Justin Dhillon Scores Twice in Road Win
EDINBURG, Texas (May 28, 2022) – San Antonio FC topped Rio Grande Valley FC 3-2 tonight to move to 9-2-0 and stay atop the USL Championship Western Conference.
Justin Dhillon started the scoring in the 26th minute, after a header from PC left him alone in front of goal. The score was Dhillon’s third of the season, and the assist was PC’s first of the year.
RGV answered in the 41st minute, scoring off a corner kick to make it 1-1 going into halftime.
In the 62nd minute, SAFC defender Mitchell Taintor scored his fourth goal of the season to break the tie and make it 2-1. The fourth goal moved him into a tie for the team lead with Elliot Collier.
Dhillon would strike again in the 89 minute, making it 3-1 after a feed from Shannon Gomez. The goal moved Dhillon into a tie for the team lead in goals with four, and Gomez into a tie for the team lead in assists with three.
RGV would score again in stoppage time to make it a 3-2 final.
SAFC is back next week at Sacramento Republic FC. Kickoff from northern California is set for 10:00 p.m. CT, and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Scoring Summary:
SAFC: 1-0, Justin Dhillon (Assisted by PC) 26’
RGV: 1-1, Juan Cabezas 41’
SAFC: 2-1, Mitchell Taintor 62’
SAFC: 3-1, Justin Dhillon (Assisted by Shannon Gomez) 89’
RGV: 3-2, Duilio Ibarra (Assisted by Adolfo Hernandez) 90+2’
Disciplinary Summary:
SAFC: Yellow Card (Diedie Traore) 31’
SAFC: Yellow Card (Justin Dhillon) 31’
SAFC: Yellow Card (Fabien Garcia) 43’
SAFC: Yellow Card (Jasser Khmiri) 45+’
RGV: Yellow Card (Emilio Ycaza) 56’
RGV: Yellow Card (Frank Lopez) 71’
RGV: Yellow Card (Adolfo Hernandez) 76’
RGV: Red Card (Erik Pimentel) 77’
SAFC: Yellow Card (Mitchell Taintor) 79’
RGV: Yellow Card (Wahab Ackwei) 79’
RGV: Yellow Card (Luka Malesevic) 80’
SAFC: Yellow Card (Jordy Delem) 89’
Attendance: 3,058
SAFC Starting XI: GK: Jordan Farr; D: Mitchell Taintor, Fabien Garcia, Jasser Khmiri, M: Diedie Traore (Shannon Gomez 45’), PC (captain), Mohammed Abu (Jordy Delem
83’), Nicky Hernandez (David Loera 58’), Connor Maloney; F: Justin Dhillon, Elliot Collier (Ignacio Bailone 83’)
Substitutions not used: Matt Cardone, Jordan Ayimbila, Deshane Beckford
Postgame Notes:
- SAFC moves to 9-2-0 on the season with 27 points, the most in the USL Championship Western Conference.
- Justin Dhillon’s goal in the 26th minute was his third of the season, tied for the second most on the team.
- Dhillon’s goal was assisted by PC, marking the midfielder’s first assist of the season.
- Mitchell Taintor scored his fourth goal of the season, tying him with Elliot Collier for the team lead.
- Taintor’s now scored in back-to-back matches, and three of the last four matches in USL Championship play.
- Dhillon scored again in the 89th minute, tying him with Collier and Taintor for the most on the team.
- Dhillon’s second goal was assisted by Shannon Gomez, Gomez’s third goal of the season.
- Dhillon becomes the first player for SAFC to score a brace this season.
- SAFC moved to 9-0-0 on the season when scoring, and 6-0-0 when wearing the blackout kit.
Quotes:
Head Coach Alen Marcina
(On the win…)
“I’m incredibly proud of how resilient the guys were. They battled hard for 90
minutes. You know, we weren’t at our best but we found a way to win. That’s a
true testament to their commitment to their resilience, to maintaining their
cohesion, to maintain being the aggressors. We’ll learn from this game and move
on, but it’s a well-earned three points”
Forward Justin Dhillon
(On his first brace of the season…)
“It feels amazing, I just want to thanks all the teammates because they’re the
ones that’re putting in the work with us every single week, and the coaches that
continue to give me and everyone else believe. We taledk about, you put in the
work and you control everything you can, in terms of your work rate and doing
everything the team needs. Eventually things will fall and tonight they did.
Definitely super blessed about that, and I think the team’s really happy with the
win.”