SAN ANTONIO (Fwrd Axis) — After 48 days away, San Antonio FC returned to Toyota Field and earned a point in a 1-1 draw with the Oakland Roots SC in front of 5,563 fans.
The result sees San Antonio remain in second place in the USL Championship’s Western Conference, just two points behind Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, whom they play next week.
“We were definitely the aggressors with and without the ball,” San Antonio FC Head Coach Alen Marcina said. “Disappointed we didn’t get the three points, I felt we earned the three points, I felt we dominated from start to finish.”
Both goals were scored in the first half with Oakland getting on the scoreboard first in the 29th minute when Joseph Nane got a free header past SAFC goalkeeper Jordan Farr off the cross from Juan Carlos Azocar to put the visitors up a goal.
San Antonio answered back just before halftime when Samuel Adeniran scored his first goal in SAFC colors off the assist from PC in stoppage time, leveling the match at 1-1 going into the locker room.
The second half saw several stoppages, resulting in an uneven flow in the game. Both teams would grab a point at the end of 100 minutes.
Here are three points from SAFC’s draw with Oakland:
Conceding first
For just the fifth time this season, San Antonio conceded the match’s first goal. Despite being the aggressors for much of the first half, Oakland was the one who got on the scoreboard first.
The match marked the second consecutive outing SAFC has given up the first goal. San Antonio is 1-3-1 this season when giving up the first goal.
“We created a number of clear-cut opportunities,” Marcina said. “Yes, we’d like to execute. We’ll learn from this. But all in all, it’s a point.”
On the score sheet
The match saw Adeniran get on the score sheet after being loaned to San Antonio from Seattle Sounders FC of the MLS side. His goal proved vital as it helped his club secure a point.
— San Antonio FC (@SanAntonioFC) June 19, 2022
“I’m very grateful. I am grateful to God and the coaching staff for believing in me and telling me to come out here,” Adeniran said. “It’s just amazing, it’s surreal to be able to do it in front of these amazing fans in this amazing stadium, so I’m just very happy.”
Room for improvement
Despite their solid start to the season, San Antonio still has areas where they can improve and will need to if they want to try to claim the top spot in the USL Championship Western Conference.
Two consecutive matches have seen San Antonio give up goals on the set pieces and that will be an area of concern with a big match looming.
“We need to improve on set pieces of course, and we need to be better on finishes too,” SAFC midfielder PC said. “We did a pretty good job to control the game, control the ball, but inside both 18s we need to be better.”
UP NEXT:
San Antonio FC is now 10-3-1 (31 points) on the season and will hit the road to Colorado to face Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on Friday night at 8 PM CT.
