30-degree weather, a swirling wind, and a passionate home crowd were not enough to cool off Union Omaha as they dominated USL 2 side Western Massachusetts Pioneers in the First Round of the US Open Cup. Joe Gallardo got his first hat trick for the Owls, while Steevan Dos Santos found the back of the net for the first time this year. At the other end Rashid Nuhu was able to keep what might have been the easiest clean sheet of his career in the 4-0 victory.
Coach Casciato made two changes to the starting XI from last weekend’s victory at Central Valley Fuego, opting to put Mechack Jérôme on in place of Marco Milanese and Aarón Gómez in place of PC Giro. The bench also saw the highly anticipated return of Ryen Jiba after a year in the Minnesota United system.
Union Omaha kicked off the first half into the wind, but that didn’t seem to stop them from being able to hold possession and string together several good passes together. The Pioneers seemed content to sit back and allow the Owls possession until it was time for a counter attack. That defensive plan lasted all of three minutes as Union Omaha’s quickness and physicality led to Joe Gallardo’s first goal.
After holding off two attackers and winning a throw in on the right side, Steevan dos Santos received the ball just outside the corner of the Pioneers’ box, he again held off a crowd of defenders to find Aarón Gómez with a ball to the top of the box. The defense got caught completely bunched on the right side and had no one to account for Gallardo streaking down the left side of the box. A perfect leading pass from Gómez found Gallardo’s foot which then struck the ball first time off an unfortunate Abdel Talabi and past a helpless Gíanluca Cersosimo for the 1-0 lead.
A little more than two minutes later Gómez came inches from doubling the lead, but was kept out by the crossbar. Union Omaha’s press forced a mistake in the Western Massachusetts half leaving Nortei Nortey with room to run as the ball fell to him. He was stopped just at the top of the box, but the defender’s toe got only enough of the ball to tee up Gómez who released a cannon of a shot that beat the keeper, but rang loudly off the crossbar and back to the defense who dodged a major bullet early.
Play continued mostly like this in the early stages of the match. Western Massachusetts managed to hold the ball more, but couldn’t manage to find a way forward either being out-bodied or out-paced to the second and third balls by a disciplined Union Omaha defense. With the Pioneer attack stalling out and not providing much movement, the Owls continued to press their advantage and challenge for a second goal. Using quick runs, accurate long balls, and effective play switching, they created several opportunities for Dos Santos, Nortel, and Will Perkins. These attacks forced difficult saves, but for all their shots, Omaha couldn’t slot past a now settled in Cerosimo.
In the 38’, Western Massachusetts finally got their first half opportunities to strike at goal. Following a bad touch by Gallardo at midfield, Kalid Rose took the ball off of him and started running toward the goal. With support on his right, he attempted a through ball that would have put Ben Awashie in one-on-one against Rashid Nuhu. Quick instincts by Luca Mastrantonio got just enough of a foot on it, however, and allowed Union Omaha to reset.
They didn’t get to rest for long, though, as a minute later Kerman Sukhia Criado would create the best chance of the first half for the hosts. A quick counter found Criado running down the left side and beating the physical defense of Will Perkins. Moving back toward the box, the Pioneers had a wide open Tomás Duben waiting for the cutback pass, but the ball was popped up just enough for the wind to hold it aloft where Gómez was waiting to intercept it. A clearance by Nortey saw the danger averted.
The half would end shortly after this, but not before Kalid Rose started to show the frustration growing. A late challenge on Pedro Dolabella included a bit too much elbow for the referee’s liking. Rose got a yellow card for his troubles, and the ref got an earful from the passionate home crowd.
Despite the seeming Union Omaha domination in possession, the halftime stats revealed that Western Massachussetts had won the possession battle with 55%. However, none of their possession was that creative as they didn’t register a single shot. The Owls took their 45% possession and turned it into 8 shots, of which 6 were on target. The long balls, switches of play, and second balls were asking questions that, up to that point, only the Pioneer keeper had any real answers for.
The second half saw Western Massachusetts start to bring some more energy as they pressed up the pitch more than they had done in the first half. The resulting play opened up some attacking opportunities, but good keeper play or timely defense prevented any real threat to Nuhu’s goal.
Despite the increase in pressing, it was a mistake from the Pioneers that put Gómez through for a wonderful effort on goal. Attempting to play out of the back, Cerosimo sent a pass to Awashie’s feet that took a bad bounce. With an Owl quickly on him, Awashie attempted to play it back to one of his defenders. The pass was errant and quickly picked up by Gómez who was through on a charging keeper. The shot was brilliantly saved and a rebound shot blocked by the now converging defense to keep the lead at one, but it was simply foreshadowing of what the remaining time would bring.
Union Omaha would take more of the possession, lock down the back line, and control the midfield for the next 20 minutes. Shots continued to fly at Cerosimo, who was up to the task of keeping them out.
