TULSA – Tulsa Athletic dropped its 2021 home opener, 3-1, to OKC 1889 FC on Sunday (May 16) at Veterans Park in a battle of the top two teams in the Heartland Conference standings.
With the win, OKC 1889 moved to 2-0-1 on the season with seven points and Tulsa fell to 1-1-1 on the year with four points.
The regular season loss is the first for Tulsa Athletic since the 2018 season, ending a 12-game unbeaten streak for the green and yellow in the regular season.
Although Tulsa Athletic seemed to control possession in the first half of the contest, visiting OKC 1889 went up 1-0 in the 23rd minute of action on a goal from Abdel Nait. The visitors went into the halftime break with the 1-0 advantage.
In the second half, Tulsa Athletic evened the score at 1-1, but OKC tallied two late goals to earn the victory.
After a foul in the box, Santiago Riveros tied the score at 1-1 in the 63rd minute of action with a penalty kick goal, his first of the season.
OKC’s Nait registered his second goal of the game and the game winner in the 71st minute for the 2-1 edge for the visitors. OKC 1889 added a late insurance goal by Callum Shepherd for the 3-1 final score.
Tulsa Athletic is back in action on May 23 at Dallas City FC in McKinney, Texas. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
