TULSA, Okla. – Aboubakr Diallo tallied two goals, including the game winner, as Tulsa Athletic downed Ozark FC, 3-1, on Saturday (May 18) evening in a contest that started late due to a weather delay at Veterans Park.
Diallo opened the scoring in the match with a header goal coming from a corner kick in the 32nd minute to put Tulsa Athletic up 1-0 in the first half.
Due to wet conditions on the pitch, the first half was a physical contest with Tulsa Athletic being booked for three yellow cards in the 45 minutes. Despite the physicality, Tulsa Athletic controlled possession.
In the second half, Ozark FC scored on a counterattack after Tulsa Athletic pushed too many players forward. The game-tying goal came in the 53rd minute as a cross was kicked in right in front of the goal for the equalizer.
Tulsa Athletic responded right away as Diallo added his second tally for a 2-1 edge for the green and yellow in the 56th minute. Diallo saw his shot take a high bounce on the wet surface and go over the top of the Ozark goalkeeper for the 2-1 Tulsa Athletic lead.
Tulsa Athletic registered one more goal late for the 3-1 advantage. Junior Kazeem, who was making his first appearance this season, scored for the green and yellow. Aaron Ugbah setup the goal as he cut into the box with a quick run and fired a shot to the right corner of the goal. His shot was slowed suddenly by a large amount of standing water, but Kareem was there to finish for the goal.
With the win, Tulsa Athletic continues to sit at the top of the Heartland Conference table with seven points through three contests. Tulsa Athletic ended a three-match homestand to start the season with a 2-0-1 record.
The club moved to 6-1-1 at Veterans Park all-time and 5-0 all-time against Ozark FC.
For the first time this season, Tulsa Athletic go on the road, traveling to FC Wichita next Saturday (May 25) at Stryker Complex in Wichita, Kansas. Live video streaming will be available from FC Wichita.
2019 NPSL Season
Heartland Conference
Tulsa 3 : 1 Ozark
Saturday, May 18
Tulsa, Okla. – Veterans Park
Scoring
TUL: Aboubakr Diallo 32’
OZK: Matheus Ferreira 53’
TUL: Aboubakr Diallo 56’
TUL: Junior Kazeem 73’
Discipline
TUL: Adam Habib 10’
TUL: Joe Garcia 28’
TUL: Aboubakr Diallo 35’
OZK: Giovani Bejarano 59’
TUL: Alex Harris 79’
Lineups:
Tulsa
Bryson Reed, Gustavo Vargas, Ryan Alpers, Elvis Barclay, Nathan Ndomba (Javier Reyes 72’), Jamie Gilbert (Aaron Ugbah 62’), Joe Garcia, Joe Ruiz, Juan Felipe Arias (Vinicius Oliveira 66’), Adam Habib (Alex Harris 56’), Aboubakr Diallo (Junior Kazeem 60’)
Ozark
Dean Wilson (Adam Holt 46’), Guilherme Barbosa (Axel Betancourt 63’), Giovani Bejarano, Alex Buckley, Jose Castro (Goncalo Verissimo 60’), Luca Crivellari, Matheus Ferreira (Samuel Estrada 10’), Amilcar Gonzalez (Erol Banuelos 60’), Shamus Jaeger (Jacob Zamarron 18’, Leonardo Borges 46’), Alexandre Lebrisse, Alberto Pitarch Sanz
