Boston City halted a two-match losing streak and brought home a point from New York Athletic Club but were left frustrated as several chances to claim victory went begging.
Coach Michael Bustamante remained in the heart of midfield and made two changes from the side beaten by the New York Cosmos on Saturday as Ralph Angrand came in for injured left back Willian Bonora and Samuel Dossa returned out wide for the unavailable Rigoberto Jimenez.
As they did in the opening two matches of the new National Premier League season, the Lions conceded an early goal put down to a defensive error and trailed 1-0 after ten minutes.
Boston City bounced back as top-scorer Jhonata Batista equalized nine minutes later with his third strike of the season, but the striker was not able to put away opportunities that came his way in the second half.
The Lions used their third goalkeeper of the campaign as Sandro van Kuijck replaced Jason Katz at halftime and also gave debut to defender William Balanta who has impressed for the club’s development team in the Bay State Soccer League. The new-look Lions have given debuts to
14 players in four matches so far in 2019.
Boston City (0-2-2) will complete a 1,400-mile road trip in New York state on Saturday when they travel to face the Brooklyn Italians (1-0-0), kickoff 7pm at the Aviator Sports Complex. Coach Bustamante’s side then complete a string of four away matches at Greater Lowell Rough Diamonds (0-1-1) on Friday, May 25. The next Lions home match is against Greater Lowell on Sunday, May 26 at Harry Della Russo Stadium in Revere, kickoff 6pm. Tickets are available at www.BostonCityFC.com.
