SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio FC (8-9-7) tied Rio Grande Valley FC (6-11-7) 2-2 at Toyota Field on Saturday night. Two goals in the first half from midfielders Jack Barmby and Cristian Parano earned the club a point at home in the South Texas Derby.
“It was two different halves of soccer,” SAFC Head Coach Darren Powell said. “It looked like we were in control of the game, but fair play to them. RGV kept working and kept pushing themselves to the final whistle.”
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SAFC opened the scoring in the 14th minute when defender Moises Hernandez found Barmby at the top of the box with a pass, which the England native struck with the outside of the foot off the first tough and beat goalkeeper Nicholas Corti far-post for the 1-0 lead. The goal marked Barmby’s seventh of the season while the assist marked Hernandez’s second on the year.
RGV FC went down to 10 men in the 30th minute after defender Alejandro Fuenmayor tackled forward Frank Lopez on a potential one-on-one breakaway.
The Alamo City club then doubled its lead just before the halftime whistle when midfielder Walter Restrepo found Parano near the top of the box, from where the Argentinian chipped Corti for the second SAFC goal of the night and the midfielder’s fifth of the season and third in two matches. The assist also marked Restrepo’s fifth of the campaign and third in two matches.
RGV FC narrowed the gap in the 75th minute when Carlos Small scored a header following a corner kick before the Toros equalized by way of an own goal from defender Ebenezer Ackon just five minutes later.
San Antonio FC will return to USL Championship action at Toyota Field on Saturday, Aug. 24 as they host New Mexico United at 7:30 p.m.