Devon Sandoval scored on a penalty kick just before the end of the first half, and the San Francisco Deltas held on for a 1-0 victory over FC Edmonton at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.
The kickoff conditions could not have been better in San Francisco with a temperature of 75 degrees. The visiting Eddies came out the hotter team testing the back line of the Deltas. Edmonton’s best chance was when Sainey Nyassi had a one on one opportunity with San Francisco keeper Romuald Peiser. The Deltas keeper was able to make a brilliant kick save to keep the score at nil-nil.
In the 40th minute, FC Edmonton defender Abdoulaye Diakite was called for a handball in the box and forward Devon Sandoval was able to slot the ensuing penalty kick home.
San Francisco and Edmonton has a handful of chances in the second half to score. The Deltas best chance was in the 64th minute when Pablo Dyego’s attempt was tipped over the bar by Eddies keeper Nathan Ingham.
Edmonton’s best opportunity to tie the game was in the 80th minute when Adam Straith connected on a corner kick. His shot went just wide of the post.
“The game wasn’t easy. I thought we were passive in the first half and not dynamic enough,” said SF Deltas head coach Marc Dos Santos. “But we answered better in the second half. We were more connected, more aware. It was an important three points for the group and for the club today.”
With the victory, the Deltas moved up into second place in the NASL standings still seven points behind first-place Miami FC. San Francisco will play an away and home series against Miami on July 8th and 15th which could possibly decide the title for the Spring Season.
The Deltas now have a week off before they face FC Edmonton again on the road Saturday, June 24th at 6 pm.
—-
Match: SF Deltas vs. FC Edmonton
Date: June 17, 2017
Competition: NASL Spring Season Week 13
Venue: Kezar Stadium in Golden Gate Park; San Francisco, Calif.
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. PT
Attendance: 1.894
Weather: Sunny 75F
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
SFD 1 0 1
FCE 0 0 0
SFD – #17 (40’)
FCE –
Lineups:
SFD: GK-1- Romuald Peiser; D-7- Jackson, D -3- Nana Attakora ( c ), D-6- Patrick Hopkins, D-35- Reiner Ferreira(#27 62’), M-4- Tyler Gibson, M-8- Cristian Portilla, M-10- Kyle Bekker (#9 80’), F-11- Pablo Dyego, F-17- Devon Sandoval, F-30- Michael Stephens(#25 66’).
Subs not used: Subs: Gk-12- Steward Ceus, D-2- Bryan Burke, D-20- Karl W. Ouimette, M-23- Greg Jordan
Head coach: Marc Dos Santos
FCE: Gk-29- Nathan Ingham, D-2- Shawn Nicklaw, D-4- Abdoulaye Diakite, D-5- Albert Watson, D-25- Adam Straith ( c ), D-12- Pedro Galvao, M-9- Ben Fisk (#23 71’), M-10- Mauro Eustaquio (#22 60’), M-11- Dustin Corea, M-14- Sainey Nyassi, F-18- Tomi Ameobi.
Subs not used: Gk-1- Chris Konopka, D-13- Karsten Smith, M-20- Nicolas Di Biase
Head coach: Colin Miller
Stats Summary: SFD / FCE
Shots: 8 / 6
Shots on Goal: 3 / 2
Saves: 1 / 2
Corner Kicks: 3 / 3
Fouls: 7 / 9
Offside: 0 / 1
Misconduct Summary:
SFD – 86’ #9 (caution); 90’ #25 (caution)
FCE – 51’ #18 (caution)
Officials
Referee: Daniel Radford
Assistant Referee 1: Eric Ehrhardt
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Cruz
4th Official: Turan Ozdemir
