In front of about 1,000 fans at Dudley Field in the 96-degree Rio Grande heat, it looked as if the El Paso Patriots’ Open Cup hopes were evaporating in the hot air in the opening ten minutes. For the remaining 80 minutes however, the visiting McCormick Kickers from St. Petersburg, Fla. cooled off and El Paso netted five unanswered goals the rest of the way for a 5-2 win in the First Round of the 1995 US Open Cup.
In the opening ten minutes, a pair of veterans gave the Kickers an early lead. Two of the team’s main offensive threats were Greg Bowden and Peter Ward, who made name for himself in England primarily with Brighton & Hove Albion (and also played for Nottingham Forest). Each player scored less than a minute apart to give the 1989 US Open Cup champs a 2-0 lead.
THECUP.US RESEARCH NOTE…