Puerto Rico Players Enjoy Atmosphere In First Home Game

Photo credit: Puerto Rico FC

This past Saturday, Puerto Rico Football Club debuted in the NASL in front of nearly 6,500 passionate fans that cheered throughout the match. As professional soccer returned to the Caribbean island, the stadium atmosphere was always one of celebration.

Puerto Rico’s first ever goal came at the 74th minute with a play that was created back in midfield where Tyler Rudy sent a beautiful forward pass to Kyle Culbertson.

“It was what we were looking for all game, to expose the wide areas and get our two big forwards some space,” Rudy said. “Kyle had great position and just made a great play.”

Once Culbertson received the ball, he created valuable space in just two touches, and with a third he crossed it towards the penalty area where Héctor Ramos finished the attacking move.

“Rudy had a great ball wide, something that we had worked for in practice. I had a good first touch in a one-on-one situation and I just wanted to get a good ball in to Pito or Sidney,” Culbertson said. He entered the game at the 29th minute for Oliver Minatel, who was forced to come out due to a pulled quad muscle.

The celebration was louder than anyone expected once Ramos finally pushed the ball in. All of the players on the field rushed towards him to celebrate.

“Pito was there at the right time, which is what he does best,” Rudy said. “It was the coolest feeling. The crowd erupted, chills ran down my spine and I just remember sprinting straight to the goal and then jumping over the field boards, it was absolutely crazy. Everyone joined us when we ran towards the Barra Naranja section. It was just amazing.”

Culbertson felt the same way, saying: “I sprinted so hard to celebrate with Pito. I jumped over the field boards and ran towards the supporter group and completely forgot for a moment that there was still 15 minutes of game."

As for the fans, the players were extremely happy with the support they received. They believe that support is one of the reasons the team played so well in their first game.

“It’s incredible,” Rudy said. “We’ve all put four months of really hard work to get to this point. It’s an honor and a privilege to play for this club. At halftime we could see what this club means to the fans and to the island. There’s so much pride and passion, and they are counting on us to bring happiness through the sport.”

This is a sentiment shared by his teammate Christopher Nurse, who tweeted:

Best fans & owner. Missed walking out in front of these fans at this stadium, it's good to be back. ☺️☺️💪🏾💪🏾 pic.twitter.com/BVnhPKD8hq

— Christopher Nurse (@ChrisNurse84) July 5, 2016

Coach Whitbread was also proud of the fans, adding: “We are very thankful for the support of the fans. We are not alone and definitely have a home-field advantage thanks to them.”