Crystal Palace Baltimore fell at the first hurdle in this year's US Open Cup, losing 3-0 to the Ocean City (NJ) Barons of the PDL at Carey Stadium. The same team knocked Palace out of the competition in 2007 by a score of 1-0.

After just two minutes, Rowland only just managed to handle an awkwardly bouncing ball on a poor surface, nearly losing possession to a Barons forward.

Palace took control for the next five minutes, keeping the ball in the Ocean City half, but on eight minutes, the Barons broke into the Palace box. The ensuing pinball sequence saw Palace appeal for an offside that wasn't given. The ball ended up with Barons forward Byron Carmichael, scorer of the only goal in Ocean City's 2007 upset of Palace, and he calmly slotted it past Rowland to stun the visitors once again.

The goal shifted the momentum and Ocean City were suddenly on the front foot. On 16 minutes a dangerous cross from the right was met with a side-footed volley from just inside the area, but there was no power behind the effort and Rowland gathered easily.

Palace nearly equalised after 20 minutes when Machel Millwood put Val Teixeira through towards the left side of the box, but his strong shot from 20 yards out was tipped onto the crossbar, rebounding back into play and cleared by the Barons' defense.

On 22 minutes, a cross from goal-scorer Carmichael found Rory McCrea with room inside the box. He took aim at the bottom left corner, but Rowland got across and down well to tip it away.

Byron Carmichael doubled the Barons' lead on 34 mins as the Ocean City front line split the Palace defense with ease.

With two minutes left in the half, there was more danger for Palace as a low, hard cross from right was met well by a Barons forward, but the shot whistled over.

A minute later, Millwood sent a probing cross into the box, but it was headed clear for a corner from which nothing resulted.

In first half injury time, Pat Healey lofted a diagonal ball into the box but it was just too high for a leaping Millwood who had made space for himself ten yards in front of goal.

The second half picked up where the first had left off, with Ocean City looking the more threatening and Palace struggling to create space for themselves.

With a quarter of an hour gone, the Barons won a free kick 22 yards out. The resulting shot was well taken and Rowland could only push the ball over the bar.

Four minutes later, Millwood forced his way past two defenders to break into the box, but his left-footed shot was miraculously blocked by Barons' 'keeper Tunde Oginbiyi.

In the middle of the second period of play, the Barons came close twice, once with a 20-yard effort from the right that flew just inches over the bar, then Rowland was forced to tip a looping effort onto his crossbar and out for a corner.

With fifteen minutes remaining, substitute Jordan Seabrook timed his run perfectly to latch onto a through ball deep inside the box, getting a touch on the ball to redirect it goalwards, but it wasn't enough to beat Oginbiyi.

The Barons sealed the win on 78 minutes on a shot from J.T. Noone which took a horrendous deflection leaving Rowland stranded as the ball rolled into the opposite corner of the goal.

In the dying moments of the game, Palace nearly claimed a consolation goal as a scramble followed Seabrook's effort which was blocked on the line.

Crystal Palace Line-up:

Brian Rowland, Paul Robson, Stephen Basso, Andrew Marshall, Mateus dos Anjos, Shintaro Harada, Pat Healey, Dan Lader (Jordan Seabrook 77'), Zack Flores (Kevin Gnatiko 74'), Val Teixeira (c), Machel Millwood

Goal(s):

Cautions: Robson, Marshall

Subs not used: Billy Chiles, Ryan Pierce, Neil Vranis, Larry Mark, James Cherneski

Ocean City Line-up:

Tunde Ogunbiyi, Jamal Neptune, Kevin Curran, Jimmy Davis, Joe Banks, Karl Reddick, Neal Melchionni, Rory McCrea, William Swetra, J.T. Noone, Byron Carmichael

Goal(s): Carmichael 9, 33, Noone, 78

Cautions:

Subs: Ryan Richter, Kyle Miller, Tyler Bellamy