Reading United AC isn’t about to roll over and die for the Cosmos in its Lamar Hunt/U.S. Open Cup match in Reading, Pa. Wednesday night.
Assistant coach Alan McCann said that his players will be ready.
“They’re chomping at the bit, really,” he said. “They really want to get out there and show what they’re made of. A lot of the boys see it as a window to get looked at by bigger and better prospects.”
McCann said that he expected “creativity and excitement,” from his team.
“We want to go out there and show exactly what we’re made of, show the talent that we’ve got here,” he said.
In their previous three years in the competition, the Cosmos have never lost to a lower division team and they hope to continue that streak for the 7 p.m. kickoff at Shirk Stadium on the campus of Albright College.
The victor will meet the winner of the Ocean City Nor’easters – Harrisburg City Islanders match in the third round.
The Premier Development League team earned the right to host by virtue of its 1-0 win victory over the Clarkstown SC Eagles in the first round. The Pennsylvania side won for the sixth successive time in the first round, an Open Cup record.
Frantzdy Pierrot’s penalty kick in first-half stoppage time was the game’s only goal. The 6-3 Haitian international striker earned the attempt when he was fouled after receiving a pass delivered by French midfielder Hugo Delhommelle down the right flank. Despite the loss of defender Jorge Guinovart from a head injury and the ejection of midfielder Aaron Molloy for a second yellow-card in the 76th minute, Reading held on.
The defending champions of the PDL Mid Atlantic Division, Reading United began its regular season with a local derby win against Lehigh Valley United Saturday. Khori Bennet, Pierrot, and Aaron Molloy scored in the 3-1 win. Delhommelle, a product of Stade Rennais FC, had two assists.
When the Cosmos watch match film in preparation and see the icing-on-the-cake goal, a 34-yard rocket of a strike by Molloy. Cosmos head coach Giovanni Savarese and his charges may be relieved Molloy’s red card exit against Clarkstown means he won’t face them.
The Cosmos have reached the Round of 16 each of the last three years. Last year a heart-breaking 2-3 loss to the New England Revolution ended New York’s 2016 Open Cup run, which began with a 2-0 win in the third round over Jersey Express SC and a 1-0 derby win in the fourth round over New York City FC.
