SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Wednesday, September 1, 2021) – Real Monarchs (4-12-4, 16 points) fell 3-2 to San Antonio FC at Toyota Field on Wednesday night, the first loss to the team from Texas this season.
A goal from Ibrahim Bancé and a late-game own goal were not enough to overcome the deficit.
The home side came out on the front foot and held onto the momentum throughout the first half with a 12-0 advantage in corner kicks earned and almost 60% possession. The attacking pressure paid off in the 27th minute with a goal inside the box from Jose Gallegos to give the home side the 1-0 lead into the break.
The Monarchs found the equalizer against the run of play when Bancé cut back from outside the box and buried a left-footed shot into the back of the net following a pass from Malik Johnson in the 57th minute to bring the match level at 1-1. San Antonio FC recaptured the lead in the 75th minute when Korte Ford brought down a loose ball in the box and pushed it into goal to bring the score to 2-1. Three minutes later, San Antonio struck again, this time on the counter on a shot from Marcus Epps to give the hosts the 3-1 lead. In the dying moments of the match, an own goal on a Monarchs set piece pulled one back for the Monarchs, but the match ended 3-2 in favor of San Antonio.
UP NEXT: The Real Monarchs visit Colorado Springs for the fourth and final match of the four-game road trip against Switchbacks FC at Weidner Field on Wednesday, September 8 at 7:00 p.m. MT. The match can be streamed on ESPN+.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN:
SA: Jose Gallegos (Chris Lema), 27th minute: From the left side of the pitch, Chris Lema sent a low, direct ball into the center of the box towards Jose Gallegos. Gallegos took a touch, dribbled around a sliding defender and fired the left-footed shot past the outstretched hands of the goalkeeper and into the right side of the net.
SLC: Ibrahim Bancé (Malik Johnson), 57th minute: After dribbling down the right side of the pitch, Malik Johnson passed the ball to Ibrahim Bancé just outside of the 18-yard box. Bancé collected the pass, took a dribble to his right, lost the defender with a quick cut-back to his left and then buried a left-footed shot just inside the left post that snuck past the keeper and into the back of the net.
SA: Kortne Ford, 75th minute: Chris Lema sent a looping cross into the box, but the pass failed to find a teammate. With the defense failing to clear, the ball bounced around the box before falling to the feet of Kortne Ford who pushed the right-footed shot into goal.
SA: Marcus Epps (Nathan), 79th minute: On the counter, Nathan turned up the field and pushed a through ball out in front of Marcus Epps. Epps caught up to the pass, cut back to his left and fired a shot. The shot took a deflection off of a sliding defender and popped straight up into the air and over the goalkeeper before taking a friendly bounce past the line and into the back of the net.
SLC: Mitchell Taintor (Own Goal), 90’+4’: In the final moments of the match, the Monarchs earned a set piece on a foul just outside the box on the left side. Sam Brown whipped a swinging ball into the box and in an attempt to clear the ball with a diving header, San Antonio defender Mitchell Taintor redirected the ball into the back of the net for the own goal.
NOTES:
- Real Monarchs featured six teenagers among its starting IX in the match, giving the youthful side an average age of just 19.5 years old.
- With Jimmy Slayton appearing in goal as a second-half substitute, the Monarchs have now featured six different players between the pipes this season.
- RSL Academy forward Seth Powder earned his first professional start among the front three of the formation in Head Coach Jamison Olave’s team sheet.
Match: Real Monarchs vs. San Antonio FC
Date: September 1, 2021
Venue: Toyota Field; San Antonio, Texas
Weather: Mostly sunny and 90 degrees
Attendance: 3,836
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Real Monarchs 0 2 2
San Antonio FC 1 2 3
SA: Jose Gallegos (Chris Lema) 27’
SLC: Ibrahim Bancé (Malik Johnson) 57’
SA: Kortne Ford 75’
SA: Marcus Epps (Nathan) 79’
SLC: Mitchell Taintor (Own Goal) 90’+4’
Lineups:
Real Monarchs (4-3-3): Blake Kelly (Jimmy Slayton 45’); Daniel Flores, Kyle Adams, Jaziel Orozco, Bode Davis; Ibrahim Bancé, Julio Benitez (Esequiel Coronel 45’), Sam Brown; Malik Johnson, Max Mata (Aris Briggs 45’), Seth Powder (Christian Nydegger 68’)
Subs not used: Kevin Saucedo, Haroun Conteh, Frankie Martínez
San Antonio FC (3-4-3): Matt Cardone; Mitchell Taintor, Jasser Khmiri (Joaquin Varela 45’), Kortne Ford; Chris Lema, Mohammed Abu, Victor Giro (Cameron Lindley 45’), Connor Maloney; Jose Gallegos (Justin Dhillon 60’), Nathan, Marcus Epps (Leo Torres 84’)
Subs not used: Carlos Mercado, Shandon Hopeau, Ollie Wright
STATS SUMMARY: SA / SLC
Shots: 24 / 7
Shots on Goal: 8 / 1
Saves: 0 / 5
Corner Kicks: 16 / 1
Fouls: 20 / 13
Offside: 2 / 1
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
SLC – Julio Benitez (caution) 1’
SA – Nathan (caution) 8’
SLC – Jamison Olave, Head Coach (caution) 9’
SLC – Daniel Flores (caution) 59’
SLC – Ibrahim Bancé (caution) 71’
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Joshua Encarnacion
Assistant Referees: Nicholas Balcer, Sergio Santana
4th Official: Elton Garcia
