SAN ANTONIO – Abraham Okyere scored the game-winner with 11 minutes to go as Las Vegas Lights FC rallied for a 2-1 victory against San Antonio FC at Toyota Field on Saturday night as the Lights handed SAFC its first home defeat in the league this season.
San Antonio started brightly with Jorge Hernández firing a long-range shot that was parried away by Las Vegas’ Charlie Lanphier in the fifth minute, and a minute later the hosts found the breakthrough as Emil Cuello roofed a finish off a feed by Hernández from the left side of the penalty area. The Lights almost hit back through Themi Antonoglou five minutes before the break as SAFC’s Joey Batrouni made an excellent save, while San Antonio also threatened a couple of minutes later as Akeem Ward’s opportunity was well saved by Lanphier.
The Lights hit back 65 seconds into the second half, however, as Johnny Rodriguez slid in bravely at the back post to turn home a low cross by Oalex Anderson through the top of the six-yard box to level. Okoyere then put the visitors ahead in the 79th minute as his initial effort off a low cross from the left was saved by Batrouni, only for the Ghanaian to respond quickest to the rebound and put home at the second attempt. San Antonio was then reduced to 10 players late on with Santiago Patino being shown a red card for an off-the-ball incident, and from there the Lights saw out the result.
Takeaways
San Antonio FC – The hosts made an ideal start thanks to Emil Cuello’s sharply taken goal but faded in the second half to allow the Lights back into the game, which the visitors took full advantage of. San Antonio recorded only three shots after the halftime break and recorded only three touches in the penalty area as its bid to close the gap to Orange County at the top of the standings went astray.
Las Vegas Lights FC – The Lights showed resilience in rebounding from an early deficit to claim their first away win against San Antonio in club history. Las Vegas’ second-half display produced enough good chances to turn the game around and puts the Lights just a point below the playoff line after breaking a two-game losing streak in league play.