FC Tucson’s home winless streak stretched to nine matches, but it again played first-place Greenville close.
On Saturday night the Triumph beat FC Tucson (4-11-4) 1-0 at Kino North Stadium in a USL League One game.
FC Tucson head coach Jon Pearlman said he thought the team was better than in its 2-1 win at Northern Colorado on Wednesday.
“I thought it was a really exciting match, a really back and forth affair I couldn’t be disappointed in the performance, we had most of the ball,” Pearlman said. “I’m just extremely disappointed for the team, I thought it was a much better performance than in Northern Colorado.”
Greenville midfielder Aaron Walker scored the match winner in the 47th minute.
FC Tucson defender/forward Donny Toia nearly tied it up in stoppage time of the second half.
“Big chances in the second half, with Donny at the end, so I feel like we were hard done by but at the end of the day that’s happened a lot this season, we haven’t put away our chances and we end up getting punished on a sloppy goal,” said FC Tucson midfielder Charlie Machell.
FC Tucson outshot the Triumph 13-12, but Greenville had the 4-3 edge on shots on goal. The Men in Black led in possession 62.2% to 37.8%.
Last-place FC Tucson drew 1-1 with the top of the table Triumph (11-6-6) on July 3.
Pearlman praised Greenville and said FC Tucson appreciates the fan support. Attendance was 1,293.
“It’s heartbreaking for these fans because they come out here and they’re not not entertained, we don’t look like we’re getting our asses beat, we don’t look like a team that’s folding up the tent or that’s gonna quit in those moments,” Pearlman said. “Yeah, I think we’re as good as Greenville, I don’t really (care) where we sit in the table, we are as good as Greenville.”
FC Tucson’s next match is on Saturday at North Carolina FC (6-11-3). Its next home date is Sept. 3 against the Charlotte Independence.
“You never know, there’s been teams in much worse positions than we have and we’ve got quality as you can see, we can go toe to toe with the top of the league, so I’m no worried in that aspect, we just have to keep going,” Machell said.
Corner kicks
- Prior to the match FC Tucson announced that the mascot appearances and fireworks in celebration of the Old Pueblo’s birthday were postponed to Sept. 3 due to rain.
- FC Tucson wore its all-white kit — normally the Men in Black wear black and red uniforms at home — in hopes of capturing some of its road magic. Its only home win of the season was against higher division Las Vegas in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup when it wore white kits. The Men in Black are 4-5-1 at home.
