Captain Seamus Keogh curled in an 86th minute free-kick to edge Lansdowne Yonkers past old rivals New York Athletic Club [NYAC] 1-0 in the first round of the 2027 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Tibbetts Brook Park in Yonkers last Saturday.
The match was the Bhoys’ first outing since their 3-1 extra time loss to California’s El Farolito in the Fritz Marth National Amateur Cup final in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, last July.
Lansdowne and NYAC were locked in a titanic battle under floodlights in America’s version of the FA Cup when Yonkers’ defense broke up a NYAC attack. The ball ended up at the feet of Niko Vidal in the center circle.
The midfielder hoisted a long ball over the top for Sam McCann to chase with two NYAC defenders in pursuit, one of whom knocked him over just outside the box.
Enter Keogh, who’s 24 and a former Irish Under-18 international. The Sligo native fired a shot through a gap cleverly created by big Lansdowne defender Bala Danso, who’d squeezed himself in the six-man NYAC wall then turned away as Keogh right-footed the ball home.
“Excited to be back for the season. This was our first game back since the loss in Milwaukee,” said Lansdowne head coach Matt Kane. “We came up against a really tough NYAC team.”
The Belfastman gave a first appearance to Eric Danquah, the Bhoys’ new Ghanaian-born linkman, signed from Greek rivals Leros.
“Danquah was one of the best midfielders in the league last year,” said Kane. “He had a fabulous game against us in the [Dr. Manning] State Cup final and was [vital] to their success – we’re really excited to get him into the middle of the park.”
Leros blanked the Bhoys 2-0 in the Manning final, their second win over the Yonkers Irish last season – the first being in an American Premier Soccer League [APSL] fixture. It wasn’t until their meeting in the USASA National Amateur Cup Region 1 semi-finals in May that Lansdowne bested Leros, 2-1.
Next up for Lansdowne is Hoboken FC 1912 in their APSL Metropolitan Conference opener at Tibbetts Brook Park this Saturday. Kick-off is 8 p.m.
MIDFIELD CATCH
In another boost to their midfield, Lansdowne have lured the talented Edgard Kreye to Yonkers from El Farolito, the Californian club that beat the Bhoys 3-1 in extra time in the Fritz Marth National Amateur Cup final in Wisconsin two months ago.
Kane hailed the 24-year-old Ivorian native. “[He] was involved in beating us in the national championship. We noticed what he was capable of doing. We're really excited to have him in and I think it highlights the ambition of the club for this year."
