Clean sheets all around at Toyota Field on Saturday as both sides failed to score a goal and ended the match in a scoreless draw.
Playing its fifth match in 14 days, San Antonio FC looked fatigued. Nonetheless, SAFC goalkeeper Joey Batrouni held the other side scoreless for the fourth time this season in league play. Notably, Batrouni’s counterpart, Miami FC goalkeeper Eloy Room – who also posted a clean sheet – will be playing for the Curacao national team in the World Cup this June.
On the flip side, SAFC failed to complement its stalwart defensive effort with any kind of scoring threat. San Antonio controlled the ball for over 60% of the match, yet managed only three shots on goal.
“Tonight we played with a man up. We looked like three defenders and seven forwards. Everybody wanted to score a goal and we stepped away from our game plan,” SAFC head coach Carlos Llamosa said.
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San Antonio Football Club Midfielder Jorge Hernandez Takes a shot at the goal against Miami Saturday night at Toyota Field.
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San Antonio Football Supporter voices is opinion on a call with the referee’s Friday night at Toyota Field.
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San Antonio Football Club Defender Akeem O’Connor-Ward shows off his athleticism Friday night at Toyota field.
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San Antonio Football Club Defender Nelson Flores Blanco goes up for a Header against Miami Defender Friday night at Toyota Field.
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San Antonio Football Club Forward Cristian Parano battles it out center field with Miami defender Friday night at Toyota Field.
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San Antonio Football Club Midfielder Mikey Maldonado goes up for a header against Miami defender Friday night at Toyota Field.
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San Antonio Football Club Defender Tiago Suarez fights for a header inside the box Friday night at Toyota Field.
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San Antonio Football Club Forward EJ Johnson fights for the ball against Miami defender Saturday night at Toyota Field.
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San Antonio Football Club Defender Akeem O’Connor-Ward dribbles through Miami defender Saturday night at Toyota Field.
Despite being a man up after a red card was issued to Miami FC forward Mason Turnbridge in the 72nd minute, SAFC couldn’t capitalize and the match was yet another nil-nil defensive struggle. Falling prey to “10-man syndrome,” SAFC made a frantic push in the final minutes to come away with the victory, but to no avail.
SAFC has yet to score a goal in April, having now gone 270 minutes in league play without a goal over the last three matches.
“We’ve done well defensively, it’s just putting the pieces together on the offensive side. We’ve done it before, and so it’s just trying to get into that mode, getting our strikers some goals and some confidence – and going from there,” SAFC defender Akeem O’Connor-Ward said.
SAFC will be on the road again this Saturday to face arch-rival El Paso Locomotive FC at Southwest University Park. The loaded match has implications for both sides. SAFC, which leads the all-time Copa Tejas series 8-4-4, trails El Paso in the Western Conference standings by one point. The battle will not only be for in-state bragging rights, but supremacy atop the table in the west.
San Antonio FC will return home April 25 at 7:30 p.m. to face Birmingham Legion FC at Toyota Field.
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