Samba 3-3 (3-5p) Celtic
It was a disappointing night for the club out on Randall’s Island as player no shows and a red card incident saw the Samba Boys finish on ten men and squander a two goal half time lead before falling on penalty kicks in the embarrassing affair.
Samba were easily dominant throughout the first half, creating chances at will against their physical opposition. Amara Sesay slipped a ball to Deandre Gordon, who curled a golaso into the back of the net to begin the game. Celtic were able to score a goal from a set piece, but Gordon soon combined with Tijani Fatah to put Samba back in front. When Fatah then assisted Rijon Harrison, one could have been forgiven for thinking that the Samba Boys would go on to score 6 or 7 goals on the night. Unfortunately, wasted chances and casual play allowed the score to remain at 3-1 at the intermission.
Celtic came out a renewed force in the second half and physically manhandled the quick and skillful Samba players. The referee never put the violent Celts in check and allowed for physical play to continue as Samba’s players began to fade from the physical beatings. Ghanaian youngsters Fatah and Sabitu Issah in particular were lucky to come out of the game without serious long term injuries. Celtic scored two surprising goals in quick succession to bring the game back to 3-3 off of self inflicted mistakes by Samba in the defensive third. Later on, a Celtic player used unflattering remarks towards Rijon Harrison and shoved the young Jamaican forward. Harrison retaliated by shoving the Celtic player who theatrically dove to the floor to get the referee’s attention, resulting in Harrison being shown red. Ultimately, the encounter went to penalties and Samba were knocked out of the Manning Cup despite being the better team.
Events
1st Half:
KidSuper Samba AC goal Deandre Gordon, assist Amara Sesay
Manhattan Celtic goal
KidSuper Samba AC goal Tijani Fatah, assist Deandre Gordon
KidSuper Samba AC goal Rijon Harrison, assist Tijani Fatah
2nd Half:
Manhattan Celtic goal
Manhattan Celtic goal
Penalties:
Manhattan Celtic: Score, Score, Score, Score, Score
KidSuper Samba AC: Score (Dylan Cope), Score (Amara Sesay), Score (Deandre Gordon), Miss (Tajae Dennis)
KidSuper Samba AC Roster
Starters: Ahmed Faiad, Braden Scales, Tajae Dennis, Mamadou Dioubate, Sabitu Issah, Housainou Ogoo (C), Dylan Cope, Amara Sesay, Tijani Fatah, Deandre Gordon, Rijon Harrison
Substitutes: Moustapha Sylla, Chris Peralta
Unused Substitutes: Alieu Barrie