BSJ Match Report: Boston City FC II 1, Juve-Pro Soccer 0 -- Batista bops BCFC deeper into US Open Cup qualifying

MALDEN — All you need to know about the nine-man Boston City FC II’s 1-0 win over 10-man Juve-Pro Soccer in the US Open Cup qualifiers Sunday night, complete with BSJ quickie analysis and insight.

HEADLINES

Batista’s side-volley puts Boston City into Second Qualifying Round: With this 2019 US Open Cup qualifying match opening up thanks to two sending-offs at the tail end of the first half, the Lions took advantage of the additional space almost immediately. Eight minutes after the restart and mere seconds after Juve-Pro’s Antonio Correira had a close try go over the bar, a Marcelo Cunha deep pass from the defending third went to Jhonata Batista, who snapped off a side volley to break a scoreless deadlock. BCFC would have good ideas for a second near the hour mark, but that was it until after Lions defender Jadson Leite saw a straight red, putting the hosts down to nine. But after that restart, BCFC showed it still had teeth, using a sharp counter to Batista, who nearly made it 2-0 from close range.

“(The goal), I’ve tried twice with Marcelo before,” Batista said, “and the first one didn’t work, and the second one didn’t work; I had to keep trying. When I saw the defender going forward, Marcelo did a perfect pass, and with the goalkeeper coming, I had to kick it first time.”

First half sees two sending-offs: It was scoreless after 45, and while there was only one shot registered — BCFC’s Michael Rincon dispossessing a Juve defender and driving in, with Juve goalkeeper Wanderson Macedo charging off his line to parry near the half-hour mark — there was good technical football on display in what looked to turn into a rock fight. But a pair of sending offs four minutes apart — BCFC’s Matt Callahan four minutes after he got the first yellow, and Juve’s Edmilson Barros saw a straight red in first-half stoppage time — saw both sides down to 10 men. A second BCFC red card to Leite with 10 minutes remaining in the normal 90 put the Lions down to nine men. Both Callahan and Leite will miss the next Open Cup match in October.

BCFC, Juve-Pro cap off a scintillating weekend: This matchup about a mile to the east of Malden Center’s Orange Line stop was the final match of the weekend in the US Open Cup qualifiers. In Roxbury, GPS Omens used a blistering counterattack in the 119th minute, with Kelly Gaston (goal, assist) feeding Danny Goldman for the match winner in a 2-1 win over Southie FC. Then in Cambridge, Kendall Wanderers of the Bay State Soccer League needed nine rounds of penalties to knock off Boston Siege FC, after finishing 2-2 in extra time. And in Somerville, Safira FC of the UPSL beat league rival Mass United FC, 3-1.

TURNING POINT

Barros sees red in first-half stoppage time, ensuring the second half begins with 10 men apiece.

BCFC UP

Jhonata Batista: Simply put, Batista put the Lions into the second qualifying round with a stunner of a goal, and nearly made it two.

Juve-Pro UP

Moises Lopes: The Juve-Pro defender was everywhere, playing up at times. It felt like Lopes had his hands in everything JP tried to do against BCFC — he even had the lone Juve-Pro shot on-target in second-half stoppage time — and we’ll honor him for his solid play.

TAKE THAT SWEENS MAY REGRET

Look, I know that a lot of people dismiss lower league soccer for the simple fact that it’s lower league, and that it’s a short season. I get that. But let’s be real: the dismissal isn’t warranted. This was a fun time in Malden, with some players who are talented, some who are fast, and all who just love our sport. And it doesn’t help that they serve some damn good pizza at halftime here at Malden Catholic. It’s a good product, just like MLS, and it’s worth supporting. We need to grow our game organically, and there were quite a few people in the stands here tonight. Would love to see more in October, that’s for sure.

QUOTABLE QUOTES

“That was a great victory; it’s the first game in the US Open Cup, and that will give us confidence for the following games, and gives us the US Open Cup vibes.”

— Jhonata Batista

UP NEXT

The draw for the Second Qualifying Round will take place later this week. Stay tuned to my Twitter account for the full Massachusetts-based fixture list.