Portland Hearts of Pine Fans Take In First USL League One Match
The Hearts muck it up in the rain, and get a hard-earned point in Naples.
Rain? Physical football? Yellow Cards? Bring it on. The Portland Hearts of Pine don’t mind mucking it up in the elements with a physical brand of football. All of which was on display at Paradise Coast Sports Complex Stadium.
The Hearts made one change from the lineup that took the pitch in the first round of the U.S. Open Cup at Lewiston, ME. Colby Quinones, back from Puerto Rico international duty, started at right back over Jaden Jones-Riley.
Over 200 boisterous supporters, family, and staff members equipped with flags, chants, and signs made the trip to Naples to support the first USL League One match for Portland Hearts of Pine.
Meanwhile, a watch party of some 75 people organized by the Dirigo Union at Rising Tide in Portland, Maine, was getting ready for the match with their “Heart Attack” chant. Rising Tide was at capacity, and some 30 more fans made their way down the road to the Portland Zoo, a Dirigo Union and Hearts of Pine hotbed. The party on Fox Street was winding up for kickoff.
The first half was a bit turgid. A large majority of the play was in the middle of the pitch with some half-chances here and there. Sean Vinberg was a duel-winning machine for the Hearts. Vinberg won 9 of his 10 duels, with Ollie Wright’s 7 of 9, and Azaad Liadi’s 12 of 20 joining the fun as the first to the ball leaders for the Hearts of Pine.
FC Naples 6’ 5” center back Jake Dengler did a great job limiting the output of young Titus Washington in the match. In the 77th minute head coach Bobby Murphy made some changes.
Varela off, Evan Southern on.
Quinones off, Jaden Jones-Riley on.
A. Liadi off, Mikey Lopez on.
It marked the first time Lopez had touched grass in a competitive match since he injured his achilles tendon with USL Championship’s Birmingham Legion over a year ago. Lopez got a much needed 13 minutes under his belt and went a perfect 12 for 12 in his passing.
Lopez needs to get back into the swing of things after a long layoff from competitive soccer. He’s a player that can bring so much experience and guidance to this team. He’s a player that has been there and done that as they say. The Hearts of Pine would love to harness a healthy and confident Lopez to guide them through their inaugural season.
In the 86th minute Vinburg collected the ball from an attempted Naples counterattack and passed it off to Jones-Riley out on the right flank. Jones-Riley passed a beautiful curling pass around the defense to a forward running Washington.
The striker gathered the pass on his right foot and pulled the trigger on a shot that skipped under a diving Lalo Delgado and rolled just outside the far post for a Naples goal kick. It would have been a tap in if there had been a Heart’s runner on the back post.
Multiple half chances for the Hearts with no finishing touch wrapped up extra time with no luck. 0-0 at the final whistle. The Hearts of Pine will travel back to Lewiston, Maine for their second round U.S. Open Cup tilt against USL Championship side Hartford Athletic.