OKLAHOMA CITY – It was almost job half-done on Saturday night for Tulsa Roughnecks FC in the Black Gold Derby, as the side’s tenacious defending had the second edition of the Black Gold Derby against OKC Energy FC scoreless in first-half stoppage time.

Then a foul on Wojciech Wojcik from a corner kick saw Energy FC awarded a penalty kick that Michael Thomas dispatched into the left corner, and the hosts were on their way to a 3-0 victory at Taft Stadium.

“The first half was very difficult for us, I thought Tulsa defended extremely well, we had a tough time breaking them down,” said Energy FC Coach Jimmy Nielsen. “Lost a little passion, rushed and forced some passes and made some errors. When we scored the first goal, it opened up a little bit more.”

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How difficult was the Roughnecks defense to break down? Officially, Thomas’ penalty kick was Energy FC’s first shot on goal of the contest, as the visitors showed great determination to build on their run of back-to-back shutouts and last week’s 2-0 victory against Saint Louis.

Once the opening goal arrived, however, things began to open up more for Energy FC. When Sebastian Dalgaard scored the second goal of the game with a strong shot that pierced a cluster of players following a scramble in the penalty area after a long throw-in, Energy FC was in complete control.

“I think that we were smart, we used the possession we had really well, were at the right position at the right time, played with big focus and concentration,” said Nielsen. “You know sometimes it's easy to misunderstand and to say Tulsa is at the bottom place and it's going to be easy but no-one went easy today.”

The Roughnecks were unable to get much going in the attack, and were diminished when captain Sammy Ochoa was sent off for his second yellow card with 14 minutes to go. His counterpart in Thomas, meanwhile, continued his solid run of form, with his second goal in as many games. 

“I’m proud of the team, and I’m proud the guys for getting three points,” Thomas said. “Once I started playing in the middle, I wanted to get as many assists and goals as I can. I want to contribute. But, as long as we get three points I’m happy.”

Now sitting in fourth place in the Western Conference, with games in hand on those around them, Energy FC will next face a four-game stretch that will see the side strongly tested by the teams it is vying to finish ahead of in the race for playoff seeding. Up next is a trip to Saint Louis FC – winners against Colorado Springs on Saturday night – and that’s followed by games against Sacramento Republic FC, Rio Grande Valley FC, and the LA Galaxy II.

After extending the team’s undefeated streak to seven games on Saturday night, though, Nielsen said he’s not worrying about the way the standings look for the moment.

"All it matters is where we are after September 24, the last regular season game,” Nielsen said. “Everything we do leads to where we are going to be at the end of the season. We have few games in hands, it does not really matter. Right now, a big challenge is coming to us, the next game against Saint Louis; they just beat Colorado Springs Switchbacks. It's going to be a fun game out there.”