4/17/25
Strong offensive performance propels the Buffaloes to another win
FC Bartlesville hosted Side FC in a midweek match in front of around 250 people at the Custer Stadium in Bartlesville.
Previously scheduled for Saturday, the clubs agreed to move the game to Thursday and avoid any commitments during the Easter weekend.
Side FC opened the game well with a first shot in the 4th minute that went over Iker Gonzalez and resulted in a goal kick. The early shot infused confidence as the Tulsa team kept the opportunities coming. We saw the first change on the scoreboard in the 7th minute, and it was for the away team. After a quick transition, a shot was taken from 25 yards out by Side FC number 10. Iker Gonzalez was not able to do much with the powerful strike, and the away team was up 1-0.
This goal was a good wake-up call for the Buffaloes as they started establishing some control after going down. The next 25 minutes saw 5 shots from FC Bartlesville, the most significant ones being 1 on 1 opportunity by Uros Rosic and an attempt that ended in the crossbar by Perica Obradovic; on the other part of the field, Side FC had one dangerous shot that also resulted in the crossbar.
FC Bartlesville tied the game after a quick offensive transition. Julian Tovar, in his first appearance for the Buffaloes, had a tremendous through ball to Uros Rosic. Uros dribbled it alone for 20 yards before dishing it off to Simeon Adair, who had the easiest job to place the ball into the empty net.
Before the half-time, Uros Rosic had yet another 1 on 1 opportunity, but the goalkeeper was at the top of his game yet again. We were tied after the first 45 minutes.
We had so much fun with our youngest fans during the half-time show, in which the participants did an Easter Egg Hunt.
"The worst thing you can do with a team is to start panicking when there is no reason for panic. During the half-time, we acknowledged a slow start and pointed out our frustration with defensive responsibilities. In terms of offense, we know what qualities we possess, so we needed to stay calm and patient", said the Head Coach Luka Milicevic.
The second half started well for the home team. 10 minutes into it, the Buffaloes got their first lead of the night. Nikita Pakhomov controlled the ball well in the midfield and dribbled it past 2 players before passing it to Luka Djurovic. Luka served the ball across the box, where Uros Rosic was patiently waiting. Uros this time, was confident and placed the ball into the net.
"Once we were up, we knew we had the game in our hands. We sat on the ball and wanted to invite the opposition to press us higher, which would result in more space in behind", added Coach Luka.
Third goal for FC Bartlesville came after a longer string of passes in the defensive third. Iker Gonzalez was able to skip several Side FC players and find Cristobal Golbderg who was calm on the ball and played a through ball to Uros Rosic. Yet again, we were able to see the connection between Rosic and Adair, who combined to give the Buffaloes a comfortable 3-1 lead.
The captain, Ivan Ristic, was in charge of the fourth goal after a direct free-kick goal.
The fifth and final goal was scored yet again by Uros Rosic after a cross from Jacob Landles. The scoreboard was showing 5:1 at the end of the match.
With this win, FC Bartlesville are now on top of the standings after 4 games played.
The away expeditions will make the trip to Little Rock on Saturday, April 26th, to face the Wolves.