It's been quite a week for 15-year-old Joe Scally. The Lake Grove, NY native signed a professional contract with New York City FC on Wednesday and capped it with a win over Real Madrid.
Scally was part of the NYCFC squad that defeated the Spanish giants Real Madrid at the 2018 Generation adidas Cup. NYCFC beat Madrid 1-0 behind a second-half goal from David Alino, keeping their hopes alive for a Champions Division title.
The right back did not appear with his Under-17 teammates in the first match, a 3-0 loss against Atletico Paranaense, as he was in consideration for the 18 before NYCFC's 2-2 draw against the New England Revolution. Starting right back Anton Tinnerholm was able to return from injury and make the matchday squad so Scally flew down to Texas Friday after first-team practice.
But according to Scally, there's not much difference in intensity between the two teams.
"The level doesn't drop [either] playing with the first team [or] our academy team," Scally told MLSsoccer.com after the match.
Come for the @NYCFC U-17s beating Real Madrid in #GACup action, stay for the goal celebration. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/1Gb6nFlnxD
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 26, 2018
Scally, along with many of his teammates, are trying to match the success they had at the 2017 tournament when they won the Premier Division, which is the lesser of the two divisions at GA Cup. The win kept their slim hopes alive for back-to-back titles.
Of course, playing against Real Madrid was a special experience for Scally, who has been a regular call-up to US youth national teams.
"It was an unbelievable experience. We knew coming into this game it was going to be a really tough opponent because we watched film on them and saw that they were very aggressive. [They] didn't stop running [and] kept on moving the ball so we knew we had to keep our head in the game and just keep playing hard.
"Seeing the badge was pretty cool because you know stars like Ronaldo and Gareth Bale play for them."
NYCFC conclude the group stage on Monday, when they play fellow MLS side Sporting Kansas City at 3:30 pm ET.
