Austin Bold Midfielder Sonny Guadarrama made sure his presence was felt against his former team on Wednesday night as Austin Bold dumped San Antonio FC out of the US Open Cup at Bold Stadium by a score of 4-2. All Guadarrama did was score a goal and pick up two assists in a first half that was dominated by Austin from the opening kick. Forward Andre Lima added a brace to the proceedings to seal Austin's one-sided victory.
For San Antonio, they were left scratching their heads searching for answers as they lost yet another match away from home. They have lost all six road matches in 2019 and no solutions appear to be forthcoming. They have lost their last three road matches by a combined score of 10-3. The loss prevented San Antonio from a chance to play an MLS opponent in the 4th Round of the national tournament.
"We're disappointed with the outcome of the game," SAFC Head Coach Darren Powell said. "We were able to play some young players who earned valuable experience and now know what it's like to play at this level. It was a very open game with plenty of chances both ways, but the bottom line is we need to regroup and prepare for our league game on Saturday."
Kleber would open the scoring for Austin in the 10' off a Guadarrama assist. Kleber has become another one of San Antonio's personal nightmares. Kleber also scored the match winner when these two teams faced off in USL Championship play back in March.
Austin Forward Andre Lima would graze the crossbar in the 19' as the Bold kept up their heavy pressure in the early going. Austin out shot SAFC 9-1 in the first 25 minutes, dominating the front end of the match entirely.
San Antonio FC would finally get a decent chance in the 26' behind a Walter Restrepo pass to SAFC Forward Bradford Jamieson IV, playing him into the Austin box with space to work with. But his 1 on 1 opportunity was stuffed by former SAFC Goal Keeper Diego Restrepo, showing that Guadarrama wasn't going to be the only former SAFC player to make headlines against his old team on the night.
Diego Restrepo would come up big in the first half once more when SAFC MIdfielder Ethan Bryant ripped a shot from the top of the box in the 32' that was on target. But Restrepo would make the finger tip save to keep Austin's advantage intact.
Bold Midfielder Promise would hit the post in the 37' for Austin FC as the woodwork denied the Bold twice in the first half. Moments later SAFC Midfielder Rafa Castillo was called for a harsh handball at the top of the box that resulted in an Austin penalty kick. Lima's penalty was well saved by Viscosi but the rebound bounced to a wide open Sonny Guadarrama who once again punished his former team with an easy put in and a 2-0 Bold lead in the 39'.
Minutes later another Guadarrama pass set up Lima for Austin's 3rd goal of the half in the 43' .
San Antonio would finally show some life as Walter Restrepo would tally a minute later to give SAFC some hope at the halftime mark.
It would be short lived hope for San Antonio. Lima would add a second half goal to complete his brace, and the rout was on.
Barmby would score in added time for SAFC to make it 4-2 - a goal that only served to make the scoreline a little less imposing than the game would indicate.
San Antonio FC rolled out a very different lineup from Saturday night, featuring 9 total changes. The changes included two debuts in the starting lineup as professional players (Academy standouts Price and Gallegos), one season debut as a starter (Castillo) and one season debut overall as Ethan Bryant returned to the field for the first time in 2019 after an extended injury absence.
Goal Keeper Jonathan Viscosi wore the captain armband for SAFC, also a first. He would make a second penalty kick save late in the second half on an attempt by Austin's Clayton Adams. The two PK saves by Viscosi were one of the very few bright spots of the night for San Antonio.
None of the lineup changes could spark a San Antonio FC team that remains winless on the road in 2019. They won't have to wait long to try again. Next up for San Antonio FC is a road match against Sacramento Republic in USL Championship play on Saturday night.
Scoring Summary:
Bold FC: 1-0, Kleber (Sonny Guadarrama assist) 10'
Bold FC: 2-0, Sonny Guadarrama 39'
Bold FC: 3-0, Andre Lima (Sonny Guadarrama assist) 43'
SAFC: 3-1, Walter Restrepo 44'
Bold FC: 4-1, Andre Lima (Isaac Promise assist) 62'
SAFC: 4-2, Jack Barmby 90'
Disciplinary Summary:
SAFC: Yellow Card (Rafa Castillo) 37'
SAFC: Yellow Card (Lance Laing) 41'
Bold FC: Yellow Card (Jermaine Taylor) 57'
SAFC: Yellow Card (Jose Gallegos) 60'
Bold FC: Yellow Card (Valerii Saramutin) 72'
Bold FC: Yellow Card (Kleber) 84'
SAFC: Yellow Card (Jack Barmby) 90'
Attendance:
2,555
IMAGES: SAN ANTONIO FC TWITTER
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS: