Saint Louis FC won 3-2 against Tulsa Roughnecks FC in front of 4,150 fans at Toyota Stadium in Match 26 of the USL Regular Season to extend their home unbeaten streak to six games with four straight wins.
Saint Louis FC opened the scoring early as Lewis Hilton found Wal Fall at the back post from a corner kick in the 4th minute before Hilton got on the scoresheet himself in the 19th minute after being played on goal by Kyle Greig. Tulsa would then get a goal back from Jesus Ferreira after he pounced on a parried save by STLFC goalkeeper Tomas Gomez in the 29th minute. The home side would reestablish their two-goal lead in the 56th minute as Wal Fall converted from the penalty spot and Tulsa would get a late goal from Ferreira again in second half stoppage time to see the game finish 3-2. The result sees Saint Louis FC improve to 10-7-8 with 38 points while Tulsa Roughnecks FC falls to 2-12-10 with 16 points in the USL Western Conference.
The first half started with STLFC on the front foot as Fall forced an early save from Tulsa goalkeeper Fabian Cerda in the 4th minute to set up the first goal from the corner kick where he was waiting at the back post to score his third goal of the season. After providing the assist, Hilton then turned defensive hero as he cleared the ball from the goal line after a Tulsa corner kick in the 10th minute. Hilton would then score in the 14th minute as he was played behind the defense by Greig and slotted underneath the goalkeeper for his second goal of the season. Tulsa would respond with a goal from Ferreira in the 29th minute to see Saint Louis FC maintain a 2-1 lead going into halftime.
The second half was more two-sided as Tulsa pressed for the equalizer but Saint Louis FC would score again in the 56th minute as Albert Dikwa was fouled in the box and Fall stepped up to score from the penalty spot for his second goal of the night. Gomez would make a number of good saves to preserve the lead before Tulsa got another back in second half stoppage time from Ferreira but the home side would see out the win and claim all three points.
“I thought it was fantastic result to get three points but there are lots of elements of the performance that I was not happy with and we are going to have to be better,” said STLFC Head Coach Anthony Pulis. “Again, we start well and get the two-goal lead and hope we can keep our foot on the gas but we take it off and give a poor goal away and we are on the back foot. There are areas I’m really disappointed with tonight but I don’t want to take away the fact it’s a great three points and pushes us where we want to be [in the standings].”
UPCOMING GAMES:
Saint Louis FC at Seattle Sounders FC 2 – Wednesday, August 29th at 9:00 p.m. CT at Cheney Stadium
Tulsa Roughneck FC at Swope Park Rangers – Wednesday, August 29th at 7:30 p.m. CT at Children’s Mercy
