Football can sometimes be a game of two halves, and that was precisely the case on Saturday night. After being outplayed in the opening 45 minutes, the Greens dug deep in the second half to flip the script, score a goal and extend the unbeaten run to seven matches – the third longest such streak in club history.

Energy FC were second best by some distance in the first half against Sacramento Republic FC. It appeared that OKC were setup to absorb pressure and hit Sacramento on the break, but just about every time the Greens won possession, they promptly gave it away. Touches were heavy, passes were misplaced and the team just wasn’t clicking. Conversely, the Republic looked to be pretty much on top of their game.

Sacramento capitalized on a missed clearance in the 23rd minute to open the scoring. It looked like Drew Beckie was going to routinely clear away an under hit pass around the edge of the box, but the center back found himself slightly off balance, missed the ball and it fell into the path of one of the hottest players in the league, Cameron Iwasa. Iwasa didn’t hesitate and smashed a volley past the outstretched arms of Bryan Byars, leaving the keeper no chance.

After the break, things changed. No substitutions were made, so whatever Coach Cooke said to the guys in the dressing room worked. The Greens came out on the front foot and took the game to Sacramento. The ball started moving quicker, the passing was precise, and the team looked like they found another gear and were up for the fight.

Alex Dixon continued to show why he is one of the biggest threats in the conference and nearly scored what would have been one of the goals of the season in the 54th minute. Dixon won the ball deep in OKC’s half and dribbled 60 yards past several defenders, before unleashing a strike that clipped the top of the bar.

As the half wore on, OKC continued to press but couldn’t quite find the quality in the final third to really test Sacramento goalkeeper Josh Cohen. Then, finally, in the 79th minute, that moment of quality arrived. Christian Ibeagha scooped the ball by Villyan Bijev, something that the latter had done to the former several times throughout the match. Ibeagha picked out Callum Ross on the right side of the box, and Ross took one touch before delivering a perfectly-weighted ball across the face of goal. Christian Volesky, doing what goalscorers do, got on the end of the pass and slid the ball into the back of the net to level the score.

At that point, both teams looked pretty spent and seemed content with a point a piece. Neither side really threatened in the last 10+ minutes, and at the end of the night, a draw was probably a fair result. Sacramento could have scored two or three in the first half and the same could be said for OKC in the second.

This week’s lineup was a bit different from previous matches. Coach Cooke went with a 4-1-4-1 formation, with Justin Chavez in the holding role to provide cover for the back four. Philip Rasmussen and Ross played slightly advanced of Chavez in the center of midfield. In addition to the shift in formation, Cooke made two personnel changes, with Chavez replacing Francis Atuahene and Volesky getting the nod ahead of Jaime Siaj. Atuahene was with FC Dallas for their trip to Houston and was not available for selection for OKC. Bryan Byars made his second consecutive start and wasn’t tested as much as he was against Las Vegas Lights FC, but he did all of the routine things well and looked confident when called upon.

A point away from home at a rowdy Papa Murphy’s Park is never a bad thing, and the team and supporters should feel bolstered by Energy FC’s ability to turn things around so drastically in the second half. Most watching would have probably felt like we were in for a long night during the first half, but the Greens showed real fight, grit and determination to turn things around on Saturday.

The key stat from the night: with the goal, Energy FC have scored in 11 straight matches – the second longest streak in club history. That streak is something most fans probably didn’t think possible just a couple of months ago, when the team went over 600 minutes without finding the back of the net.

It will be important to keep this momentum going, especially with two home matches coming up in Matchweek 20. It will be interesting to see how, if at all, Cooke rotates to keep the team fresh. He’ll have plenty of options, particularly in attack, as Jon Brown made his return from injury in second-half stoppage time. Miguel Gonzalez and Kalif Alhassan were unused substitutes, and Jaime Siaj made a five-minute cameo appearance near the end of the match.

OKC fell a spot in the standings to 13th after Vegas picked up a big win away at Portland Timbers 2 on Sunday afternoon, but the Greens are just six points off the playoff spots. Elsewhere in the west, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC took care of business at home against Tulsa Roughnecks FC to hold down the 8th spot, and San Antonio FC pulled off one of the biggest surprises this week by beating Real Monarchs SLC in San Antonio. Saint Louis FC also maintained their one-point lead over OKC, after taking a point against Orange County SC. Needless to say, no one did OKC any favors over the weekend.

Watch this space tomorrow for a preview of Wednesday’s match against Fresno FC and Saturday’s against San Antonio FC.