LYNN — It was a high-scoring affair at Manning Field on Thursday night. The Lynn English Bulldogs (2-2-4) got the best of the Lynn Classical Rams (0-1-8) by a score of 5-2, but for English coach Valdrim Xhemajli, it was more than just a regular season win.
“This is my first time beating them,” said Xhemajli, fired up postgame. “Classical usually gets the better of us; I really wanted this one.”
The Rams made the first attacking move, which forced English center back Eferzon Ismael Ovalle to make two key blocks in the opening minutes.
The Bulldogs responded with a chance of their own just eight minutes into the contest, capitalizing quickly. Darwin Flores found Alfredo Pablo Lopez down the wing, who chipped the keeper and got a fortunate bounce off the post to give English a 1-0 advantage.
Xhemajli held the highest of praise for Pablo Lopez for his goal – and overall efforts – as he created a plethora of English chances.
“[Lopez] is great, our energy, [and] gives us life,” Xhemajli said. “When [Lopez] plays, we all play.”
The Rams refused to back down from the early deficit, responding just seven minutes later. Abbie Esturado De Leon (2 goals) sent a free kick overhead and, after a misread from Bulldogs’ keeper Byron Ramirez, trickled one in to even the score, 1-1.
It was a back-and-forth battle for the rest of the half, one that saw English gain momentum into the break, scoring with four minutes remaining (2-1). Even so, Xhemajli wanted more.
“The first half didn’t go exactly the way we wanted it to,” he said. “We got lucky with an own goal, but in the second half, I told the guys they needed to play with confidence and trust their abilities, and then everything else would turn out.”
Consider it done. Alfredo Pablo Lopez was taken down in the box after an aggressive move towards goal, which allowed teammate Danny Lopez to score from the penalty marker.
Just seven minutes later, with 22 remaining in the game, Jhaminton Gomez Lopez took a bouncing ball in stride, blooping it towards the back post and over the keeper’s head to give English a comfortable 4-1 lead.
Classical coach Eric Moreno said his team “started off slow” and eventually “put themselves in a hole” after an array of defensive errors.
The effort was there, but with the Bulldogs’ defensive effort, it wasn’t meant to be.
Jose Licardie put the icing on the cake for English, poking a ball from outside the 18-yard box that found its way in for the fifth goal.
After the loss, Moreno said he’s looking forward to the future of his young team.
“We’re really young, and the pressure, it’s there for them,” he said. “This whole team is going to be back for the next two years, so we’ve got a lot to work on.”
Xhemajli, on the other hand, was ecstatic with the traditional rivalry victory.
“I’m happy for our guys, I know how badly they wanted it,” Xhemajli said. “I’m just very impressed with the guys fighting.”
