The Rio Grande Valley FC Toros gained another road win and the opening salvo in a new rivalry, riding two goals from Rob Lovejoy and one from Mauro Manotas for a 3-2 win over San Antonio FC before 5,885 supporters at Toyota Field Saturday night (Full highlights above).
“It was a good game for us after a loss against LA Galaxy (last Saturday) and a bad performance,” RGV FC head coach Wilmer Cabrera told HoustonDynamo.com by phone. “The players took a very important away game, with good personality and possession of the ball. We pressured the opponent high and it gave us the opportunity to have the ball more in both halves.”
RGV FC now has three wins and a draw through five road games in its debut season in the USL, and sits in a tie for fourth place in the Western Conference with 10 points (3-2-1 overall).
“I think the guys are trying to understand the concept of building a team and working together,” Cabrera said. “They have talent, and when we go away, you notice and you feel you are a visitor. For us, it has helped us be more as a team and more united. We practice every day and we try to play our game and that’s something we have to do if we play home or away and the guys understand that.”
Lovejoy made a grand debut for RGV FC on loan from the Dynamo as he returns from a hamstring injury. The winger entered in the 55th minute and scored 15 minutes later, collecting a good pass from TJ Casner with a clever first touch and guiding a low shot inside the far post from 20 yards for the game’s opening goal.
Manotas, another Dynamo player on loan to the Toros, doubled the lead two minutes later. Dynamo Academy product Leo Ayala hustled to win a long ball near the endline and slid a pass to Manotas, who found space in the middle of the box and finished underneath goalkeeper Matt Cardone for a 2-0 lead and his first goal with RGV FC.
“Mauro is understanding how important his role is and adapting to it. When we don’t have the ball, he has to put pressure on their center backs and make the game uncomfortable for them and that was very good. His movements without the ball were better and that was positive.”
San Antonio FC responded with two goals in five minutes. First, Greg Cochrane beat the RGV backline with a smart through ball into the path of Michael Reed, who scored from 16 yards.
Then RGV FC was unable to clear a long thrown in that bounced in front of goal and Shawn Chin opportunistically stabbed home from five yards for the tying goal.
“It was the first games for Leo (Ayala) and Ivan (Magalhaes), and they paid their due for playing their first game, and around the 65th or 70th minute we had to make subs and improvise with players in different roles. We had to put (central midfielder) Jorginho James at center back and we put (wide midfielder) Jose Escalante at left back. That situation created an unbalance with the team and San Antonio converted their chances.”
The Toros had seven minutes of stoppage time to find a winner and they took advantage when Lovejoy intercepted a back pass from Cochrane in midfield, drove forward 20 yards, and curled a beautiful finish inside the near post from 25 yards to complete an impressive solo effort.
“Rob was sharp and came in with a good mentality and wanted to give 100 percent in the 35 minutes he had. I think that will help him get more confidence.”
San Antonio FC is owned and operated by the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs and serves as RGV FC’s lone Texas rival within the USL. Saturday was the first of three meetings in a six-game span between the clubs, and Cabrera praised the atmosphere within Toyota Stadium.
“It was a very good atmosphere, we could feel that they were supporting the team. When they came back the fans went crazy and were supportive. It was good for for our guys to feel that. It is going to give them more experience and possibility to enjoy every game.”
Next up, RGV FC will look for its first home victory when it hosts Real Monarchs SLC on Saturday, May 14 at the UTRGV Soccer and Track Complex.
Scoring Summary:
RGV FC: Rob Lovejoy 1 (TJ Canser 2) 69
RGV FC: Mauro Manotas 1 (Leo Ayala 1) 72
SAFC: Manolo Sanchez (Greg Cochrane) 79
SAFC: Shawn Chin (unassisted) 84
RGV FC: Rob Lovejoy 2 (unassisted) 90
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*Note: The Dynamo and RGV FC have a hybrid affiliation, with the Dynamo in control of all technical aspects of the soccer operation, including the construction of the roster and the coaching staff. Meanwhile, the McAllen, Texas based Rio Grande Valley Vipers run the business operations, including the current construction of a 9,400 seat soccer stadium that will resemble Houston’s BBVA Compass Stadium.