That is until the 67’ minute when a great run by Dolabella set up Dos Santos and put him in position to slot home the second goal of the night. Playing out of the back, Luca Mastrantonio spotted Dolabella making a run and being played onside by a defender. Fighting the wind, Mastrantonio put a ball that bounced up in front of Dolabella, who fought off his defender and just managed to head the ball down to a supporting Dos Santos. Dos Santos then took a couple of touches while holding off a defender to then put the ball into the net for a 2-0 lead.
The second goal caused the floodgates to open some as only six minutes later Gallardo would get his second of the night. Receiving the ball back from the midfield, Mastrantonio again spotted a runner ready to slash behind the Pioneer defense. The pass was well placed for Gallardo to take in stride past his marker and toward the keeper. One touch off the bounce was all he needed before rifling a shot to Cerosimo’s near side and in the top corner to make it 3-0.
Finally, in the 83’, Western Massachusetts managed to get a shot away. A cross from Ryen Jiba was cleared away by the Pioneer defense and started a counter attack down the left side. The ball found its way to Juri Schlingmann who, though outnumbered, took on his man to release a right footed shot from just outside the box. The shot, however, would never trouble Nuhu as Blake Malone was able to hang with the attacker and blocked the shot before it ever went anywhere. That would be the host’s only shot of the evening.
In the 87’, talented teenager Mark Bronnik would come on to make his Union Omaha debut, and it wouldn’t be long before he made his impact. Two minutes after coming on, Bronnik received the ball from a broken Pioneer attack and pressed forward from midfield. Dribbling toward two defenders, he picked out Gallardo with a pass to the right side that took the attacker into the Western Massachusetts box. With the central defenders opting to play for the cross, Gallardo took on the tight angle with another rifle shot past Cerosimo at the near post. The Owls celebrated heartily as the ball hit the back of the net securing Gallardo’s first hat trick with Union Omaha.
By the time the full time whistle sounded, the dominant play on the field was reflected in the scoreline. A fully deserved 4-0 on cold Northeast night saw the Owls through to the Second Round of the US Open Cup.
Final stats told the story pretty well. Despite 51% possession, the Pioneers managed one shot, and none that made it past the defenders. Their passing accuracy was a respectable 81%, however a 13% dribble success rate and a lack of movement from their attackers doomed them to be completely overwhelmed by the Union Omaha attack.
Meanwhile, the Owls ended the game with 20 shots, 13 of them on target, and 15 of those shots from inside the box. 83% passing accuracy and 12 interceptions kept them in control of the midfield, and their pace and physicality were too much for the USL 2 side.
Without a doubt, Joe Gallardo was the man of the match. Aside from his 3 goals, his movement caused chaos in the Pioneer back line all night. He finished with 74% passing accuracy, 2 key passes, and a 9.9 rating on the night.
With that, Union Omaha will find itself at their home away from home, Caniglia Field, against our Interstate Frenemies Des Moines Menace on Wednesday, April 3 for the next round of the US Open Cup. Before then, the Owls travel to Chattanooga to resume USL League One action against the Red Wolves on Saturday, March 30.
Random Facts
- Union Omaha has never failed to win a match in US Open Cup play, and are still undefeated against lower-division sides in the competition.
- The Owls’ xG was 2.10 to the Pioneers’ 0.03. The visitors had 28 touches inside the opposition box compared to only 3 for the hosts. Every Union Omaha player who attempted even a single shot had a higher xG on that shot than the Pioneers had all night.
- Not only did the defense lock down Western Massachusetts, they also unleashed 3 shots (2 on target), created 4 chances, and were responsible for 179 of the Owls’ 343 accurate passes.
Key Events
4’ Union Omaha Goal – Gallardo 0-1 (Gómez Assist)
44’ Western Massachusetts Yellow Card – Rose (Foul)
51’ Western Massachusetts Yellow Card – Blasco (Foul)
62’ Union Omaha Sub – Rodriguez Out, Knapp In
62’ Western Massachusetts Sub – Rose Out, Camacho In
67’ Union Omaha Goal – Dos Santos 0-2 (Dolabella Assist)
73’ Union Omaha Goal – Gallardo 0-3 (Mastrantonio Assist)
74’ Western Massachusetts Sub – Duben Out, Hicks In
76’ Western Massachusetts Sub – Calvo Out, Beeston In
79’ Union Omaha Sub – Dolabella, Perkins Out, Aoumaich, Jiba In
85’ Western Massachusetts Sub – Blasco Out, Matera In
86’ Western Massachusetts Sub – Awashie Out, Wadas In
87’ Union Omaha Sub – Dos Santos Out, Bronnik In
89’ Union Omaha Goal – Gallardo 0-4 (Bronnik Assist)
Who Gives A Hoot? 