TULSA – FC Tulsa fall, 2-1, to Birmingham Legion FC on Greenwood Night.
The first half of the USL Jägermeister Cup round two saw FC Tulsa holding 52.2% of possession and taking 10 shots. Unfortunately, they were unable to find the back of the net. FC Tulsa took their first shot of the match just 52 seconds into the match and in the first minute of the match they had three shots. Birmingham Legion FC managed to block all three.
FC Tulsa looked to open the scoring quickly in the second half of the contest. Forward Taylor Calheira took his first shot of the second half just 20 seconds in. Birmingham Legion FC found themselves on the scoresheet first after goalkeeper Johan Peñaranda was called for a foul resulting in a Birmingham penalty goal taken by forward Ronaldo Damus. Peñaranda argued his case to the referee and was shown a yellow card, his first yellow card in any competition this season.
Just three minutes later, Kalil ElMedkhar would find the back of the net for the home side. Defender Harvey St Clair took a free kick just outside the center circle, former FC Tulsa midfielder Edwin Laszo was the first player to touch the ball attempting to clear it away with a header. Delentz Pierre made sure the ball stayed in play, which defender Owen Damm then headed towards goal. Two FC Tulsa players and a Birmingham Legion FC player went up for the header, all narrowly missing the ball which fell right to the foot of midfielder Kalil ElMedkhar. With this goal, ElMedkhar joins forward Taylor Calheira as the only two FC Tulsa players to score a goal in all competitions this season.
Unfortunately for FC Tulsa, the tie game only lasted six minutes before Birmingham Legion FC forward Sebastian Tregarthen found the back of the net for the match winner. The final ten minutes and five minutes of stoppage time, had eleven shots, with FC Tulsa taking nine of them. Birmingham Legion blocked seven of FC Tulsa’s final nine shots.
Goals:
59’ – R. Damus (PK)
62’ – ElMedkhar
68’ – Tregarthen
Cards:
15’ – B. Diallo (TUL)
51’ – M. Cerato (TUL)
59’ – J. Peñaranda (TUL)
60’ – P. Tabort Etaka (BHM)
78’ – S. McIllhatton (BHM)
Lineups:
TUL: Johan Peñaranda, Delentz Pierre, Abdoulaye Cissoko, Arthur Rogers, Harvey St Clair, Marcos Cerato, Boubacar Diallo, Jamie Webber, Owen Damm, Taylor Calheira, Kalil ElMedkhar (Subs Used: Andrew Booth, Lucas Stauffer, Alex Dalou, Stefan Lukic, Giordano Colli)
BHM: Fernando Delgado, Jake Rufe, Santiago Suarez, Phanuel Kavita, Erik Centeno, Sam McIllhatton, Preston Tabort Etaka, Enzo Martinez, Edwin Laszo, Sebastian Tregarthen, Ronaldo Damus (Subs Used: Danny Trejo, Tyler Pasher, Roman Torres, Ereku Temitayo, Kameron Lacey)
Up Next:
FC Tulsa are on the road to open June. They will head to California to take on Sacramento Republic FC at 10pm CT. The team will return to ONEOK Field on Saturday, June 14th to take on Phoenix Rising FC on Military Appreciation Night. Kickoff is set for 7:30pm, get your tickets today at fctulsa.com/tickets
