Vermont Green FC Secures 3-1 Win Over Black Rock FC
The Green are scoring goals
Vermont Green FC secured a crucial win as it looks to win a Northeast Divison championship.
Niklas Herceg started in net behind the backline of Bernardo Prego, Moussa Ndiaye, Brandon Marshall, and Gabe Fernandez. Diego Rived and Julien Le Bourdoulous served as defensive midfielders while Zach Zengue was in his familiar No. 10 role.
Ryan Zellefrow and Mo Ibrahim were on the wings while Jacob Labovitz started at striker.
Vermont’s press was working wonders early on in the match as Black Rock’s goalkeeper was under pressure and the Green dominated possession in the first five minutes of the match. Diego Rived found the ball on his feet and played a beautiful floater in on goal that found a sprinting Labovitz. The striker played a back heel to Zellenfrow who attempted a curler that failed to find the back of the net in the 7th minute.
It was Zellefrow who would break the dead lock in the 22nd minute with a great display of effort and perseverance. Zengue played a quick throw in to Labovitz who played a ball across the face of goal and after being deflected by a running Ibrahim, Zellefrow picked up the rebound and slotted the ball in the back of the net before colliding with the goalkeeper.
Black Rock had less than a handful of chances halfway through the first half and none of them tested Herceg. In the 24th minute, Black Rock got its first real chance with the Vermont goalkeeper caught out of his net but Marshall blocked the ball off the goal line.
The half ended in an eventful manner as Labovitz and Zengue were in a race with the Black Rock goalkeeper for the ball and the shot-stopper lost with him taking down Labo who then collided with Zengue. Vermont got a gift of a free kick just outside the box but Le Bourdoulous’ free kick sailed just over the bar.
At half, David Ajagbe came on, replacing the goalscorer Zellenfrow.
Vermont would add to its tally early on in the second half as Labovitz was the helper instead of the goalscorer. The striker played a beautiful through ball to Zengue who calmly curled it past Black Rock’s goalkeeper in the 49th minute.
The Green scored its final goal of the match in the 59th minute as a Le Bourdoulous corner kick found Ajagbe who headed the ball into the back of the net.
“Yeah, I think that's been the story of the season, the impact off the bench,” head coach Chris Taylor said. “To be honest, we've got an amazing squad. It's changed a lot in the last few weeks, and we've had to figure some things out. But if you got Dave Ajagbe on the bench, you're okay.”
Soon after, Brandon Parrish and Arnaud Tattevin replaced Rived and Labovitz. With Alex Hall and Sam McCann later joining the match, replacing Prego and Ibrahim.
While Black Rock managed to grab a goal back, it wasn't enough as Vermont secured the 3-1 win. Now the Green will play its final home game against Albany on Tuesday before a top-of-the-table clash with Western Mass Pioneers on Friday.