PORTLAND, Ore. – Playing their first game of a two-match homestand, T2 battled to a 1-1 draw against San Antonio FC at Merlo Field on the campus of the University of Portland on Saturday. With the draw, T2 remain undefeated in its last three games, and improved to a 4-3-1 record at home this season.
Outshooting San Antonio 5-4 in the first half, T2 (5-6-2, 17pts) opened the scoring in the 16th minute when midfielder Jack Barmby’s in-swinging corner kick was headed in for an own goal at the near post. Eight minutes later, Barmby, who skillfully eluded two San Antonio defenders at the edge of the box, bent his strike toward the far post, but San Antonio goalkeeper Josh Ford parried the ball away for a corner kick in the 24th minute. In the 40th minute, defender Alvas Powell released forward Ben Polk into the six-yard box, but his close-range attempt was blocked by an oncoming defender.
Coming out on the attack in the second half, Powell sent a looping service from the right side ahead of the collapsing run of forward Kharlton Belmar, whose header was corralled by the goalkeeper in the 52nd minute. Eleven minutes later, midfielder Victor Arboleda collected a square ball from Belmar on top of the box before driving a strike off the crossbar in the 63rd minute.
San Antonio (2-5-5, 11pts) managed to level the score in the 87th minute when defender Milton Palacios redirected a near post corner kick past the outstretched arms of Portland goalkeeper Wade Hamilton.
Next week, T2 will host Seattle Sounders FC 2 at Providence Park on Tuesday, June 14; kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. (Pacific).
Postgame Quotes
T2 head coach Andrew Gregor
Overall thoughts on the match…
“Overall, I thought there was some decent stuff in the first half. I thought there were opportunities, maybe in the first half, to go and get the second one. We just didn’t really have the killer instinct tonight at certain times. In the second half, we made some changes and at times struggled with some of their pressure. They got a bit more energy and enthusiasm about the game in the second half, and we didn’t manage it very well and in those moments we didn’t make good decisions. The pressure became more and more and more and I think rightly so, they scored a goal. They put us under a ton of pressure and I think the red card was a little unfortunate, but you have to move on. Those are referee decisions and you have to move on, and we were able to get out of it with a point. So, at the end of the day, we learn from the mistakes and move on.”
On integrating several players from the first team tonight…
“They’re all pros. They did what they needed to do. They gave good effort and worked hard. I think there was a little bit of excitement from some of our players to be able to play with the first team guys, especially some of the more experienced first-team guys who were out there today. I thought they did a good job with their contribution.”
On remaining undefeated in their last three matches…
“Yeah, I think the form has been okay lately. We’ve had to deal with some difficult conditions in some of the games, and even this week looking at a quick turnaround on Tuesday and then the following weekend away in Vancouver. So, it’s a challenge. I like the mentality of the team, as far as being able to handle tough conditions as far as what this league offers sometimes. But, you’re going to go through runs throughout the season where things are going to go well and you’re going to go through runs when things aren’t going so well. So, we need to stay focused and make sure that we understand where we’re at and continuing working and developing and getting better.”
On preparing for Tuesday’s match…
“It actually worked out kind of well that we did have some first team guys with us tonight. It gave us an opportunity to not put so many minutes on certain players. But, you turn right back around with a game against Seattle it’s a no brainer. Tired or not, you show up with a ton of energy to play in that game, a rivalry game, Cascadia game, being played before the first team. You don’t need much to get you motivated for that. But, we’ll go back and look at this game. I think there were some things that we needed to look at, especially in that last 20, 25 minutes. We’ll look at that over these next three days and get ready to go for Tuesday.”
T2 midfielder Jack Barmby
On his first T2 experience…
“It was good to get some minutes. Obviously, I haven’t been playing much for the first team so it’s good to get a run out. It’s good. The pitch was really good. I wasn’t really surprised because the set up is really good, but the pitch was really good. It was nice to play on the grass pitch with the Timbers Army. It was a good experience.”
On forcing the own goal…
“It’s funny actually, yesterday they said to me to try and score and have a go at goal. So, I took it and luckily I’ve put it in the right place and it’s gone in.”
On preparing Tuesday’s Open Cup game…
“It’s nice to get 45 minutes under my belt. It’s good fitness. We had a little bit of a break, with four days off, and I think a lot of the guys went on vacation. So, it’s nice for me to go out and prepare right for Tuesday. Hopefully I’ll get a run out and help us get as far as we can in the cup.”
T2 midfielder Seth Casiple
On remaining undefeated in their last three matches…
“It’s momentum. You start getting results and you get a belief through the guys. We have a good locker room atmosphere, guys are willing to work. I think it’s also experience. We have a lot of young guys and a couple older ones. It’s experience for recognizing that you can keep the momentum going if you pay attention to the little moments, making sure the little details are covered and we’ve been fortunate.”
On the addition of the first team players in the lineup…
“It gives us confidence, knowing that we can rely on those guys coming down and I think that it’s good for them to have the opportunities to be the big men on the team. They’re fighting for minutes and time so they come down and they have a reason to step up their game, and we have a reason to step up ours. It showed well.”
On coming out strong in the second half…
“We knew that the longer that they hung around, the greater opportunities that they would have to build a little more momentum. So, the idea was to come out with the same amount of pressure, possession-based playing, and I think we stuck to the plan pretty well. The red card was unlucky but we kept a result, which is good and we keep moving.”
T2 (5-6-2, 17pts) vs. San Antonio FC (2-5-5, 11pts)
June 11, 2016 – Merlo Field (Portland, Ore.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
T2 1 0 1
San Antonio FC 0 1 1
Scoring Summary
POR: Own Goal, 16
SA: Palacios, 87
Misconduct Summary
POR: Gallagher (Caution), 13
POR: Casiple (Caution), 32
SA: Thuriere (Caution), 38
POR: Belmar (Ejection), 82
POR: Morley (Caution), 90
SA: Alvarez (Caution), 90
SA: Araujo (Caution), 90
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Hamilton, D Powell (Thoma, 62), D Okugo (Morley, 45), D Gallagher, D Klute (Lowe, 62), M Besler, M Casiple, M Brett (Arboleda, 62), M Bijev, M Barmby (Belmar, 45), F Polk
Substitutes Not Used: GK Luthy, M Bodily
TOTAL SHOTS: 10; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; FOULS: 16; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 2
SAN: GK Ford, D Palacios, D Brennan, D McBride, D Cochrane, M Thuriere (Castillo, 65), M Reed, M Alvarez, M Garcia (Araujo, 76), F Chin (Francois, 55), F Johnson
Substitutes Not Used: GK Cardone, D McCarthy, M Salazar, F Okiomah
TOTAL SHOTS: 13; SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; FOULS: 14; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 2
Referee: Daniel Radford
Assistant Referees: Brad Jensen, Ben Goodman
4th Official: Jason Perlewitz
Attendance: 1,784
Weather: Cloudy, 64 degress
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
