One Knox Fights Hard but Falls to Union Omaha

USL LEAGUE ONE MATCHDAY 27	1ST HALF	2ND HALF	FINAL
ONE KNOXVILLE SC (13-6-8 | 47 PTS)	0	1	1
UNION OMAHA (18-6-4 | 58 PTS)	1	1	2

OMAHA, Neb. – Between a penalty, a disallowed goal and a red card, among other things, it was just too much for One Knoxville SC to overcome in the end as it came up short in a 2-1 loss at Union Omaha on Saturday night. Still, despite playing down a player for the majority of the contest, the visitors never gave up the fight.

“It was a strange one,” said Assistant Coach James Thomas, who manned the sideline after Head Coach Ian Fuller and defender Dani Fernandez were both sent off in the 23rd minute.

“In football, sometimes the calls go against you. But honestly, credit to our guys because they worked their tails off, fought for each other. They found a way to get back in the game, but unfortunately we just couldn’t hold onto it.”

A goal from Omaha’s Sergio Ors in the 74th minute was the decider as One Knoxville sees its unbeaten streak halted at eight matches. It was the club’s first defeat since August 1.

On the goal, Knoxville found itself with nine players on the field after defender Jordan Skelton, who substituted on in the first half, was forced off the pitch by the head official to be checked by the medical staff after the veteran defender headed a shot from close range out of play.

“It was really tough, because they couldn’t beat us with one extra man,” Thomas said. “It was really unfortunate and I feel pretty saddened for the guys because they didn’t deserve to be on the end of the result in that fashion.”

The visitors found themselves defending their goal from midway through the first half on, after a Fernandez challenge on Omaha forward Josue Gomez was deemed a denial of goal scoring opportunity, drawing the red card.

It was a particularly tough sequence of events for Fernandez who, five minutes prior, appeared to have scored an equalizing goal in the 18th minute by heading in a free kick from Beckham Uderitz, but was ruled offside.

Still, despite playing with 10 men, Knoxville did not allow a single shot on target from the run of play in the first half, with the only blemish coming on a Diego Gutierrez converted penalty in the 8th minute.

“I felt like we were unfortunate to have the penalty given against us and then the red card changed the game,” Thomas explained. “But sometimes those are the moments that can give you a kick into high gear. It was a case of rising to the occasion which this team has done in the past and will continue to do so in the future.”

Knoxville responded in a big way coming out of halftime with John Murphy Jr. slotting home a 49th minute goal to knot things up at 1-1. It was the veteran’s fifth goal of the 2026 USL League One season after he finished off a pass into the box from Kyle Linhares.

“We just reiterated that we knew the gameplan and that we still want to win,” Thomas said of the halftime message. “The guys really responded well to that and they came out with a hunger and that was why we were able to get that goal on a great finish from Murph.”

Goalkeeper Johan Garibay returned to the One Knox starting lineup after a two match absence due to injury. He made a pair of saves on the night including an impressive reflex stop on a close-range header in the 55th minute.

Skelton, who came on to solidify the backline following Fernandez’ red card, also returned from injury after missing the previous four matches.

NEXT UP
Despite the setback, One Knoxville SC still has everything in front of it with five matches remaining and a chance to host a home playoff match still up for grabs. The squad returns home on Sunday, September 27 to face Westchester SC (tickets).

“I wish we could play right away because the response that we got in the locker room was fantastic,” Thomas noted. “They came out of the locker room with their heads held high and their chests up. We’re just ready to get back on the field.”

Kickoff for the match is set for 7:00 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN2. It will be the first ever nationally televised sporting event at Covenant Health Park.