FC Tulsa Blanks San Antonio FC on the Scoresheet in its First Win of the Preseason
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – A second half goal from new midfielder Petar Čuić and a clean sheet from the FC Tulsa defense resulted in a 1-0 preseason victory at San Antonio FC, the first win of the 2022 preseason for Tulsa. Čuić became the fourth different player to score for Tulsa this preseason as his long-range goal in the 63’ minute provided the margin.
Unlike in its first two preseason matches, FC Tulsa came out in the first half as the aggressor. A couple of early chances resulted in near misses, the first over the crossbar on a header by Brian Brown and the second just wide off the foot of left back Gabriel Torres. With Tulsa controlling possession and chances, San Antonio resorted to hard fouls throughout the half to stem the tide, as both Rodrigo da Costa and Darío Suárez suffered from rough challenges.
The final 10 minutes of the opening half belonged to the hosts, with several dangerous San Antonio set pieces putting starting keeper Sean Lewis and his backline to the test. FC Tulsa’s experienced keeper came up big when needed with multiple saves and clearances, and both teams went into the locker rooms with the match scoreless.
Tulsa forward JJ Williams made his preseason debut late in the opening 45 minutes, coming in for Brian Brown who took a slight knock. Williams himself had suffered an early preseason injury and missed the first two matches, but hard work in the training room had Williams back in the matchday squad on Saturday. While he didn’t get on the scoresheet, Williams played nearly 50 minutes as works towards regular season fitness.
The second half started much like the first ended, with San Antonio putting pressure on the Tulsa defense. Again, Lewis and his backline were up to the task, and that defense turned to offense midway through the second half. In the 63’ minute, Čuić gave FC Tulsa its first lead of the preseason when his low driving shot from outside the box found the left side of the goal, he joined Brown, Suárez and Josue Flores on the preseason scoresheet so far for Tulsa.
Around the 70’ minute, both sides made wholesale changes as young and Academy players came in for the final 20 minutes of action. Left winger Machuca and left back Jesus Hernandez, in particular, caused problems to the San Antonio defense down the left side in the later stretches of the match as Tulsa held the momentum following its goal.
Substitute keeper Austin Wormell saw out the clean sheet for FC Tulsa as the visitors secured the road victory in front of a vocal San Antonio home crowd.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
1) Defense Shines in Shutout
While preseason matches don’t count, it was important for the FC Tulsa defense to have a bounce-back performance after a rough two matches in Arizona where the unit gave up six total goals. Against a high-powered San Antonio offense that finished inside the top 6 in the USL Championship last season in goals scored, the FC Tulsa backline delivered, holding San Antonio to mostly half-chances while routinely averting danger from set pieces. In particular the size of Matheus Silva and Ronald Rodríguez was crucial in dealing with eight San Antonio corners and several free kicks around the box. Saves from both Sean Lewis and Austin Wormell over the 90 minutes ensured the clean sheet.
2) Spread Out Scoring
One of the hallmarks of the FC Tulsa offense over the last two seasons has been that scoring can come from a variety of sources – look no further for proof than 2021 when FC Tulsa had four players with seven or more goals. Early in preseason, it looks like that could be the case again. Four players have already gotten on the scoresheet through three preseason matches: two forwards, a midfielder and a defender. All of that bodes well for the FC Tulsa offense in 2022.
3) Quick Turnaround
There are now less than 48 hours until FC Tulsa returns to the pitch for its match against Houston Dynamo 2 on Monday morning at 11 a.m. CT. With most of Saturday’s starters seeing nearly 70 minutes, look for players who came off the bench today to get the bulk of the minutes on Monday. That means a younger lineup who will likely be competing for spots on matchday squads this season.
POSTMATCH QUOTES
Michael Nsien – head coach
“This is the process, and we are headed in the right direction. I think the result was fair for the players who started. They deserved something for their effort defensively and their organization. At halftime, we spoke about taking a positive from the match, even if it was leaving the match at 0-0, that would still be positive. To be up one [goal] and to close the game out, it was really important for the mentality that we are continuing to improve.
“A lot of the goals we have conceded so far in preseason have been from mental errors that ended up resulting in technical breakdowns. We talked before the game about how a lot of the goals we have given up were our own undoing. If a team is going to break us down, they need to break us down. We haven’t seen that much yet. Today was about mental conditioning, about needing to stay switched on throughout the game. I think defensively we were in a bit of groove. We were well organized. There was some problem solving on the field and at halftime. It was a really, really impressive defensive performance. We were in complete control.”
Petar Čuić – Midfielder
“I am very happy with the win today. The team was locked in the whole game and keeping a clean sheet against a team of San Antonio’s quality is definitely a step in right direction for us. It’s always great to help the team with a goal and hopefully it’s first of many this season. We are going in right direction. It just felt so good to be out there with guys that are working hard and fighting for every ball. We able to move the ball how we wanted to, especially in the first half. There is plenty of room to be better, but we will take this performance and win and keep improving to be at our best for our season opener.”
Bradley Bourgeois – Defender
“I honestly believe it was a complete team performance defensively. We really made that a point today, and credit to everyone for really focusing on our organization as a group. We have a great group of personalities that really gel well together, and we are starting to see the new guys come out of their shell a bit, which has been good to see. These trips are massive for building that trust on and especially off the field. We have lot of great singers in the group!”
JJ Williams – Forward
It felt good to be on the pitch with the guys. That was a good result against a good team. It was a good team performance. You always want the coach to have to make a decision [about who makes the Starting XI] because that means you are on a quality team. All you can do is prepare right, and put your head down and go to work. The rest will take care of itself.”
