San Antonio FC's road troubles continued as they dropped their fifth consecutive road match of 2019, losing to RGV-FC at HEB Park 3-1. Michael Salazar earned a brace on the night for RGV-FC as San Antonio was humiliated on the road for a second straight outing. Guzman would add a second half goal for SAFC to tighten the final score but it was too little too late. It was the first loss for San Antonio FC at HEB Park in four all-time games.
San Antonio remains the only Texas team without any points in Copa Tejas - the Texas based regional tournament of the four USL Championship teams in the Lone Star State. But Copa Tejas is the least of their worries at the moment as they are floundering in the bottom three of the Western standings overall and don't look anything like a playoff caliber team as the calendar flips to June on the league schedule.
Manager Darren Powell knows it was fairly one sided. “It was a tough game tonight. We got punished and that put us behind, but our players were pushing to get us back in the game."
Midfielder Jack Barmby summed up the mood of the locker room concisely. “The mood in the camp is a little low, but we have another match on Wednesday, so there’s no time to feel sorry for ourselves. We have to start winning games, no matter the competition, and the bottom line is we just have to pick it up.”
First half goals from Jesus Enriquez and Michael Salazar six minutes apart put the game away early for RGV as SAFC could once again not muster any serious threat on offense for most of the match. San Antonio FC has now been outscored 11-3 on the road in 2019 and they have zero points away from home. It has been dismal to say the least.
Former RGV-FC Defender Kai Greene made a huge play against his old team when he cleared the ball off the line in the 21'. Cardone charged away from his line to try and make a save and the goal mouth was left exposed as the ball ping ponged around near the top of the box. The shot was on target but hit softly, which allowed Greene enough time to recover and save the goal.
It was mostly downhill for San Antonio after that.
Ten minutes later Enriquez would get the opening goal off a great buildup by RGV down the left side. He beat Cardone and it was 1-0 in the 30'.
It would only take six minutes later before RGV FC would strike again. Salazar would score in the 36' to make it 2-0 on a crisp offensive play that took SAFC's defense apart with solid passing and movement. Salazar would slot the easy shot past Cardone from a wide open position.
San Antonio wouldn't get their first shot on goal until the 40', and even at that it was from distance. That was followed up by a breakaway chance for RGV but Cardone stood up tall and made a big save to keep SAFC's slim hopes alive at the break.
Ever Guzman would score a goal in the 70' to keep SAFC from being shutout following a great pass down the middle from Defender Eby Ackon. It was the first assist for Ackon in a San Antonio uniform. For Guzman, it was his team leading fourth league goal of the season. He has five goals in all competitions in 2019. It was the lone bright spot offensively for SAFC in a match where they created too few quality goal scoring opportunities.
San Antonio has been outscored 6-1 in their last two road matches. It won't get easier as SAFC are still playing a stretch of games where 4 out of their next 5 are on the road.
Next up for San Antonio is another road rivalry match in Texas as they'll travel to face Austin Bold in the third round of the US Open Cup on Wednesday night at Bold Stadium. The winner will most likely play an MLS team in the 4th Round of the national tournament.
Scoring Summary:
RGVFC: 1-0, Jesus Enriquez (Robert Coronado assist) 30’
RGVFC 2-0, Michael Salazar (Romilio Hernandez assist) 36’
RGVFC: 3-0, Michael Salazar (Maalique Foster assist) 58’
SAFC: 3-1, Ever Guzman (Eby Ackon assist) 70’
Disciplinary Summary:
RGVFC: Yellow Card (Brad Dunwell) 74’
SAFC: Yellow Card (Joshua Yaro) 86’
RGVFC: Yellow Card (Nico Lemoine) 90’
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:
PHOTOS: DARREN ABATE / INSTAGRAM @PEAKACTION
IMAGES: SAN ANTONIO FC TWITTER