FC Tucson ended its two-game scoreless streak in dramatic fashion Saturday night, securing a 2-1 win over Fort Lauderdale CF behind a second-half goal off the bench from Manuel Ferriol to break the tie.
The victory in front of 1,545 fans at Kino North Stadium marks FC Tucsonβs third win of the season (3-4-3) and first since May 29. It also marked the first game under interim coach Jon Pearlman after the club parted ways with John Galas earlier in the week.
A tumultuous month of June for the club in which FC Tucson went 0-2-2 combined with a sudden mid-week coaching change could have resulted in a disastrous evening against a Fort Lauderdale team that had previously upended FC Tucson 5-1 in Florida in their first match a month prior.
Instead, Pearlman saw a team that used the adversity thrown their way to rally around each other and pull off an unlikely win.
βI really thought they were together tonight,β Pearlman said. βWhen things arenβt going your way, thereβs a lot of feelings that go with that. But in training, everyone was behind each other. We came out with a plan and executed.β
It was clear within the opening minutes of the match that there was a different edge to FC Tucsonβs play, as forward Charlie Dennis nearly scored in the second minute, but his shot went off the crossbar.
The shot may not have ended up in the back of the net, but it was an early momentum shift in the favor of the home team that stayed consistent through the night.
FC Tucson finally broke through in the 34th minute when Deri Corfe booted a shot from just outside the box that snuck underneath the Fort Lauderdale goalie. There was a collective set of cheers followed by sighs of relief felt from both the fans in attendance and from the FC Tucson bench.
Corfeβs goal to put the club ahead ended FC Tucsonβs drought of 220 consecutive minutes without scoring.
And we're ON THE BOARD!!@dericorfe | @TUCvFLT pic.twitter.com/tR1CcPQrIS
— FC Tucson (@FCTucson) July 4, 2021
Out of the halftime break, FC Tucson quickly gave a goal right back to Fort Lauderdale as goalkeeper Wallis Lapsley misplayed a ball outside of the box in front of the net, allowing a Fort Lauderdale attacker to take control and rifle one into the net to tie it up.
It was the lone mistake from Wallis Lapsely who played brilliantly otherwise.
βWallis was great. Heβs picked us up so many times this year, it was about time we picked him up,β Pearlman said.
From there, Pearlman started making adjustments, anticipating he would have to use substitutes later in the match to create a late-game edge.
βWith it being 90-95 degrees and humid, we knew we were going to have some tired legs,β he said.
The biggest move of the night came in the 73rd minute when Pearlman subbed out Corfe and brought in Ferriol as a sub. Less than a minute later, Ferriol found the back of the net where he deked around a Fort Lauderdale defender in front of the box and sent from to the bottom left corner of the goal, sliding just under the outstretched arms of the goalkeeper.
What a cut.Off the bench & he puts it in the back of the net. Bravo Manu!#fuerzatucson | @Mferriol8 pic.twitter.com/XLOMCpOFWF
— FC Tucson (@FCTucson) July 4, 2021
Ferriolβs clutch score put FC Tucson ahead 2-1 and the team locked down defensively in the final stretch to come away with three points.
βWe created overall well, chances to score and it was just really a collective effort,β Pearlman said.
The interim coach emphasized that thereβs still plenty to be done as FC Tucson aims to keep its season pointed in the right direction, but Saturdayβs victory is an indicator that it can be done.
βWe want to win for this city every time we go out. To do that tonight, get ourselves right and put us right back in the mix is very exciting,β Pearlman said.
