They were used to winning, but they had to fall to the ground because of a coup by a world football icon like Alex Morgan. NJ/NY Gotham FC, coached by Spanish JJuan Carlos Amorós and with his countrymen Esther González and Maitane López in the squad, this Friday lost the Challenge Cup against the San Diego Wave 0-1 with a header goal in the 88th minute by Alex Morgan.
Gotham was declared the champion of the NWSL in 2023, which is the professional women’s soccer league in the United States.
In that mirror in the display case, the combination of New Yorkwith home-field advantage, this Friday the San Diego Wave, winners of the 2023 Shield (best team in the regular season), faced off in the Challenge Cup, which this year changed its format to single-match play . and before the league starts in the style of a super cup.
14,241 spectators attended the Red Bull Arena in Harrison (New Jersey, USA) for a match where two Spaniards started: Esther played 90 minutes but Maitane had to retire due to injury in the 84th minute.
The San Diego team especially stifled Gotham, losing all five games against them (including this one) that they played.
The New Yorkers carried the brunt of the match from the start, with Esther successfully moving between the lines and against a high-pressing visiting team and focused on recovering the ball to get out quickly.
The first and double chance came for Gotham in the 22nd minute, first with a shot that went high by Delanie Sheehan. On the ensuing goal kick, they quickly steal the ball from San Diego and Esther sends the ball into the net.
Seven minutes later, the Spanish forward also failed to finish off a cross in the middle of the area.
The Wave began to gradually build up and create some isolated opportunities. The most dangerous came in the 33rd minute with a shot after a cutback by Jaedyn Shaw, but goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan made a great save and the match went to half-time scoreless.
At halftime, Alex Morgan came on for the Californians, who last week won the first edition of the Gold Cup with the United States, beating Brazil in the final.
Despite playing tonight for the rival team, the attacker was welcomed by the applause of the spectators at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison (New Jersey, USA).
Gotham’s lack of goals didn’t change after the restart, as they continued to come close to the opposition goal but couldn’t open the scoring. Possession was more balanced in the second half, with San Diego taking a clear step forward.
Towards the end of the match and with Maitane off the field due to injury, Morgan scored the only goal of the night with a header from a corner.
The Challenge Cup served as an appetizer for the NWSL, which will play this weekend on the first day of its 2024 season with the new experience of joining two new teams: Bay FC and Utah Royals.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
