TULSA – 1,059 days. When the ball is kicked in Oklahoma City on Friday night, it will have been 1,059 days since the Tulsa USL franchise last saw defeat in the Black Gold Derby. In a rivalry which has largely seen defeat for Tulsa in the past, the past 1,059 days have been a chance to reset and take control.
In the last 1,059 days, it’s been two very different paths for the two teams on I-44. A pair of 1-1 draws in 2019 were enough for OKC Energy FC to take the spoils, but the story of the season was one of two different trajectories.
In August of 2019, Tulsa was purchased by the Craft brothers, injecting new life into a USL Championship franchise which needed a boost. From the day the Craft brothers purchased the team, Energy FC finished the season winless in its last eight matches plummeting from 4th in the table down to 15th. Tulsa, meanwhile, bolstered its attack with midseason signings such as Marlon and going 4-3-3 to end the year.
2020’s offseason saw a rebrand and rebuild of FC Tulsa’s roster, with signings that made a huge splash in the USL Championship world and set up Tulsa for success going forward. The first two Black Gold Derbys ended 1-1 as well, marking four straight 1-1 deadlocks in the rivalry. That set the scene for a tectonic clash between Oklahoma’s two professional soccer franchises in a battle for the four-foot wrench at the end of last season. A pair of goals from a pair of super subs claimed victory for FC Tulsa at the death, and Toby Uzo and Cristhian Altamirano etched their names into history with their late-game connection. That win set the tone for the future of the rivalry
FC Tulsa is a team on the rise, bursting onto the scene in the first year of a new era to make the playoffs and establishing itself as a contender in the USL Championship. Energy FC is a team searching for an identity after a tough 2020 season and a 2021 campaign which has already seen a coaching change after seven winless matches to start the year.
But that all goes out the window in a Derby match. It’s 90 minutes, mano a mano, of who wants it more. FC Tulsa already flexed its new and returning muscle in the season opener, winning 3-1 with goals from new face Joaquín Rivas and last year’s goal-den boy Darío Suárez.
FC Tulsa is unbeaten in the last six meetings, winners of the last two, and well on its way to flipping the rivalry on its head. If it hasn’t already.
TULSA – 1,059 days. When the ball is kicked in Oklahoma City on Friday night, it will have been 1,059 days since the Tulsa USL franchise last saw defeat in the Black Gold Derby. In a rivalry which has largely seen defeat for Tulsa in the past, the past 1,059 days have been a chance to reset and take control.
In the last 1,059 days, it’s been two very different paths for the two teams on I-44. A pair of 1-1 draws in 2019 were enough for OKC Energy FC to take the spoils, but the story of the season was one of two different trajectories.
In August of 2019, Tulsa was purchased by the Craft brothers, injecting new life into a USL Championship franchise which needed a boost. From the day the Craft brothers purchased the team, Energy FC finished the season winless in its last eight matches plummeting from 4th in the table down to 15th. Tulsa, meanwhile, bolstered its attack with midseason signings such as Marlon and going 4-3-3 to end the year.
2020’s offseason saw a rebrand and rebuild of FC Tulsa’s roster, with signings that made a huge splash in the USL Championship world and set up Tulsa for success going forward. The first two Black Gold Derbys ended 1-1 as well, marking four straight 1-1 deadlocks in the rivalry. That set the scene for a tectonic clash between Oklahoma’s two professional soccer franchises in a battle for the four-foot wrench at the end of last season. A pair of goals from a pair of super subs claimed victory for FC Tulsa at the death, and Toby Uzo and Cristhian Altamirano etched their names into history with their late-game connection. That win set the tone for the future of the rivalry
FC Tulsa is a team on the rise, bursting onto the scene in the first year of a new era to make the playoffs and establishing itself as a contender in the USL Championship. Energy FC is a team searching for an identity after a tough 2020 season and a 2021 campaign which has already seen a coaching change after seven winless matches to start the year.
But that all goes out the window in a Derby match. It’s 90 minutes, mano a mano, of who wants it more. FC Tulsa already flexed its new and returning muscle in the season opener, winning 3-1 with goals from new face Joaquín Rivas and last year’s goal-den boy Darío Suárez.
FC Tulsa is unbeaten in the last six meetings, winners of the last two, and well on its way to flipping the rivalry on its head. If it hasn’t already.
