Playoff Match Report: Vermont Green FC 1-0 Reading United AC

It was a monumental night at Virtue Field as Yaniv Bazini’s 90th minute winner sent Vermont Green FC past Reading United AC and into the next round of USL League Two Playoffs.

Adam Pfeifer’s Starting XI for the occasion consisted of goalkeeper Jahiem Wickham and a defensive core led by captain Moussa Ndiaye. Alongside the skipper was Reid Fisher, with Nathan Simeon and Nick Lockermann playing wide. In the center of the park, the familiar duo of Sam Layton and Rodrigo Vaza served as the engine for Mohammed Ibrahim, flanked by Jackson Castro and Zach Zengue as the attacking trio. The birthday boy Yaniv Bazini started up top.

The match was a back and forth affair from the very start, and would remain so until the dying seconds. In the slick rain, conditions altered the usual calmness of a Vermont Green FC match, and a slightly more frantic and erratic match ensued from both sides.

In the first half, the sold out crowd saw flashes of brilliance between Mohammed Ibrahim and Zach Zengue, but the Green just couldn’t find a way past the Reading keeper. Jahiem Wickham was, on more than one occasion, called upon to make a save, most notably in the 37th minute when the netminder saved Reading’s best effort of the opening stanza.

The match was deadlocked and goalless at half-time.

After the break, the weather began to clear and the style of play became more familiar. The two sides battled it out, exchanging chances and blows throughout. As the clock crept towards 90:00, it looked as though the match was destined for extra time, but number 18 in Green had a different conclusion in mind.

In the final minute of the match, the energy of Virtue Field and the indescribable magic of the fans, the ground, and the entire community surged into the legs of the Boys in Green, and a perfectly placed cross from Nathan Simeon found the head of folkloric icon Yaniv Bazini. The striker, positioned in mid-air as if painted by Michelangelo, glancing his header past the keeper and into the corner of the net, sending Virtue Field into an eruption of euphoria. 1-0 to the Boys in Green.

Seconds later, the final whistle blew.

Vermont Green FC will now travel to Ocean City, NJ to take on the Long Island Rough Riders in the Round of 32. The match will be played Friday, July 19th at 5pm at Carey Stadium.