On August 29th, 2024, in San Jose, California, women's sports took another step forward as Bay FC hosted FC Barcelona at PayPal Park for a friendly match, despite being at different points in their respective seasons.
Bay FC is preparing for the second half of the NWSL season to kick off following their elimination in the Summer Cup, with upcoming matches against Club América Femenil, Angel City FC, and San Diego Wave. Meanwhile, FC Barcelona is anticipating the start of their 2024-2025 season. In order to maintain their form, both clubs have decided to include this match as part of Barcelona's USA tour, providing an opportunity to showcase their women's team to a wider audience in the United States. This is a chance for both clubs to showcase new talent from their squads, but also give them quality minutes in a game.
In their first season, Bay FC considers this game as a perfect chance to expand their brand across the state and country, despite already securing the signatures of some top players prior to the start of the season. There are connections between the clubs, as one of Bay FC's major signings this year was Asisat Oshoala, who joined from Barcelona. With connections existing between the clubs, the players displayed only respect prior to the match, eagerly anticipating the upcoming action. The atmosphere was buzzing with excitement as the streets around PayPal Park filled with vehicles, fans eagerly awaiting the friendly match between a prominent global club and the Bay Area's newest team. Both teams demonstrated mutual respect, with the visiting Barcelona Femenil squad enjoying the Bay Area surroundings and embracing the San Jose crowd at PayPal Park.
As the 14,187 fans filled the stadium, it was time for the all the excitement to finally come to a head as both teams came walking onto the pitch.
There was a diverse presence of fans supporting both teams, with supporters coming from various parts of the world to witness Bay FC hosting Barcelona. The visiting fans showed a strong representation, but he unique culture that Bay FC has established in its inaugural year was evident as well.
As the match began you saw different approaches from each club, as you say Bay FC play a lot of their starters early in the game. Things got off to a fast start for the Bay FC starting players as they were able to take control of the game holding early possession of the ball. Former Barcelona player, Asisat Oshoala, was able to open up the scoring with a clean strike to the left of Barca goalkeeper Gemma Font after intercepting a pass heading towards Barcelona defender Alba Cano in the 18th minute.
Bay FC's lead was short-lived, as Barcelona quickly equalized with a shot from the edge of the box by Francisca Nazareth that deflected off the goalpost and beat Bay FC goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland.
With the score tied at 1-1, after the 21st minute goal, it's evident that it further fueled the passion between the two teams. The teams appeared eager to increase the total, and Rachel Kundananji was the one who made the addition. She was able to score with a ball coming off a block from the Barcelona Keeper straight into the back of the net with ease coming off the deflection.
Barcelona appeared determined to equalize the game, and they successfully achieved that when Caroline Hasen responded with a shot that ricocheted off Rowland's block and landed in the side of the net, leveling the score. After the first half ended in a 2-2 tie, Bay FC decided to replace their nearly their entire team with 8 new players when the game resumed. Meanwhile, Barca made four substitutions of their own. This is in addition to some subs made late in the first half, but Bay FC were wanting to showcase some players who haven't gotten a lot of starting minutes the chance to compete against one of the biggest clubs in the world today.
Barcelona's strategic changes proved successful as they managed to seize the lead against the new Bay FC players in the 67th minute and maintained it until the end of the game. In the final moments on the game, Pina and Guijarro struck to score back-to-back goals securing a 5-2 victory for Barcelona over Bay FC.
Following the game, there were numerous displays of respect shown by the players, staff, and personnel. This particular game holds great importance for the Bay Area, as Bay FC is approaching the conclusion of their inaugural regular season as a club. Having already faced off against NWSL clubs, Mexico's Club América, and now Spain's Barcelona, this presents a valuable opportunity for them to expand their brand presence internationally and within their local community. Bay FC have had impressive performances on the field, giving the Bay Area community reason to be positively optimistic. The women within the organization have been working diligently to ensure that the club is well-represented, successfully engaging fans with the entire organization. For their first year in club history, you can't help but be happy for what they are continuing to build, and it will be interesting to see what is to come as the NWSL is nearing their playoff window with Bay FC currently in the mix for the playoffs.
Additional Links:
Rocha Report: www.rochamultimedia.com/rochareport
Rocha Multimedia: www.rochamultimedia.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/rochamultimedia
A special shout out to the contributors at SofaScore, which certain information was used for this article. Photography contributions from Jose Rocha of Rocha Multimedia and Rocha Report.
More Images from Bay FC vs. Barcelona (August 27th, 2024 at PayPal Park):
Comments