Jeremy Kelly was the hero as 901 FC beat One Knoxville in the dying embers of extra time in the U.S. Open Cup in a tightly contested battle.
Dylan Borczak and Kelly were the goal scorers in the 2-1 victory, with Borczak’s coming in the 38′ minute. He collected the first shot on goal and corner kick of the match as well in an electric first half.
Despite playing in a league below, Knoxville came into the contest in much better form — winning their first professional match in USL League One against Lexington SC 2-1. Memphis was able to come into hostile territory and hold more possession and have one more shot on goal, which ended up making all of the difference.
With interstate rivals competing in a knockout cup competition, the tense, foul-filled play that featured throughout was not a shock. Between the two clubs, there were 47 (!) fouls and 8 yellow cards were given. A couple of scary collisions also occurred inside the box with players taking a bit of time to recover.
Neither club was able to gather much momentum in the opening stages due to the constant stop in play. Both sides were unafraid to pressure high up in an attempt to win the ball back, but Memphis showcased a bit more composure in breaking through. Laurent Kissiedou and Borczak connected often in the build up, as 901 favored the right side of the pitch.
The first goal of the game came from a set piece, unsurprising considering the amount of stoppages, involving a bit of trickery from Memphis. Aaron Molloy trailed the decoy of Kissiedou and swung in a ball to the center of the box. Borczak scored on a diving header, directing the ball into the bottom left corner.
Sebastian Andreassen was one of the main attacking threats for One Knoxville, receiving lofted balls from teammates often and creating plenty of chances. His size and strength made things difficult for the Memphis back four.
901 FC needed two Bill Hamid saves to stay in front early in the 2nd half, but Knoxville continued their scoring threats resulting in a penalty. Akeem Ward committed the foul inside the box after an ill-timed sliding tackle on Frank Ross. Ilija Ilic converted the penalty. The best chance to respond for Memphis came from an effort by Luiz Fernando, who hit the right post in the 78′ minute.
Fatigue started to creep in during extra time with players spending a bit more time picking themselves up from the turf. 901 had played just three days prior on the road against Miami while Knoxville had been off since March 18th, due to a postponed match.
With the game seemingly destined to go to penalties, the ball fell kindly to Jeremy Kelly off of a corner kick who slotted it into the back of the net.
There is a possibility 901 FC will be matched up against an MLS team in the 3rd round of the U.S. Open Cup.