The Orange Blocks: South Texas Derby (Part Deux)

A Fruitful Road Trip for the Toros

Going into the weekend, RGVFC had not won a road game. They earned a midweek point on the road versus Los Dos (LA Galaxy II) at 1-1 and defeated Orange County FC by a final score of 2-0. The results were much needed as the Toros look forward to finishing the season on the highest note possible.

Observations from Last Week’s Matches

  • Goalie and Forward rotations for both matches of the road trip

Michael Nelson got the start versus Los Dos on Wednesday night as he performed between the pipes in a solid fashion. The only blip that he had was a goal scored by Justin Dhillon in the 77th minute to equalize the game.

Tyler Deric, on the other hand had a clean sheet in the victory over Orange County FC by final score of 2-0.

For the forwards, the Toros used Aldo Quintanilla & Wilmer Cabrera in the game against LA Galaxy II and were able to produce 11 shots inside the box with four being on target.

In the game versus Orange County, the Toros paired up Carlos Small & Jordan Jones, who were able to fire more shots on target with eight in the victory with a goal credited to Small.

Match Preview

The South Texas Derby will have plenty of intrigue since the sides last met in mid-May after a scoreless, cagey affair. San Antonio FC will have three former RGV Toros on their roster and they are midfielders Jose Escalante & Charlie Ward and forward Kyle Murphy.  Most RGV fans were not happy to see their favorite players go, therefore it will add a lot of interest to the upcoming derby. The team forms can be thrown out the window when it comes to the rivalry game.  San Antonio is playing for their playoff hopes and RGVFC will try to simply derail other Western Conference teams playoff chances.

The Form

San Antonio is coming off four straight losses heading into the South Texas Derby, most recently falling to Swope Park Rangers by a score of 2-1.  RGV are coming off a successful road trip for the first this season as they earned 4 out of 6 points in the California road swing.

Players to watch for

Although San Antonio isn’t in their finest form, that doesn’t make them less dangerous. They will count on the veteran Rafa Castillo and former RGVFC player Charlie Ward to boost the midfield. On the other hand, it will be interesting to see if the Toros keep the same forward tandem of Carlos Small and Jordan Jones in the starting XI to wreck havoc on one of the USL’s better goalkeepers, Diego Restrepo.

Prediction

I feel that the first South Texas Derby of the season left a bad taste as RGVFC did enough work to snag a victory if it weren’t for Restrepo making save after save. Therefore, RGV is due for another winning streak and why not continue it over the bitter rivals with a 2-1 win?  I also hope that the fans treat Charlie Ward, Kyle Murphy, and Jose Escalante with some respect, after all, it wasn’t their fault for leaving the organization.

Photo credit to Cesar Cortez of Down In The Valley

Rey Silva

Contributor to various websites in the RGV. Opinions are mine. Founder and owner of South Texas Border Sports.