing the fatigue of a high intensity game. A plethora of substitutions were made on both sides as RUAC searched for the all-important equalizer. The second-half deadlock, however, was broken by a beautiful combination from two West Chester substitutes. Funzia Donzo received the ball on the left wing and put an enticing low delivery into the box that saw the entire RUAC backline freeze. Ronan Sullivan reacted quickest, tapping home at the back post to give his side a massive insurance goal.
RUAC pushed for a comeback, with chances from the dangerous Takanashi and second-half substitute Nicholas Papadopoulos testing the West Chester backline. The backline, however, never broke, holding sturdy to seal a 3-1 victory at home.
RUAC conclude their away spell and return home on Wednesday, June 10th, where they will look to bounce back against the Ocean City Nor’easters in their next USL2 fixture.
