TULSA, Okla. – Playing the second of two matches on the road in four days, T2 fell 3-1 on the road to Tulsa Roughnecks FC at ONEOK Field on Saturday night.
Tulsa (5-5-0, 15pts) took a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute after midfielder Joaquin Rivas struck a low, driven shot from inside the box that found the back of the net. After T2 defender Kyle Bjornethun was whistled for a handball inside the box, Tulsa midfielder Juan Pablo Caffa converted his penalty attempt to give Roughnecks FC a 2-0 lead in the 25th minute.
T2 (1-9-1, 4pts) cut into the Roughnecks FC lead after midfielder Villyan Bijev scored his third goal of the 2017 USL regular season. Midfielder Omar Mohamed played a perfectly weighted pass that found Bijev on the edge of the 18-yard box, and his shot from inside the box beat Tulsa goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland at his near post to make it a 2-1 game in the 35th minute.
Roughnecks FC forward Ian Svantesson gave his side a 3-1 lead just before halftime when his headed attempt from inside the box beat onrushing T2 goalkeeper Wade Hamilton in the 41st minute.
Following a weather delay that began in the 55th minute and lasted over an hour, T2 held a 10-4 shot advantage in the second half and created several scoring opportunities. T2 forward Augustine Williams pressured the Tulsa defense after he cut in on his left foot and fired a shot that missed the target in the 56th minute. Bijev’s long-range shot forced Cleveland into a save in the 63rd minute. Two minutes later, Bijev’s deflected shot from the top of the 18-yard box was tipped over the crossbar in the 65th minute. Bijev’s free-kick attempt from the edge of the 18-yard box was sent over the crossbar in the 71st minute.
After Bijev played a ball to midfielder Andre Lewis on the edge of the penalty area, Lewis avoided a challenge and his off-balance shot from inside the box was saved by Cleveland at the near post in the 73rd minute. Racing past his defender along the left flank, Williams’ angled shot was saved by an onrushing Cleveland in the 88th minute. Following a free-kick attempt from just outside the 18-yard box, Bijev’s driven shot was struck directly at the goalkeeper in the 91st minute. Two minutes later, second-half substitute Russell Cicerone’s angled header from a set-piece delivery flashed just wide of the target in the 93rd minute.
T2 held a 17-14 shot advantage in the game and had some threatening moments in the first half. After Mohamed cut inside from the right wing, his left-footed shot from distance missed the target in the 14th minute. In the 22nd minute, midfielderBen Zemanski found space outside the box and struck a right-footed shot that flew past the top right corner of the net. In the 34th minute, Bijev skipped past two defenders at the top of the 18-yard box and his left-footed curling effort missed inches past the far post.
Portland defender Michael Amick and midfielder Terrell Lowe each made their season debuts as second-half substitutes.
Next up, T2 play host to Cascadia-rival Whitecaps FC 2 at Providence Park on Sunday, June 4; kickoff is set for 2 p.m. (Pacific).
The June 4 match will also be available via a live, high-definition web stream at www.timbers2.com.
Postgame Quote Sheet
T2 head coach Andrew Gregor
On his overall thoughts on the match...
"Up until the break, we struggled. We were punished on individual mistakes again. We didn't do a good job of when we gave up those mistakes in dealing with the pressure that came with it once we scored to make it 2-1. It would have been a whole different game if we had gone into halftime with a 2-1 scoreline. This is the area they have to get better at. They also need to understand how important giving up the third goal was. In the last 36-minute period, after we made a few changes, I thought we were fantastic. We came out and played free. It's a lot easier to play free when you're 3-1 down, but I thought they came out and took it to them. We had some really good opportunities to get back in the game. If there's any silver lining to it, that would be the 36-minute period we had after the break."
On the adjustments made after the weather delay...
"You look at the standard in that 36-minute period in the game and who was in the game and how they all played together. They set a certain standard with that group. The expectation now moving forward is that same standard is still there. The play was good, but also there was a fight to them and there was an edge. It was good to see. There's a standard set now and they need to hold to that standard day in and day out."
On the performance of the second-half substitutes...
"I thought all three subs - Michael Amick, Terrell Lowe and Russell Cicerone did a very good job. For Terrell to get his first minutes of the year, he did what I expected him to do. He came in and covered ground and played simple for the most part. He broke some things up and made it difficult. That's what Terrell brings to the table. I thought he had a good 36-minute shift there."
On heading into next week's match against Cascadia-rival Whitecaps FC 2...
"The expectation is that we come out with the same performance as the last 36-minute of the game tonight. Vancouver is always a big game. They got the best of us last time, even though the game itself didn't deserve to go that way. It should be a highly competitive match with it being a rivalry as well."
T2 (1-9-1, 4pts) vs. Tulsa Roughnecks FC (5-5-0, 15pts)
May 27, 2017 – ONEOK Field (Tulsa, Okla.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
T2 1 0 1
Tulsa Roughnecks FC 3 0 3
Scoring Summary
TUL: Rivas (Corrales), 17
TUL: Caffa (Penalty Kick), 25
POR: Bijev (Mohamed), 35
TUL: Svantesson (Jadama), 41
Misconduct Summary
TUL: Dekovic (Caution), 67
POR: Batista (Caution), 68
POR: Bjornethun (Caution), 85
TUL: Ugarte (Caution), 90
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Hamilton, D Hanson, D Clarke (Amick, 46), D Batista, D Bjornethun, M Zemanski (Lowe, 55), M Lewis, M Bodily (Cicerone, 55), M Bijev ©, M Mohamed, F Williams
Substitutes Not Used: GK Herrera, D Ornstil, M Granitto
TOTAL SHOTS: 17 (Lewis, 6); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Bijev, 3); FOULS: 15 (Lewis, 3); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 9; SAVES: 3
TUL: GK Cleveland, D Kimara, D Jadama, D Ugarte, D Corrales (Dekovic, 42), M Bronico, M Rivas, M Ballew, M Fernandez (Calistri, 84), M Caffa (Bourgeois, 77), F Srantesson
Substitutes Not Used: GK Cerda, M Ayala, M Gee, F Kondrakhin
TOTAL SHOTS: 14 (Svantesson, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Svantesson, 2); FOULS: 16 (Fernandez, 4); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 5
Referee: Lukas Szpala
Assistant Referees: Roy Robinson, Wade Beall
4th Official: Jeremy Crockett
Attendance: 3,487
Weather: Partly cloudy, 91 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
