San Antonio FC (4-2-0, 14 points) and FC Tulsa (2-3-0, 9 points) played to a 0-0 stalemate at ONEOK Field in Tulsa on Wednesday night. It wasn't quite what everybody expected as the top two teams in Group D met for the first time in 2020, but it's easy to see why both teams are unbeaten. Tough Defense and great Goalkeeping. The two teams battled hard for the 90 minutes and in the end sharing a point seems like a fair outcome for a match that was so equally contested. With the draw, SAFC maintains a 5 point lead over FC Tulsa in Group D but FC Tulsa has one game in hand.
It was a first half with surprisingly little action as the two unbeaten teams played an evenly matched half that felt like both sides were feeling each other out and trying not to make the big mistake. Both teams combined for only 3 shots on goal in the first half. SAFC's Luis Solignac had two chances early on, the best one well saved from FC Tulsa's Sean Lewis. FC Tulsa had their best chances in the final few minutes of the half. FC Tulsa's Dario Suarez had a shot nicely saved by SAFC's Dayne St Clair and then FC Tulsa had another attack that fizzled out with an errant pass in the box broken up by the SAFC Defense.
Both teams had one yellow card each in the first half to further demonstrate the closeness of the opening 45 minutes, which finished scoreless.
Both teams turned up the heat early in the second half. SAFC's PC went for goal on a free kick and didn't miss by much. That was followed by SAFC's Jose Gallegos weaving through traffic to hit a shot just wide, to the left of goal. Then FC Tulsa got in on the fun when Altamirano smashed a shot over the SAFC bar. Shortly after that, in the 59th minute, FC Tulsa tried to find a streaking Suarez on a chip pass but it was broken up by St Clair.
In the 65th minute, SAFC sub Gonzalo Di Renzo hit a powerful shot on frame from distance that was once again well saved by FC Tulsa's Lewis. Di Renzo would get another crack at goal on a free kick opportunity 5 minutes later but his attempt dribbled harmlessly into Lewis's waiting hands.
The teams traded end to end action for much of the remaining time, including some big chances in second half added time, but neither team could find the breakthrough as both Defenses and both Keepers shined bright.
Next up for San Antonio FC is a return to Toyota Field for the start of a three game home stand. SAFC has previously announced that fans will not be permitted for any of the three August home games out of a continued abundance of caution related to the Covid-19 pandemic. They'll host Austin Bold on Saturday night, with kickoff scheduled for 8pm.
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PHOTOS: DARREN ABATE, INSTAGRAM: @PEAKACTION