Brian Brown Plays the Hero Tonight for FC Tulsa as it Snatches all Three Points
TULSA – The key theme that encapsulated this last week with regards to FC Tulsa was resilience. Tulsa was down by two goals last week on the road and scored twice in the dying moments of the match to secure a point. On Saturday night at ONEOK Field, FC Tulsa found itself tied with Atlanta United 2 and down a man in the 79′ minute. But once again, this club’s intangibles were on full display as the substitute Brian Brown became the late hero and helped FC Tulsa move within two points of a playoff position.
It was FC Tulsa asking all the questions from the opening minutes of the match, bombarding the goal and testing the Atlanta keeper time and time again. The first big chance was courtesy of Tulsa’s leading goalscorer, JJ Williams, but the forward hit the crossbar in the 6′ minute. Williams and Suárez would take turns putting shots on goal for the first 24 minutes until FC Tulsa was finally able to get one in the back of the net.
The scoring play started with a throw-in from captain Bradley Bourgeois, followed by a few passes between the center-backs before Bourgeois made a run down the left flank. He was hit in stride as he darted 40 yards and found Rodrigo da Costa at the top of the box. Da Costa shifted the ball to his favored left foot and let loose a beauty, beating the keeper and getting Tulsa on the board first in the 25′ minute while scoring his seventh goal of the season in the process.
Bourgeois wanted more and made another fantastic run down the left-hand side just three minutes later, unleashing a blistering strike that hit the near post. The woodwork might as well have been wearing an Atlanta jersey on Saturday as it would deny three scoring chances for Tulsa before the night was over.
The first-half hydration break put a stop to the Tulsa momentum as Atlanta United 2 was able to capitalize on a chance in the 37′ minute. Raimar won the position battle for Atlanta against his defender and was able to send in a good ball to forward Luke Brennan who converted the chance and drew the score level.
Atlanta opened the second half with a free kick right outside the box following a foul by Ronald Rodríguez in the 49′ minute. After several minutes of discussion between head official Lorenzo Hernandez, fourth official Brandon Gardner, and FC Tulsa interim head coach Donovan Ricketts, Rodríguez was shown a red card. Rodríguez had been booked in the 17′ minute, however, he was not shown a second yellow card following the foul but rather a straight red, leading to a bit of Tulsa confusion and controversy. Regardless, Rodríguez was sent off but Atlanta was unable to capitalize on the chance.
Tulsa rebounded quickly following the center-back’s departure with a great scoring chance from JJ Williams in the 61′ minute, but the woodwork would rear its ugly head once again in favor of the visitors. Williams’ shot was pushed up by the keeper into the front-side of the crossbar, bouncing harmlessly away from danger. Machuca earned himself several good looks over the following 10 minutes, but the back of the Atlanta net seemed impenetrable in the second half– at least until Brian Brown proved otherwise.
Brown entered the match as a substitute in the 67′ minute, and 12 minutes later, he proved the difference maker in this one. Down a man, Tulsa pushed forward and leaked a ball inside the box that became a foot race between Machuca and the Atlanta defender. They crashed into the ball at the same time, spilling it to a second defender whose poor clearance was chested down by Brian Brown. Brown collected, let it bounce once, and fired the volley into the bottom corner of the net, cementing the 2-1 win in the 79′ minute for Tulsa. The crowd erupted, the fireworks shot into the sky, and FC Tulsa streaked to celebrate with the supporters behind the goal. There’s not a better sight.
Atlanta’s Noah Cobb would receive his second yellow card late in the match, bringing the player total down to ten men for both sides. The visitors would earn themselves a corner kick in the final minute of stoppage time, but other than that one glimpse of hope, FC Tulsa continued to dictate the tempo of the match and safely see its way to three points.
FC Tulsa continues to prove time and time again that this club cannot be counted out, whether it is down by two goals with five minutes remaining in regulation or playing down a man. Bradley Bourgeois mentioned earlier this week that FC Tulsa is in the process of building something here, and we are starting to see what exactly that is – a soccer club full of confidence that is primed for a late-summer run.
Here are three takeaways from tonight’s match.
ANOTHER LATE GOAL
Brian Brown’s 79′ minute match winner off the bench was the 11th goal FC Tulsa has scored beyond the 75′ minute mark in 2022. It was Brown’s third goal of the season with FC Tulsa and his second score coming late in a match – his goal against Orange County SC on May 13 came in the 90+2′ minute.
ALWAYS A PARTY AT ONEOK
FC Tulsa notched its sixth win of the season at home, improving its 2022 USL Championship record at ONEOK Field to 6W-2L-2D. With a positive goal differential of +5 and 18 goals scored in front of the home fans, FC Tulsa is can’t-miss action in the heart of downtown Tulsa. The club has only lost two of its last 12 matches at home dating back to October 20, 2021.
PEPPERING THE GOAL
The FC Tulsa offense kept the Atlanta backline and goalkeeper on their toes on Saturday night, tallying eight shots on target, not including the three attempts that struck the goal frame. It was Tulsa’s highest shot-on-goal total since it launched 10 attempts on target in its 3-2 victory over New York Red Bulls II back on April 2.
UP NEXT
FC Tulsa will not be traveling again before its next matchup in front of the home crowd on Wednesday, July 13. New Mexico United comes into town for the first ever matchup between FC Tulsa and the Western-Conference side from Albuquerque, and it should be a good one. Both sides have made the playoffs in each of the last two USL Championship seasons. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT from ONEOK Field.
