San Antonio FC came up empty on the road Saturday night, falling 1-0 to Las Vegas Lights FC at Cashman Field in a result that adds pressure to SAFC's playoff push.
The difference came just before halftime.
Las Vegas capitalized on a second-chance opportunity after San Antonio stopped the initial attempt, putting away the rebound to take a 1-0 advantage into the break.
San Antonio went searching for a response in the second half and generated pressure as the match wore on. SAFC finished with nine shots but couldn't turn its opportunities into the equalizer, allowing the Lights to see out the one-goal victory.
The missed chances proved particularly frustrating for San Antonio in a matchup against a Las Vegas side chasing SAFC in the standings.
“We were playing against a direct opponent, a team who is behind us,” head coach Carlos Llamosa said. “Obviously, we were looking for the good result tonight, but we couldn’t get it.”
Llamosa pointed to opportunities from set pieces in the opening half and several chances after the break but said his team has to become more clinical in front of goal.
“We need to do better putting the chances away,” Llamosa said. “We want to make playoffs and be a contender.”
The coach was even more pointed when assessing the overall performance, saying San Antonio has reached a difficult point in its season and must respond.
“We need to do better,” Llamosa said. “It's not good enough what we did tonight.”
With the playoff race putting greater importance on every remaining result, Llamosa said the team must be willing to evaluate its own performance and improve.
“We need to be our own critics and talk to ourselves and understand that what we did today is not enough,” he said.
For SAFC, the task now is turning that disappointment into points as its postseason push continues.
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