
Fresno FC vs. San Antonio FC Match Preview
June 21, 2019 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Fresno FC News Release
FRESNO, Calif. - The Foxes host San Antonio FC for the first time in 2019 and third time overall. Fresno, in sixth-place in the Western Conference, will look to keep 15th-place San Antonio winless on the road, where the visitors are 0-6-1 away from Toyota Field. San Antonio picked up its first road point last week in a 1-1 draw at OKC Energy FC.
Midfielder Jack Barmby scored the goal in that result, his fourth of the season. Barmby, who entered as a substitute last week, is a key piece to San Antonio's offense, with his four goals second-most behind Ever Guzman (five), and his 35 chances created the most on the team and seventh-most in the USL Championship. Also up front for San Antonio is Bradford Jamieson IV who is on loan from LA Galaxy. Jamieson has three goals in 13 appearances. On the right wing is Brian Gomez, who has started 12 matches in 2019 in which he has recorded three goals and three assists.
The attack for San Antonio has combined for a total of 213 shots, ranking sixth-most in the Western Conference, but they've made just 11.4% of those chances - a conversion rate that is third-worse in the West. Defensively, goalkeeper Matt Cardone has made 41 saves and three clean sheets in 14 appearances. He has seen 24 goals go by for a 1.64 goals-against average.
Fresno, unbeaten when they find the back of the net, will look to get past Cardone and get back in the win column to further their place up the table. Leading goalscorer Qudus Lawal netted his sixth of the year - and fifth in USL season - at Portland Timbers 2, while defender Elijah Martin is coming off a performance that saw him score the first goal of his pro soccer career.
HE SAID IT - HEAD COACH ADAM SMITH
Fresno is searching for its first win in five games. Thoughts?
AS: Even though we haven't won in 5 games, we've actually only lost one of those 5 games, as well. So from that standpoint, you can look at the glass half full or half empty, and we have to look at it half full. At the same time, I want to win games. I've told the group that. We can't just keep drawing, we have to win so we can stay up with the pack. We really should have pulled away from the pack by now, but we haven't and we only have ourselves to blame. We sat down today and talked about how we can fix things. The encouraging thing is we've played 2 or 3 different systems and they've all worked for us. We've still got a bit of thinking to do overnight. We had a good training session today and we look forward to the game tomorrow night.
What are your keys to a successful result against San Antonio?
AS: I'm hoping we can score early and get off to a good start. The keys things for me this game are: if we play the way we're capable of playing - we come out with energy - the night will take care of itself. I want to see that right from the start. I want to score early and not just one this game, but go after and get another and then a third. Then also the importance of defending the lead. We know [San Antonio] will throw things forward so we need to hold them back and then if the unfortunate situation comes, we also need to get a goal back. We've talked about this as a group and made a commitment to each other as a group. Now it's acting it out on the field.
Can we expect the return of Alex Cooper and Jackson this week?
AS: I've got some good headaches with Alex Cooper and Jackson possibly being available. Also, with Seth Moses being out (with a broken foot), it gives somebody else a chance in the middle of the park. It's a bit of a blow for us, but we will deal with it and go from there.
In their absence, Diego Casillas and Elijah Martin have both stepped up. Where does that leave you in making those decisions?
AS: I actually called out Diego and Elijah today in front of the group and said you need to take these guys seriously. They've been phenomenal. They've grabbed their opportunity and stamped their authority on the game and I'm delighted. I don't care whether it's Diego, Elijah, Jackson, Cooper, Zach - whoever it is, they can all do a job for me. So, it gives me a lot of choices and brings a lot of competition to those positions.
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