Coach Nsien Looking for Team To Start Quicker on Sunday
TUCSON, Ariz. – After four days of warm weather, team meals, and some player-led concerts, FC Tulsa is heading into its final day in Tucson, Arizona with another preseason match left to play – a Sunday morning showdown with Oakland Roots SC. It will be the first time these two teams have met as Oakland enters into its second year as a USL Championship franchise.
Kickoff is set for 11:30 a.m. CT and all fans can follow match updates on Twitter @FCTulsa.
SCOUTING OAKLAND
It was a roller coaster first season in the USL Championship for Oakland in 2021. After winning just one of its first 13 regular season matches, Oakland went 10-5-4 over its final 19 matches to clinch the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division. They weren’t done though as Roots upset El Paso Locomotive in the Conference Quarterfinals before falling in penalty kicks to the eventual champs, Orange County SC.
Roots will look to continue that growth in year two and the preseason has started brightly for the club with three wins in three matches, including an impressive 1-0 victory over San Jose Earthquakes of MLS. The big week continued as Oakland signed Icelandic international forward Óttar Magnús Karlsson on loan from Venezia FC of Italy’s Serie A.
With plenty of momentum building for 2022, Oakland will serve as another good challenge for FC Tulsa as it gears up during preseason.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
1) Where to Focus
While the regular season offers a chance to focus on an opponent’s tactics heading into matches, FC Tulsa head coach Michael Nsien has stressed the importance of focusing on yourself during the preseason. While it is always the objective to win matches, the preseason is about improving a team’s own game. In every team meeting and video session, Nsien has continued to reiterate that point to his players.
“It’s preseason, so it’s the time we need to focus on ourselves,” said defender Gabi Torres. “We need to get to know each other – how each player wants the ball, the positioning, the tactics. It’s the time to understand what the Coach wants, so we can apply it towards the season.”
2) Controlling the Match from the Start
The first 10-15 minutes of FC Tulsa’s match against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on Thursday did not go as planned as Colorado dictated the pace and the intensity of the early stages of the match. That resulted in a 2-0 deficit that FC Tulsa was ultimately never able to recover from. Expect FC Tulsa to come out wanting to control possession against Oakland and win the first 15 minutes.
“Hopefully we will be able to dictate the first 15-20 minutes to get a grip on the game,” said Nsien. “That’s something we always want to do. It didn’t happen in the last game. We want to be on the front foot early. So just having that mentality to come out and try to establish and dominate from the beginning.”
3) Rotated FC Tulsa Lineup
All available players received 45 minutes of action on Thursday, but Coach Nsien said after training on Friday that he would like to push one group of players for 60 minutes with others receiving the final 30. Who is in which group will be dictated by fitness levels at this point in the preseason. Expect to see some rotation between those who started on Thursday and who might be in the XI on Sunday.
“There will be some changes,” said Nsien. “We’ll mix it up a little bit in this next game. Conditioning will be a factor. I want to see players who can go for 60 minutes plus. The players that I think physically are capable of that, we’ll try to push them. Then some that are lagging a little bit, we will want to make sure they stay healthy and give them the right moments of intensity.”
HOW TO FOLLOW
There will be no stream of the match, but FC Tulsa will be providing live updates on its social media handles and will have highlights following the match. Be sure to follow @FCTulsa on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and download the FC Tulsa App to get all of the info about tomorrow’s preseason contest.
