The Beale Street have gotten used to playing from behind in games, conceding first in five of their last six games.
They were on the flip side of the coin after building a two-goal first half lead against New Mexico United. Memphis capitalized on a New Mexico mistake and were clinical in front of goal with their limited chances.
“I think we were very good,” head coach Stephen Glass. “Good use of the ball, we we’re aggressive and I think we fully deserved to be up.”
Talen Maples caused the unforced error for the visitors, smacking the ball with his hand unaware that play had restarted. To make matters worse, it was inside the penalty box. Bruno Lapa stepped up to take the penalty, firing the ball into the bottom left corner.
Twenty minutes later, Lapa was once again involved in the goal scoring. He linked up with Lucas Turci who made a late run past the New Mexico back line. Turci struck the ball with pace but kept it on the ground — nutmegging the goalkeeper before wheeling away in celebration.
Turci has normally resided in the center back role this season but played up top for his entire stint.
“I think we knew what Lucas could offer us,” Glass said. “We used Lucas’ physicality and his quality came to the front with his finish.”
Sitting at the top of the Western conference table, New Mexico were not going to lose without attacks of their own. They maintained a possession advantage and had promising opportunities throughout. Memphis, however, kept those from translating to shots on target — they were limited to only three in the game.
Their first of the second half arrived in the 87th minute off a counterattack. Greg Hurst scored from an initial Tyler Deric save.
After the three game home stand, Memphis collected five points and have climbed to third place in the conference standings.
“To come away with the three points after the week that the team’s had,” Glass said. “You saw the heart and the spirit that they have.”
Next Game
Memphis will have a week of rest, recovery and training before traveling to take on the Las Vegas Lights Saturday, June 22 at 9:30pm.