Despite triple-digit temperatures, a second-half red card, and a second-half own-goal, Union Omaha prevailed at the end of Saturday night’s match against FC Tucson with a score of 2-1. What seemed to be a manageable cruise to an away victory turned into anything but that, yet the Owls maintained their composure and returned to Omaha with three points to boost them up in the league table.
The first 15 minutes of the match saw FC Tucson threatening Union Omaha time and time again. Tucson was faster, passing better, creating chances, forcing turnovers, winning challenges, and keeping Union Omaha’s defense busy. The Owls looked to be on their heels, disjointed, flustered, and even overwhelmed at times. Ultimately, they weathered the storm, re-organized their formations, settled down, and found their style of play. What resulted was a slow transition of control from FC Tucson to Union Omaha. Before halftime, Union Omaha would break the deadlock and reaffirm their confidence.
In the 42nd minute, Union Omaha was awarded a direct kick outside of FC Tucson’s penalty area. Both Daltyn Knutson and Noe Meza would line up to take the kick, but Meza was the one who eventually put his foot on the ball. His shot initially seemed to be going over the bar, but dipped just in time to tuck itself inside the upper corner of the goal. FC Tucson goalkeeper Carlos Merancio Valdez never had a chance. Don’t be surprised if you see Meza’s goal up for Goal of the Week honors. The goal was exactly what Union Omaha needed heading into halftime.
The second half of the match started off innocently enough and both sides continued to search for the edge on their opponent, but Union Omaha wouldn’t waste too much time before finding their insurance policy. During the run of play, Union Omaha defender Isaac Bawa carried the ball up the right side of the attacking third and provided a beautiful service to midfielder Kemal Malcolm. Instead of heading the ball straight at the goal, Malcolm headed the ball into the ground. FC Tucson’s Merancio Valdez seemed to be taken by surprise from Malcolm’s approach and couldn’t locate the bouncing ball in time to save it from crossing the goal line. With a second goal in hand, Union Omaha seemed to be coasting to another victory in Kino North Stadium. The finish to this match would be anything but comfortable.
Within a mere six minutes of the Union Omaha’s second goal, defender Gabriel Claudio received a second yellow card, resulting in a red card. His dismissal from the match was a major boost of confidence for FC Tucson. They had 27 minutes of regulation time to strike back against a Union Omaha team that was a man down for the rest of the match. Exactly ten minutes after the soft red card was doled out, Union Omaha captain Conor Doyle was the victim of the cruel mistress that we call own goals. FC Tucson served up a wonderful cross into the box and Doyle had to make a split-second decision: does he go for the ball, knowing the angle of the service could easily deflect into the goal? Or does he let the ball go deeper into the box and risk an FC Tucson player finishing the service? Doyle chose action over inaction and what resulted brought FC Tucson within one goal of tying the match with Union Omaha.
Despite being down a man and one goal away from dropping points for the first time at Kino North Stadium, Union Omaha found a way to kill the clock and secure the win. With the loss, FC Tucson remains in last place, three points away from their nearest neighbor, who also have a game in hand on them. Their next match will be on the road against Central Valley Fuego, a club that hasn’t found their first victory at home and is trending in the opposite direction of where they’d like to be in the standings.
With the victory and the three points, Union Omaha finds themselves in 6th place, 2 points away from first place, and 2 games in hand. The next matchup for the Owls is a rematch of the 2021 USL League One Championship (and 2020, if you want to be technical): Greenville Triumph. And with that being said, let me excitedly proclaim the beginning of Belt Week. At the conclusion of last night’s match, the Belt made an appearance at the watch party at The Corner Kick, so Belt Week has already begun and with it brings all of the excitement you need to get you through to next week’s home match.
Who Gives A Hoot will be providing a lot of content this week, so make sure to subscribe and don’t miss out on anything that’s coming your way. We have a new episode of the podcast, more data-breakdown greatness from Kyle, a deep-dive on FC Tucson (complete with videos, pictures, and other visuals), a preview on Greenville, and plenty of social media content planned for the next week. It’s an exciting week, so follow and subscribe for all of the treasures to come.
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