Rodrigo da Costa, Moses Dyer Account for Both Tulsa Goals in 2-2 Affair
Rodrigo da Costa, Moses Dyer Account for Both Tulsa Goals in 2-2 Affair
TULSA – We can all breathe a sigh of relief after Friday night’s 90-minute affair between FC Tulsa and El Paso Locomotive FC, a match full of ups and downs for FC Tulsa in the midst of a severe wind warning featuring gusts capping at 50 miles per hour just an hour before kickoff. Tulsa opened the scoring, conceded twice, then equalized in second-half stoppage time to split the points evenly. After leading the USL Championship a season ago with 19 goals in the final 15 minutes of matches, could it really have ended any other way?
Just as it did on Tuesday vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, FC Tulsa dominated possession through the first 30 minutes of the match. The home side held the ball 60% of the time and created several half-scoring chances featuring Moses Dyer and Marcus Epps, but quick recoveries from the El Paso defense and quality goalkeeping from one of the league’s finest, Benny Díaz, kept the score level.
The breakthrough goal came in the 33′ minute when Brett Levis perfectly timed a slide tackle to dispossess the opposition and poke the ball to the feet of Moses Dyer. Dyer picked out FC Tulsa’s all-time leading goal scorer on the left side, Rodrigo da Costa, who did what he does best. Díaz came out halfway to meet the Brazilian who got his foot under the ball and chipped his shot over the keeper’s head for his 35th career score, all of which have come for FC Tulsa.
El Paso answered just five minutes later as a giveaway in its own box left FC Tulsa scrambling to throw bodies between Ricardo Zacarias and the net. Zacarias laid the ball off to Luis Solignac in front of goal who beat Austin Wormell to equalize things at one apiece.
Marcus Epps nearly put Tulsa on top in the 47′ minute when he struck a ball from outside the 18 directed towards the back post. The keeper said a quick prayer as he stood frozen, and his prayer was answered when Epps’ curler ricocheted off the woodwork.
Solignac would get his second in the 68′ minute following another giveaway in a dangerous area by FC Tulsa. The goal marked the Argentine’s second of the night and the fifth against FC Tulsa in his career.
However, the kings of late drama would not be outdone. In the 90+1′ minute, Moses Dyer ripped his second shot on target of the match at close range that pushed Díaz back into his own net as he parried the attempt. The ONEOK faithful were in an uproar, clamoring that Dyer’s shot crossed the line, but play continued until da Costa put the rebound in the back of the net, leaving no room for debate. Ultimately the goal was credited to Dyer, the New Zealand striker’s first of his FC Tulsa career.
Water and what remained in the fans’ $1 beer cans were cast into the night sky, the lights flashed as the fireworks exploded into the air, and Dyer and da Costa sprinted to celebrate with the supporters. The final whistle sounded as FC Tulsa salvaged a point at the death, concluding an undefeated homestand consisting of three matches in seven days.
Rodrigo da Costa – 33′ Minute
Rodrigo da Costa – 33′ Minute
