EDINBURG, TX – It was not surprising to see FC Tulsa display exceptional perseverance and resilience in response to its opponent on the pitch on Saturday night. After all, FC Tulsa has come from behind to equalize in each of its previous two matches, and the team responded in just three minutes to Rio Grande Valley FC Toros’ equalizer in the 2-1 win this weekend.
But Saturday night’s (or should it be Sunday morning’s?) win over RGVFC required a different level of perseverance and resilience. A nearly five hours of combined weather delay meant that Ariel Martinez’ winning goal came at almost 2:15 a.m., over six hours after the match was initially scheduled to kick off.
“The players’ attitudes were great,” Head Coach Michael Nsien said after the match. “There were some discussions about if we were going to postpone the game and the players said they wanted to get it done [Saturday night] and wanted to leave with three points [Saturday], they didn’t want to leave it for [Sunday] morning. They had an incredible attitude and approach to the game, when you play a game this late, we didn’t expect it to be beautiful from us. We were able to dig in deep and show how resilient we are once again.”
It was the captain, Ariel Martínez, who scored the winning penalty for FC Tulsa. Martínez had been all over the pitch during the 90 minutes, earning Man of the Match honors.
“What stuck with me the most from [the match] was how this team responded,” Martínez said. “The attitude of the players was impressive. We just kept hoping, focusing, 100% we were going to play, and when we finally did play, there was no way we weren’t walking out of there with three points.”
Marlon’s opening goal in the 26’ was canceled out by Robert Castellanos’ header in the 71’ for RGV, but the 74’ penalty from the Cuban captain Martínez served as the match winner.
“Every time I step on the pitch, I focus on getting three points,” Martínez said. “A goal earned us three points, but my goal every time I’m on the pitch is to get three points. However I can help the team win, I will. Scoring a goal is nice but we are hungry for victory, so however we can put ourselves in the best position for that, we will.”
The win is the first for FC Tulsa in this new era of the club, and it continues the franchise’s best ever beginning to the season. FC Tulsa currently sits at 2nd in Group D, one of just five unbeaten teams in USL Championship. Next up for FC Tulsa is an out-of-group clash with Saint Louis FC, on the road at West Community Stadium on Saturday August 8 at 7 p.m.
EDINBURG, TX – It was not surprising to see FC Tulsa display exceptional perseverance and resilience in response to its opponent on the pitch on Saturday night. After all, FC Tulsa has come from behind to equalize in each of its previous two matches, and the team responded in just three minutes to Rio Grande Valley FC Toros’ equalizer in the 2-1 win this weekend.
But Saturday night’s (or should it be Sunday morning’s?) win over RGVFC required a different level of perseverance and resilience. A nearly five hours of combined weather delay meant that Ariel Martinez’ winning goal came at almost 2:15 a.m., over six hours after the match was initially scheduled to kick off.
“The players’ attitudes were great,” Head Coach Michael Nsien said after the match. “There were some discussions about if we were going to postpone the game and the players said they wanted to get it done [Saturday night] and wanted to leave with three points [Saturday], they didn’t want to leave it for [Sunday] morning. They had an incredible attitude and approach to the game, when you play a game this late, we didn’t expect it to be beautiful from us. We were able to dig in deep and show how resilient we are once again.”
It was the captain, Ariel Martínez, who scored the winning penalty for FC Tulsa. Martínez had been all over the pitch during the 90 minutes, earning Man of the Match honors.
“What stuck with me the most from [the match] was how this team responded,” Martínez said. “The attitude of the players was impressive. We just kept hoping, focusing, 100% we were going to play, and when we finally did play, there was no way we weren’t walking out of there with three points.”
Marlon’s opening goal in the 26’ was canceled out by Robert Castellanos’ header in the 71’ for RGV, but the 74’ penalty from the Cuban captain Martínez served as the match winner.
“Every time I step on the pitch, I focus on getting three points,” Martínez said. “A goal earned us three points, but my goal every time I’m on the pitch is to get three points. However I can help the team win, I will. Scoring a goal is nice but we are hungry for victory, so however we can put ourselves in the best position for that, we will.”
The win is the first for FC Tulsa in this new era of the club, and it continues the franchise’s best ever beginning to the season. FC Tulsa currently sits at 2nd in Group D, one of just five unbeaten teams in USL Championship. Next up for FC Tulsa is an out-of-group clash with Saint Louis FC, on the road at West Community Stadium on Saturday August 8 at 7 p.m.
