Sacramento had a scare to start of the second half, but Adam Jahn's second goal in as many games gave Sacramento Republic FC a 2-1 victory over the Orange County Blues FC.
A crowd of 17,414 at Hughes Stadium saw Sacramento (2-3-1) dominate the first half with eight shots on goal to just one for Orange County (2-4). But, Sacramento didn't score until the 42nd minute. Thomas Stewart hit what appeared to be a wayward cross that instead found the goal post, hit Orange County goalkeeper Patrick McLain and rolled into the net.
A substitution by Orange County at halftime paid immediate dividends. Seung Ju Kim intercepted a pass in Sacramento's zone which set up a Jiovanni Santana cross to Allan Russell. Russell headed the ball home to make the score 1-1.
With 20 minutes to go in the game, Jahn scored on a cross from Nemanja Vuković to put Sacramento ahead.
Sacramento goalkeeper Jake Gleeson made two sparkling saves late -punching away one ball and diving on another to prevent a goal. He appeared to aggravate a groin injury, but finished the game.
After the game Jahn said the team showed improvement, "We know that going into these home games at Hughes, the field's very tight and the wind's a factor. So, some teams are going to sit in and we just have to be patient and move the ball and wait for the openings. (Head Coach) Preki was really emphasizing being patient and wait for the openings. In the second half, we broke them down well. They (Orange County) got a little tired."
Sacramento likely will have only one more match at Hughes Stadium on the Sacramento City College campus. The team plans to begin playing at Bonney Field at Cal Expo for its June matches.
The team's next game is at home May 17th at Hughes Stadium against L.A. Galaxy 2.
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