It was a strange night at Kezar Stadium on Saturday for the Deltas. Despite outshooting Indy Eleven 26-7 and holding 70 percent of the possession, San Francisco found themselves staring at a two-goal deficit when Brad Ring scored for Indy in the 79th minute.
But a frantic offensive push by the Deltas in the final ten minutes found the home side netting two dramatic goals to earn the draw.
“We would not have deserved to leave the stadium today with a loss, that’s for sure,” noted Deltas head coach Marc Dos Santos after the match.
San Francisco launched waves of attacks at the Indy defense in the first half. Nana Attakora had a free ball drop to him on a set piece in the 15th minute, but his shot was deflected over the bar. Tyler Gibson had a strong shot set up by Jackson in the 23rd minute that also sailed high.
Just a minute later Reiner Ferreira found himself unmarked at the back post on a corner kick but was unable to direct his shot on target.
In the 31st minute, Tommy Heinemann had a beautiful header saved by Indy keeper Jon Busch. Kyle Bekker had a free kick in the 40th minute from deep on the end line that forced the Indy keeper to make a save mere inches from crossing the goal line.
After a dominating performance in the first half, it seemed as if it was only a matter of time until San Francisco found the net. But the exact opposite happened.
Indy’s Lovel Palmer broke behind the Deltas defense in the 56th minute and slotted a shot past keeper Romuald Peiser. As San Francisco pressed for the equalizer, they gave up another goal by the Eleven’s Brad Ring who caught the Deltas defense sleeping on a set piece to grab a rebound and score the second goal for Indianapolis.
It appeared as if San Francisco was heading for their third successive defeat at home until the Deltas free-kick specialist injected some life into the team.
Cristian Portilla scored directly in the 85th minute when his corner kick sailed over the Indy goalkeeper and into the side net.
“That goal was important because we knew that any goal at any time would put them under pressure,” said Dos Santos.
With the crowd urging on San Francisco, their efforts were rewarded with a beautiful 93-minute header by substitute forward Devon Sandoval.
“It shows the character, personality and the passion of this group,” said Dos Santos. “They gave everything. We felt we could have won this game, but this was a very positive point today.”
San Francisco has a week off before traveling to the Puerto Rico to take on PRFC. They will also be taking on the MLS’s San Jose Quakes in a US Open Cup match on Wednesday, June 14th.
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Match: SF Deltas vs. Indy Eleven
Date: June 3, 2017
Competition: NASL Week 11
Venue: Kezar Stadium in Golden Gate Park; San Francisco, Calif.
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. PT
Attendance: 1.441
Weather: Sunny 60F
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
SFD 0 2 2
IE 0 2 2
SFD – Cristian Portilla (85’); Devon Sandoval (90+3’)
Indy – Lovel Palmer (56’); Brad Ring (79’);
Lineups:
SFD:
1- Romuald Peiser; 30- Michael Stephens (76’ #27); 3- Nana Attakora; 35- Reiner Ferreira; 5- Kenny Thijsse; 10- Kyle Bekker; 4- Tyler Gibson ( 61’ #17); 8- Cristian Portilla; 7- Jackson; 25- Danny Cruz (61’ #15); 9- Tommy Heinemann.
Subs not used: 6- Patrick Hopkins, 10- Karl Ouimette, 12- Greg Jordan, 24- Alex Mangels
Head coach: Marc Dos Santos
IE: 18- Jon Busch; 3- Kwame Watson-Siriboe; 5- Lovel Palmer (65’ #13); 12- Nemanja Vukovic; 32- Colin Falvey(c); 23- Marco Franco; 4- Brad Ring; 15- Daniel Keller; 10- Sinisa Ubiparipovic (58’ #91); 19- Ben Speas; 9- Eamon Zayed.
Subs not used: 1- Keith Cardona; 6- Gerardo Torrado; 14- Tanner Thompson; 20- David Goldsmith.
Head coach: Tim Hankinson
Stats Summary: SFD / IE
Shots: 26 / 7
Shots on Goal: 6 / 4
Saves: 1 / 2
Corner Kicks: 8 / 3
Fouls: 12 / 15
Offside: 0 / 6
Misconduct Summary:
SFD – 78’ #8 (caution); 79’ #10 (caution); 89’ #35 (caution); 90+1’ #5 (caution);
IE – 60’ #9 (caution); 73’ #18 (caution); 83’ #4 (caution);
Officials
Referee: Alex Chilowicz
Assistant Referee 1: Michael A. Kampmeinert
Assistant Referee 2: Deleana Quan
4th Official: Vincent Apple-Chiarella
