In a match which was fairly evenly balanced at times, the Savannah Clovers ran out 2-0 victors thanks to goals from Roddy Green and Vlad Jokić.
Brave SC formerly the Villages SC have a strong Open Cup pedigree and also were the USL League Two Champions in the South Region last season.
The move of Open Cup’s early rounds to March (they were previously in May but we moved to accommodate MLS’ Leagues Cup) both clubs were playing their first competitive matches of 2024.
This meant often times attacking moves for both clubs broke down as a lack of match sharpness and continuity in terms of fluid play that comes understanding with your teammates was lacking. But nonetheless, the provided some genuine moments of quality- often provided by Green, a former Detroit City standout.
Savannah were a side that looked more physically prepared to play, but the Villages SC probably had more individual technical talent.
Brave SC operates at an extremely high level for a USL League 2 club and in addition to a decent crowd at a venue the team had never previously played at, the media operation was first class.
In fact, we had printed media notes, which often times you don’t get at NISA, USL League One or even in some cases at USL Championship venues.
I’ll have more on the game in the next few days, and we plan to cover Brave SC closely in the forthcoming USL League 2 season.