FC Tulsa bested San Antonio FC 1-0 at Toyota Field Wednesday, April 1, in an ugly, extra-time slugfest that lasted late into the night. The defeat eliminated San Antonio from the U.S. Open Cup in the second round.
13 yellow cards and a red card were issued by referee Muhammad Kaleia in a match that went into extra time, as a swelling chorus of “Ref, you suck!” chants emanated from the crowd throughout. Seven minutes into extra time, Kaleia banished SAFC defender Akeem O’Connor-Ward from the match with a red card, leaving San Antonio a man down in a tightly-contested, scoreless dogfight. Vulnerable but undeterred, SAFC, as it has all season, played stifling defense and survived the first half of extra time.
“Playing with a man down, you have to make better decisions to take care of the ball,” head coach Carlos Llamosa said. “For most of the game, we were better on the field.”
In the 106th minute of play – one minute into the final half of extra time – FC Tulsa took advantage of a rare defensive lapse by SAFC, when Tulsa forward Rémi Cabral caught SAFC goalkeeper Joey Batrouni out of position, dribbled past him to the right side of the box and fired a shot off his right foot past a diving SAFC defender Alex Crognale. It would prove to be the game-winner.
(Photo by Rance Ristau/San Antonio FC) (Rance Ristau/San Antonio FC)
“We fell into Tulsa’s style of play and what they wanted to do – just scrap and fight. We took their bait and unfortunately, they capitalized on a mistake, and that’s the game,” Crognale said.
SAFC failed to equalize on three different set-piece opportunities as time ran out. The match was marred by multiple hard fouls on both sides, frequent stoppages in play and questionable officiating. Despite the tough loss, the squad will look past the temporary sting of defeat and focus on the positive.
“We can’t dwell on it,” Crognale said. “It’s do or die – and we lost – so that’s that for the Open Cup. Now we look to the league and USL Cup.”
While it has been eliminated from the U.S. Open Cup, SAFC still sits atop the table in the west, and the league returns to play Saturday, April 4, facing Monterey Bay FC, in the first of a two-game west coast road trip. SAFC will return to Toyota Field on Saturday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m., to face Miami FC.