FC Tulsa Drops a Tough One to Hartford Athletic on Wednesday Night
TULSA – On a frustrating night in which FC Tulsa managed 25 total shots and benefited from a converted penalty kick from Darío Suárez, it was only able to steer four of its scoring attempts on frame as it dropped all three points to Hartford Athletic in a 2-1 finish.
The visitors opened the scoring in the 20′ minute of the match, much to the chagrin of the ONEOK crowd. The Tulsa defense got sucked into the left side of play with Hartford in possession on that side, then the club in green switched the ball to catch FC Tulsa out of position. Joel Johnson found an on-rushing Ariel Martínez, the former Tulsa captain for its 2020 season, and the Cuban forward bent his shot around Austin Wormell and into the back of the net.
Apart from Hartford’s score, the first half was relatively quiet. FC Tulsa regularly earned its looks and managed 10 shots compared to Hartford’s seven, but was only able to put one attempt on target. Tulsa primarily conducted its offense through wingbacks Sean McFarlane and Noah Powder as the club whipped in nine crosses over the first 45 but failed to get anything going in front of goal.
Forward Marcus Epps was subbed on for FC Tulsa at halftime to jumpstart the offense, marking his second appearance of the season for the club. Machuca, the hero of last Saturday’s match vs. Indy Eleven, came on only 13 minutes later as FC Tulsa was desperate for the equalizer. Tulsa shifted from its initial 4-3-3 formation into a 4-3-2-1, looking to control more of the midfield and build better chances.
To counter FC Tulsa’s tactical change, Hartford sat 10 men back behind the ball, effectively sacrificing any semblance of offense to desperately cling to its 1-0 advantage. The away side made all five of its substitutes by the 72′ minute in order to get its strongest defensive group on the pitch early.
What seemed to be the breakthrough FC Tulsa had been searching for came in the 81′ minute when 2021-Tulsa defender Mo Jadama was called for a handball inside the box and a penalty kick was subsequently awarded to FC Tulsa. Darío Suárez stood over the ball, looked the keeper in the eyes, and buried his shot into the top-left corner of the goal to even the score at 1-1.
Unfortunately, it took all of two minutes for Hartford to retake the lead. A brilliant save from Austin Wormell rebounded into a dangerous area and Juan Carlos Obregón Jr. was the first man to get there, finishing off the play with a tap-in.
Six added minutes played into FC Tulsa’s favor, but the result would be finalized at 2-1 in favor of Hartford Athletic by the final whistle.
Below are three takeaways from tonight’s match.
1) Darío’s PK Prowess
Darío Suárez continued his success from the penalty spot as he converted the fifth penalty kick of his career, all of which have come with FC Tulsa. Suárez is now tied with Sammy Ochoca for the most PK goals in club history, but is the only player to do so with a perfect 100% conversion percentage.
2) Rare Loss at ONEOK
Wednesday’s loss was only the second defeat FC Tulsa has suffered at ONEOK Field dating back to mid-April. The club fell to 7W-4L-2D at home on the season with four home matches remaining on the schedule.
3) Gotta Get It On Target
FC Tulsa had no shortage of scoring chances – the club finished with a 1.95 XG and what qualified as three big chances, but only managed to bag the one goal. Out of its 25 shots, only 16% of those rifled toward goal ended up on target. Tulsa managed 31 touches inside Hartford’s penalty area and delivered a staggering 34 crosses into the box, but could not manage a goal in the run of play.
UP NEXT
FC Tulsa’s three-match homestand comes to a close on Saturday night as Loudoun United FC comes into town for Throwback Night at ONEOK Field. It will be Tulsa’s final home match until September 7, and fans can get tickets to the match here!
