14 Yellow Cards: Chippy Match Up between UPSL Squads

Saturday evening’s second UPSL match at Columbus’s new Kilbourne Run Sports Complex saw Fut Ohio FC draw 2-2 with Leal United. Besides the plummeting dusk temperatures, this match was heated from beginning to end. The packed stands had the pleasure to witness a historic record of 14 yellow cards awarded between both squads. To put that into perspective, that ties the all-time English Premier League record set in 2024 by Bournemouth and Chelsea which had 14 yellows. Even more rare was that no one was sent off!

The match began, as mentioned, heated; Fireworks from the jump. In this case, there were legitimate fireworks going off right next to the field. Moments later Yanoswky Reyes tucks away a shot into the left side of the goal to put Leal United up one nil just minutes into the game. Having capture early momentum, Leal dominated play keeping the ball pinned deep in their opponent’s half. However, Fut Ohio’s Jack Kousouji was determined to prove why he is one of the top talents in UPSL as he created a slew of counter attack runs. One of which earned his team a penalty kick as he was tripped up inside the eighteen yard box. Columbus legend and Liga de Expansion MX Professional, Buba Fadika, was the one who stepped up to the PK spot and delivered the equalizer. Leal quickly managed to regroup and continued their aggressive play. And not surprising another foul called close to the penalty box gave Leal a great opportunity for a set piece. Reyes, who scored the opener, squared up the free kick and buried it into the left upper ninety from 25 yards out. His teammates and fans went crazy in celebration as Leal United took back the lead before halftime.

The second half was bit more tame. As expected, Leal players tried their best to whittle down the clock as much as possible. In fact, these best efforts led to 4 of those 14 yellow cards. But Fut Ohio knew what they had to do. Leal was content with playing defense for forty-five minutes and Fut relentlessly created dangerous scoring opportunities. Unfortunately for Leal, one of those dangerous attacks led to a penetrating cross that bounce around the six yard box and ricocheted off a Leal defender finding their own goal. Fut Ohio edged out an important midseason draw to earn one point against a very tough Leal United.

This game was a reminder how much passion, engagement, and support is involved with UPSL and their teams’ communities. It’s always fun to see friendly local faces from different parts of Central Ohio come together to enjoy the beautiful game. More UPSL to come…