FC Tucson’s resilient second-half effort in which the club scored 10 minutes into the second half proved to be the difference Wednesday night as they hung on to beat Forward Madison FC 2-1 in a nail-biting affair.
The win came without their top goal-scorer Shak Adams, who was out with an undisclosed muscle injury. The void left by Adams was filled admirably by forward Elivelton Oliveira, who found the back of the net for the third straight game.
The Men in Black improved to 4-5-2 to leap two spots in the standings to fifth place and it marks the third consecutive match that the team earned a point.
For the majority of the night, things did not go FC Tucson’s way, despite scoring right out of the gate in the third minute off the left foot of Elivelton. The Men in Black struggled to break through Madison’s pressure; they were outshot by Madison 24-6 and possessed the ball for just 40% of the match. By both statistics and ‘eye-test’ standards, FC Tucson appeared to be headed for trouble sooner rather than later.
FC Tucson's Manuel Ferriol (14) clears the ball, practically off the head of Forward Madison's Eric Leonard (3) during a collision at midfield in the second half of their USL League One game at Kino Sports Complex, Tucson, Ariz., September 23, 2020.
Great counter, even better finish. #TUCvMAD | @FCTucson pic.twitter.com/Tu8qprj8VL
— USL League One (@USLLeagueOne) September 24, 2020
“It wasn't fun, and we were rattled,” coach John Galas said.
After netting the opening goal, FC Tucson was immediately put on the defensive as Forward Madison tried to mount a comeback. They did break through right before halftime, “you could sense it was coming,” Galas said and the game was knotted at 1-1 at the break.
“We got to the locker, made adjustments, changed the mindset a little bit and we came up with a goal,” Galas said. “We defended much better. And all the guys deserve a lot of credit.”
FC Tucson's Ramone Howell (95) wins the fight for a ball at midfield against Forward Madison's Eric Leonard (3) in the first half of their USL League One game at Kino Sports Complex, Tucson, Ariz., September 23, 2020.
The go-ahead goal in the 55th minute came from forward Josh Coan whose cannon shot from just inside the penalty box was placed perfectly — top shelf with a curve that goalkeeper Phillip Marcet had no chance of stopping. So much so that Marceta didn’t even leave his feet to attempt the save and immediately dropped to his knees when he saw the shot go by him.
For your viewing pleasure - the gem from @jcoan98 and dime from @Liadi_10! 🔥#TUCvMAD 2-1 | #FuerzaTucson pic.twitter.com/aVyRijvRno
— FC Tucson (@FCTucson) September 24, 2020
“It was a beautiful shot,” Galas said. “As soon as he hit, you could tell it had enough pace and enough curve to beat the keeper.”
The seismic shift in momentum meant that FC Tucson would once again have to face the offensive attacks from Madison, and in the second half, they were up to the challenge.
“They were resilient tonight,” Galas said of his club. “They knew that if we gave them an inch, you know this team could punish us and we just kept trying to fight.”
Behind the key defensive effort was goalkeeper Amal Knight who made nine saves. Two of the most impressive saves from Knight came in the 73rd and 74th minute as the goalkeeper made diving stops to preserve the one-goal lead.
Next up is another home game this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. against Inter Miami II as FC Tucson looks to win its third consecutive home game.
“We're winning games right now, I'm happy and the team's gonna be happy,” Galas said. “Keeping Madison off the score sheet for as long as we did and then absorbing all that pressure tonight was a testament to the courage and a commitment of this group tonight to get a result.”
