Junior Lone Star FC began its 2017 season with a preseason friendly on Wednesday afternoon away to United Soccer League (USL)’s Bethlehem Steel FC who won 7-0 at the YSC Soccer Stadium in Wayne, PA.
Santi Moar scored twice in the space of 8 minutes (22nd minute and 30th minute) to put the Steel ahead 2-0 before Yosef Samuel added the third right before half-time for the Steel.
After the break, the Stars almost pulled one back when Anthony Allison found himself one-on-one with the keeper but his attempt was saved. Right after that, the Steel added their fourth via the Liberian international Seku Conneh.
Justin McMaster then added a brace with two easy tap-ins to increase the scoreline to 6-0 before Chris Nanco completed the 7-0 drubbing even though the Stars had two goals disallowed for offside.
After the game, Junior Lone Star FC co-head coach Neewilli Saie had this to say:
“Preseason is like a workshop where coaches and players get to try different ideas. It was an honor playing against the Bethlehem Steel. We certainly did not bring our “A” game during this match and we were rightfully punished by a better team. We learned a lot during the game in regards to the level of talent we have and the quality of players at our disposal. We will go back to the drawing board and reassess our strategy of training, recruitment, and player development for the upcoming season. We have a good team that had a bad performance. We will analyze where we need improvement and look forward to the next preseason game against Wilmington University on April 1st.”
The Stars will resume training on Monday as they prepare for their next pre-season match on Saturday, April 1st away to Wilmington University.
PHOTO CREDIT: Matt Ralph (Brotherly Game)