SAFC's struggles away from home continue
Sports // Pro Team Sports
Terrence Thomas, Staff Writer
May 26, 2019 Updated: May 26, 2019 6:45 a.m.
A week ago, San Antonio FC players said all the right things. They talked about how the team's cohesiveness and mentality had improved.
The enhancements, they vowed, would prove beneficial when SAFC embarked on a crucial road trip that included three games in a week.
But the more things change, the more they appear to remain the same.
SAFC's road woes continued when it was thumped by Rio Grande Valley FC 3-1 Saturday in a United Soccer League contest at H-E-B Park in Edinburg.
The local club dropped to 0-5 on the road this year and has been outscored 11-3 in those games. SAFC (3-6-3) returns to action Wednesday when it travels to Austin Bold FC for a third-round encounter in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
"The mood in the camp is a little low, but we have another match on Wednesday, so there's no time to feel sorry for ourselves," SAFC midfielder Jack Barmby said. "We have to start winning games, no matter the competition, and the bottom line is we just have to pick it up."
SAFC expressed seven days earlier that it had momentum after sandwiching draws with Orange County SC and Tulsa Roughnecks FC around a win vs. Laredo Heat SC in Open Cup competition.
Any ground gained, though, was squandered during a six-minute stretch Saturday late in the first half. Jesus Enriquez and Michael Salazar scored goals six minutes apart as Rio Grande Valley FC (4-4-4) grabbed a 2-0 halftime advantage and never looked back.
Salazar added a second goal in the 58th minute for a 3-0 lead. SAFC cut into the deficit when forward Ever Guzman scored off a pass from Eby Ackon in the 70th minute.
"It was a tough game tonight," SAFC coach Darren Powell said after his squad conceded three goals for the third straight road game. "We got punished and that put us behind, but our players were pushing to get us back in the game. We scored late, and were looking for more, but it never came. Nobody was pleased with the result tonight, so it's a matter of having a short memory."
Ever Guzman (left) scored San Antonio FC's lone goal in Saturday's 3-1 loss at Rio Grande Valley FC.Darren Abate
Terrence Thomas