El Paso Locomotive FC seeks home win against Memphis 901 FC
EL PASO, Texas – El Paso Locomotive FC return home looking to build on its momentum in search of a second consecutive win, welcoming Memphis 901 FC to Southwest University Park for the first time on Friday.
El Paso host Memphis for the second ever meeting in club history. The inaugural meeting between the two took place at AutoZone Park late last season, with Locomotive unluckily falling 4-0. Coming into this match with a confidence boost from last week’s win, El Paso will look to even the score.
El Paso Locomotive FC let out a huge sigh of relief last Friday when it beat Loudoun United FC 2-0 to record its first win of the 2024 season. The victory provided a crucial confidence boost that Locomotive has been needing and for Head Coach and Technical Director Brian Clarhaut, it’s important that the team build on its previous performance to secure its first three points at home and begin stringing together positive results to begin turning its season around.
“I think [Loudoun] was a confidence win and one to build on,” Clarhaut said. “We’ve got to keep going. I said to the group ‘Loudoun’s done. Congratulations, we had a win. Now, it’s on to Memphis.’ Regardless of who we’re playing, we’re at home. We need to get a first home win now for our fans, we need to keep the momentum going.”
Several players last week played some of the strongest football they’ve played this season, with four Locos – Bolu Akinyode, Eric Calvillo, Tumi Moshobane and Jahmali Waite – earning nods to the league’s Team of the Week. Against a difficult Memphis side known for its offensive prowess, El Paso will once again need to keep its defense strong and organized and capitalize on any opportunities it gets up top. Essentially, Moshobane believes they’ll need to come into the match against Memphis similarly to how they did against Loudoun.
“The key to success was, from the start, coming out with a high energy mindset to just get that first goal early and just putting in a team effort from the jump,” Moshobane said about the win last week. “That was our goal: to go out there and grind out a result.”
Memphis is undefeated in its last three league matches but felt a bit hard done by after dropping points in the final minutes of a 2-2 draw against Monterey Bay F.C. No doubt they’ll arrive to Southwest University Park looking to get back in the win column and pick up a second consecutive win against the Locos.
Marlon has been a stalwart for Memphis since joining the club during the offseason. He’s got seven goal contributions (three goals and four assists) to his name so far this season, which is joint-third in the league. He will be someone Locomotive aim to keep out as it searches to give El Paso fans at Southwest University Park a win.
Kickoff at Southwest University Park is at 7:00 p.m. MT.
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