San Antonio FC (7-6-9) dug themselves a deep hole in the first half and it turned out to be too much to overcome as their comeback effort fell short in a 3-2 defeat to Sacramento Republic (9-3-9) in front of 6,243 fans at Toyota Field on Saturday night. Sacramento was lead by Forward Stefano Bonomo who scored a first half brace as the Republic jumped out to a 3-0 halftime lead.
It was only the second home loss of the season for San Antonio FC and the first since March 16th when they lost to Portland Timbers II. The loss also ended SAFC's five match unbeaten streak. San Antonio had goals from Jack Bamby and Pecka in the frenzied second half comeback effort, but it wasn't enough to earn a result.
Said Manager Darren Powell after the match, “Tonight was a reflection of two halves of soccer. They capitalized on their set pieces in the first half that put us on the back foot, but our guys came out in the second half with the urgency, and I think if we had scored a little bit earlier, something could have happened.”
Sacramento got going in the first half when Bonomo would head home the game's first goal off a Sacramento corner kick in the 21'. Twelve minutes later, another set piece sequence would set up Forward Cameron Iwasa for a header of his own and a 2-0 Sacramento lead. It was the 10th goal of the season for Iwasa who is the leading scorer for Sacramento.
Bonomo would get his second goal in first half added time and it looked like the rout was on for the Republic. San Antonio lead in shots at the break 7-6, but Sacramento had 5 on target to SAFC's zero.
In the second half, San Antonio would come alive and Jack Barmby would get them started with a free kick goal in the 51'. It was the 5th goal of the season for Barmby and his first since June 15th.
San Antonio would press Sacramento for most of the second half, taking multiple corners in quick succession, most of them of the short variety. In all, SAFC earned eight second half corner kicks. And they forced Keeper Rafael Diaz into several saves and their defense into 29 clearances for the match.
SAFC Captain Pecka would add a laser of a goal five minutes into second half added time, but it was too little too late for SAFC to complete the comeback. It was the first goal of the season for Pecka.
Jack Barmby noted the effort after the match. “The second half showed our team’s mentality to not roll over and die. Now we have to pick ourselves up and get back on a winning streak again.”
Next up, San Antonio FC is back on the road to face one of the best in USL Championship West as they'll face second place Reno 1868 FC next Saturday night.
Scoring Summary:
Republic FC: 0-1, Stefano Bonomo (Sam Werner assist) 21’
Republic FC: 0-2, Cameron Iwasa (Drew Skundrich assist) 33;
Republic FC: 0-3, Stefano Bonomo (Juan Barahona assist) 45’
SAFC: 1-3, Jack Barmby 51’
SAFC: 2-3, Pecka (Joshua Yaro assist) 90’
Disciplinary Summary:
SAFC: Yellow Card (Frank Lopez) 14’
Republic FC: Yellow Card (Keven Aleman) 45’
Republic FC: Yellow Card (Jordan McCrary) 75’
Republic FC: Yellow Card (Sam Werner) 86’
SAFC: Yellow Card (Pecka) 87’
Republic FC: Yellow Card (Rafael Diaz) 87’
Attendance:
6,243
PHOTOS: DARREN ABATE / INSTAGRAM: @PEAKACTION
IMAGES: SAN ANTONIO FC TWITTER