Emigrantes Das Ilhas to face a familiar Foe in the U.S Open Cup Qualifying

Region I US open cup will resume this upcoming weekend with Emigrantes traveling down to Danbury Connecticut to play Danbury United at the Portuguese Cultural Center on Sunday the 24th at 2:00pm. (http://www.portugueseculturalcenter.com/index.htm ) Massachusetts champions Emigrantes Das Ilhas earned the right to play in the competition by defeating Lowell United 3-2 in the finals. In the 1st round of the qualifying, Emigrantes hosted traditional powerhouse (Winners of the U.S. Open Cup in 1980, 1982 and 1983) NY Pancyprians at Massasoit Community College and impressively ousted the Pancyprians out of the qualifying rounds 4-2 with goals scored by Zico, Djay, and their two veterans Waldir and Semedo. However, Emigrantes faces stiff competition from a formidable opponent in Danbury United. Danbury, composed most of Brazilian players is a familiar foe, as they traveled to Brockton and defeated Emigrantes on penalties after a 1-1 draw to qualify for the 2007 Open Cup at Marciano stadium. Ironically, their win over Emigrantes was at the same stage of this competition. Once again Danbury United looks to deny Emigrantes its 1st birth into the prestigious Lamar Hunt U.S Open Cup. Danbury United thrashed New Jersey Champions US Parma 6-1 on Sunday to get to this stage and seem to be in good form. However, the talented and confident Emigrantes side will be looking to spoil the party for Danbury.



Emigrantes started the season in good form by defeating NELASA’s last two champions, Fidjos Terra and Clube Tabanka respectively, to capture the pre-season tournament. They began their Nelasa season with two consecutive clean sheets by defeating Strela Negra and Mindelo by the same sore 2-0, but stumbled to a scoreless draw versus winless Café De Fogo this past weekend. The question remains which Emigrantes team will show up? The team that started the NELASA season in fine fashion and convincingly eliminated the NY Pancyprians from the cup, or the team that squandered numerous chances against Café De Fogo and missed the opportunity to climb to the top of NELASA’s group B? We will know the answer to that question on Sunday afternoon. For those not traveling to the game and are eager to know the results there will be live updates on http://www.usopencup.com.

Carlos Amado

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