San Antonio FC (9 wins, 7 draws, 10 losses) currently sits in 11th place in the Western Conference table on 34 points. They trail top-of-the-league Rising by 28 points, and lay outside the playoffs based on total wins.
The team is one of the top passing sides in the Championship – tied for second place in the league with 82% accuracy.
The last time these two sides met was in the season opener in Texas. Rising trailed three times, with goals from Ever Guzman, Billy Forbes and a miscue from Adam Jahn. Flemmings and Jahn initially replied for Rising; and Jason Johnson earned Rising a point with his 93rd minute strike.
San Antonio has been pretty poor on the road, although it has performed better lately. Most notably, the team lost its first six away games this season.
The team is best at scoring at the start and end of halves, but not especially well in the middle third of each.
Defensively, the team would probably be better off not coming out for the second half.
LAST TIME OUT
San Antonio’s most recent outing was a humiliating 5-1 defeat at the hands of lowly Tacoma Defiance last Saturday. They lined up 3-2-4-1 in Washington.
Local boy Matt Cardone was in goals last Saturday. Having missed just one game all season, it’s safe to assume we’ll see him today. Cardone’s spent his entire career in San Antonio, previously featuring for the D-III Trinity Tigers and the NASL San Antonio Scorpions. He has claimed seven clean sheets in 2019, but his save success rate of 64.8% is the lowest he’s posted in a USL season. Cardone has never lost a game against Rising or Arizona United, but he concedes on average two goals in each of those games.
Ebenezer Ackon is in his first season with San Antonio, but has been a key player in defense. He’s only missed one game through yellow card accumulation in July, and has clocked up the full 90 in all other games. The 22-year-old Ghanaian is a solid tackler (70.5%), and also leads the team in interceptions (37).
Continuing the Ghanaian defensive trend, Joshua Yaro hasn’t missed a single minute at all. Typically featuring in the heart of defense, Yaro is a solid option to play the ball out of the back, and has an 89.3% passing accuracy. He scored off a corner in the Tacoma defeat – his only goal of the season. Yaro joined San Antonio this season after being released by Philadelphia Union.
The other defender in Tacoma was Kai Greene. He is another ever-present for San Antonio in 2019. This is Greene’s first season at Toyota Field. He joined in the offseason from Texas-rival Rio Grande Valley. It’s not been his best season from a tackling perspective – his 2019 success rate is at 60.3%, compared to a solid 74% or higher. in prior season. He’s also collected six yellow cards in 2019 – his worst disciplinary record since he started in USL in 2016
Pecka was San Antonio’s captain from the defensive midfield position. He’s another competent passer, with 88.5% accuracy. One thing he seems to have worked on this season? Drawing fouls. He’s currently managed to draw 47 while committing only 17 – an impressive ratio for a player who doesn’t shy too easily away from challenges. This is Pecka’s third season with San Antonio. The 30-year-old is a product of Flamengo’s Brazilian youth setup.
Pecka was joined in defensive midfield by Moisés Hernandez last Saturday, but there’s a definite contrast between the two players. Hernandez has played just 12 games this year, but has been shown seven yellow cards – just one short of another suspension. When he isn’t getting sanctioned by the referee, Hernandez is a solid tackler with a 75% success rate.
San Antonio’s more advanced midfield quartet in Tacoma were Gómez, Barmby, Restrepo and Forbes.
Brian Gómez broke into the professional game at Argentinos Juniors, but alas, he’s no Diego Maradona. Gómez made his San Antonio debut in late March, after the club had already faced Rising. He joined from Feirense, a team that was on its way to relegation from Portugal’s top flight. Gómez has scored five goals this season, but three of those goals were scored in two games against Real Monarchs.
Englishman Jack Barmby is on a great run of form. In each of the last last five games, he’s recorded either a goal or an assist. Overall, he has seven goals in his 25 appearances, and leads the team with 56 chances created. This is Barmby’s first season with San Antonio, after bobbing up and down between Timbers’ first and second teams. He set up T2’s winner against Rising in the final game of the 2018 regular season. Son of former England international Nick, Jack Barmby was a product of the Manchester United academy, but never played a game for the senior squad. He’s currently one yellow card away from suspension.
Walter Restrepo may have been part of the squad that struggled against Tacoma, but in the previous three games he recorded four assists and a goal. The winger’s 66th minute strike against New Mexico is his first goal this season, and second USL career goal since he made his debut in 2016 for Bethlehem Steel. He joined San Antonio in the close season from Deportes Tolima (Colombia).
One midfielder from last Saturday who will not start tonight is ex-Rising winger Billy Forbes, who was released in somewhat mysterious circumstances on Wednesday. Forbes was something of a fan favorite in San Antonio, and played the best of his football there. Thankfully for Rising, there’s no threat of a former player coming back to haunt them tonight.
Frank López was the lone striker for San Antonio in Tacoma. Currently on loan from Los Dos, López took a little while to get going this season, but has now bagged an impressive 11 goals in his last 16 games for both clubs. Five of those goals have been scored in eight loan appearances for San Antonio. If he plays tonight, this will be his third game against Rising, and he’s goalless so far through 96 minutes on the field.
REST OF THE ROSTER
Cristian Parano missed his first game of the season against Tacoma. You have to presume it was for fitness reasons. In the three games prior, the attacking midfielder scored five goals and recorded two assists, with two of the goals and both assists coming against New Mexico. The 20-year-old moved to San Antonio from second-tier Argentinian club San Martín over the winter.
Michael Lahoud is San Antonio’s backup captain, and like Pecka plays in the heart of the midfield. Lahous boasts the best passing accuracy on the team (90.1%), and is a vital link when he does play with 53.3 passes per 90 minutes – the second-highest among regular players. Don’t expect much of him in front of goal, though. In 22 games, Lahoud has shot just three times, and scored with his only attempt on target in a 2-1 defeat away to Sacramento on June 1. He previously won the FIFPro Merit Award, along with fellow Sierra Leonean Kei Kamara, for helping establish a school for those displaced by the West African country’s civil war.
Striker Éver Guzmán has previously found the net in two of three games against Rising. His goal in the season opener kicked off a respectable start to the year for Guzmán, who scored five goals in 12 games. However, he now seems to be falling out of favor, and hasn’t started a game for two months.
Bradford Jamieson has been missing the last few games, but can be a danger when placed on the wing or just off of the primary striker. He’s scored five goals this season, while picking up two assists. Contracted to LA Galaxy, Jamieson drew a lot of attention in 2016 when he was included in USL’s Twenty Under Twenty. However, he has since struggled with concussions, thereby stifling his development in the game.
17-year-old midfielder Jose Gallegos has made 11 appearances for San Antonio this season. He scored his first professional goal in a 3-2 win against Reno on June 8, and has also contributed one assist. Gallegos may not feature tonight against Rising, but he’s definitely one to keep an eye on in the future.
MAN IN THE MIDDLE
Rosendo Mendoza will have the whistle for this match. Mendoza’s a regular at this level, which is fairly impressive given that he only graduated from college two years ago. With his top-flight debut coming last month, could we be seeing one of US Soccer’s top refereeing prospects this evening?
He’s never taken charge of a Rising match before, but did officiate in San Antonio’s feisty 0-0 draw with El Paso on June 26, showing six yellow cards in the process. He’s also awarded eight penalties in his 14 competitive matches this season. Mendoza is from Humble, Texas, a city just to the east of Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
From The Ashes Prediction: A strong second half performance will bring home win #18 for Rising.