SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio FC made history on Saturday night as they welcomed the the first club outside North America to Toyota Field but would fall 0-1 to Cardiff City FC in front of 7,723 fans.
The match did not count in the standings but the international friendly provided a nice tune up for SAFC, who will play two matches in a four-day stretch next week.
“We play a match on Wednesday, so the plan was to get as many players as possible 45 minutes tonight, and in the first half performance the guys did well,” SAFC Head Coach Darren Powell said. “We made several changes at halftime but you can be proud of all the players for the way they played.”
The first half featured solid scoring chances from both teams but they could not get it past either goalkeeper. SAFC midfielder Jack Barmby had two shots go just wide of the net and SAFC goalkeeper Jonathan Viscosi stopped two chances from the visiting side to go into the locker room scoreless at the break.
Both clubs made several lineup changes to start the second half as Rafa Castillo and Walter Restrepo. The visitors would get the small crowd of Bluebird fans cheering as Josh Murphy scored on a penalty kick, putting Cardiff up a goal in the 57th minute.
“I’m very impressed with their stadium, it was a good atmosphere and it was nice to see it quite full, so it was a good workout,” Cardiff Manager Neil Warnock said. “There were no injuries, (we showed) a lot of endeavor in our first full game, so it was good preparation.”
The goal would be the lone of the match as SAFC would fall to the visitors from across the pond. The match had a great crowd, atmosphere, and could mean more international friendly matches in the future.
“I just want to thank Cardiff City FC, the gaffer Neil Warnock, Kevin Blackwell and all their staff for choosing to come to San Antonio as part of their preseason,” Powell said. “I’m really proud of our players. Every single one of them came out tonight with intensity and represented this club and city to the best of their ability.”
UP NEXT:
San Antonio FC (5-8-5, 20 points) on the season will return to USL action on Wednesday when they face the El Paso Locomotive (7-4-7) at 8 pm Central Time.
