By Randy Kim
KINGSTON, N.Y. -- Kingston Stockade FC took the pitch against Albany FC for the club's first-ever friendly on Wednesday night, but fell to the visitors, 2-1.
Despite the cold weather at Dietz Stadium, an impressive number of spirited Stockade supporters showed up for the match, and were treated to a first-half goal by Michael Creswick, the first goal scored in Stockade history (watch here). The goal was scored on a fine header off a curling free kick from the left side in the 38th minute.
Utilizing a solid 4-4-2 formation, Stockade went into the half with a well-deserved 1-0 lead. Kingston head coach George Vizvary substituted his entire 11 in the second half, and Albany FC promptly went on to score two goals in the 56th and 60th minutes, courtesy of Kyle Clancy and Tom Allen.
Stockade then forced the action for the last 15 minutes of the match, and nearly leveled on a header that just skimmed over the crossbar in the 93rd minute. But ultimately the visitors prevailed.
After the match, Vizvary talked about what he saw on the night.
"We played good enough to win the ball game in the first half," said Vizvary. "But I'm not the type of person who would praise mediocrity. They still need training, they need coaching, and they have to have the system to be embedded in their minds. Obviously some of the negatives came out."
"But the goal showed promise," continued Vizvary. "The service was good."
Here was the first half starting XI:
Skonieczny; Gatti, Phillips, Lis-Simmons, Paine; Alvarez, Koziol, Macklin, vonEgypt; Creswick, Barone
And here was the XI used in the second half:
Giddings; Bogart, Steigerwald, Nedwetzky, Iapoce; Tropeano, Rodriguez, Anasta, Vrydaghs; Daum, Fortier
Stockade next faces Albany FC in another friendly in Albany on Wednesday, April 13.
The club's first league match is on May 8 at Greater Lowell United.
The club's first home match is on Saturday, May 21 at 2 p.m. at Dietz Stadium against Rhode Island Reds.