After falling behind on an early goal, the SF Deltas scored three unanswered to claim the first win in team history, 3-1, over North Carolina FC at Kezar Stadium.
On a windy night in San Francisco, the Deltas came out cold and soon found themselves facing their first deficit ever. In the 23rd minute, two North Carolina shots were saved by Deltas goalkeeper Romuald Peiser before NCFC’s Tiyi Shipalane hit the third attempt into the back of the net.
The Deltas regrouped and started to force the attack. Their continued pressure paid off seconds before the halftime whistle when a Cristian Portilla’s cross found the feet of San Francisco’s Tommy Heinemann to score an equalizer.
Both teams probed to regain the lead in the second half, with the Deltas having the better opportunities. They finally found the go-ahead goal when a Pablo Dyego shot from the left wing curled inside the far post in the 82nd minute. With NCFC pressing for the equalizer, Heinemann pushed forward on a late attack to score his second goal in the 90th minute and secure the three points for San Francisco.
The Deltas stand in second place in the NASL standings with 4 points (1-0-1) after two games, only behind the Jacksonville Armada (6 points). San Francisco will travel for its first away game to Florida next Saturday to take on the Armada.
GAME STATISTICS:
Match: SF Deltas vs. North Carolina FC
Date: April 8, 2017
Competition: NASL Week 3
Venue: Kezar Stadium in Golden Gate Park; San Francisco, Calif.
Kickoff: 7 p.m. PT
Attendance: 1731
Weather: Sunny 55F
Scoring: 1st Half 2nd Half Final
SFD 1 2 3
SRFC 1 0 1
Lineups:
SFD: 1- Romuald Peiser; 20-Karl Ouimette; 3-Nana Attakora ; 35-Reiner Ferreira; 5-Kenny Teijsse; 30-Michael Stephens (4- Tyler Gibson 83’); 10-Kyle Bekker (17- Devon Sandoval 88’); 8-Cristian Portilla; 25-Danny Cruz (7- Jackson 71’) ; 9-Tommy Heinemann; 11-Pablo Dyego; Subs not used: 2- Bryan Burke; 12- Steward Ceus; 23- Greg Jordan; 27- Andrew Lubahn
Head coach: Marc Dos Santos
NCFC: 92- Brian Sylvestre; 2- Paul Black (14- ALex Molano 88’); 13- Connor Tobin; 15- Cristian Ibeagha; 4- James Marcelin; 6- Austin Da Luz; 10- Nazmi Albadawi; 11- Tiyi Shipalane (20- Jonathon Orlando 72’); 31- Steven Miller; 21- Brian Shriver (17- Billy Schuler 85’); 9- Matt Fondi; Subs not used: 12- Kareem Moses; 16- Dre Fortune; 30- Bolu Akinyode; 29- Matias Reynares
Head coach: Colin Clarke
Stats Summary: SFD / NCFC
Shots: 19 / 11
Shots on Goal: 8 / 7
Saves: 5 / 2
Corner Kicks: 7 / 3
Fouls: 12 / 8
Offside: 0 / 2
Misconduct Summary:
SFD – 21’ Portilla (caution); 26’ Reiner (caution)
SRFC – 35’ Sylvestre (caution); 60’ Nazmi Albadawi (caution)
