With New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and United States women’s national team head coach Emma Hayes watching on, Gotham FC played out to a 1-1 draw against Boston Legacy FC at Sports Illustrated Stadium on Saturday.
Though there was a controversial non-penalty call, Gotham should have found a late winner when they unleashed a flurry of chances at Boston keeper Casey Murphy.
Midge Purce, Juan Carlos Amorós Voice Frustration Over Missed Penalty Decision
Gotham winger Midge Purce vented her frustration during her post-match press conference and suggested that if she were fined, head coach Juan Carlos Amorós would pay the fine.
“There was a missed pen, go ahead fine me,” Purce lamented. “The stadium knew it. They saw it. [I’m] just so upset. Juan’s got to pay for it.”
“There could have been a couple of second yellows, a penalty but you can’t really control that,” Amorós added. “You can’t really control that you need to control what you can do. I was pleased with the heart and determination of my team.”
In all, Gotham outpossessed Boston 60-40 and outshot the visitors 17-6.
“Obviously, to end with a tie does not feel good for us,” Purce stated. “We’re really trying to be more consistent with our results, especially in a game where we dominate in terms of creating chances and being in the final third.
“For us, this is one of those things where we’re gonna put our head down and figure out how to be more efficient and get the win next game.”
Jaedyn Shaw Continues Strong Form With First-Half Goal
It seemed like the match was going to go Gotham’s way after Jaedyn Shaw pounced on a rebound chance in the 37th minute to give Gotham FC a 1-0 lead. It took only three minutes for Boston to even the match, and Alba Cano scored an incredible sliding goal to even the match at 1-1 before the halftime break.
The Bats pushed hard in the second half in front of a crowd of 11,308, which was the fourth-largest regular-season home crowd in Gotham FC history.
After five minutes of added time were added on, several pinball moments could have produced Gotham’s match winner. Unfortunately for them, it wasn’t their day.
“The last 25-30 minutes we put them under so much pressure,” Amorós said. “I thought the connection with the fans was great. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes you draw, but I like the feeling of knowing that my team is the one that would always want to win and give everything for that.”
Visit to Seattle Next for Gotham, Followed by Concacaf W Champions Cup
Gotham FC will next head out west to face Seattle Reign FC next Friday. The match at Lumen Field will kick off at 10 p.m. Eastern Time and will precede the Bats’ trip to Pachuca, Mexico, where they will resume Concacaf W Champions Cup play.
Club América Femenil will face Gotham in the tournament’s semifinal on May 20. Should Gotham advance to the final, they will face the winner of the Washington Spirit and Club de Fútbol Pachuca Femenil on May 23.
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