MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A goal late in the first half by Kyle Murphy proved the difference as Memphis 901 FC claimed a 1-0 victory against FC Tulsa at AutoZone Park on Saturday night as the hosts withstood late pressure to take all three points in the first meeting all-time between the two sides.

Looking for its second home win of the season, Memphis had an early chance as Laurent Kissiedou almost took advantage of a short backpass by a Tulsa defender but couldn’t get his finish past Tulsa’s Austin Wormell, who had closed the angle in anticipation of the pass. The visitors got the first big look at goal in the seventh minute, though, as a good piece of interplay between Marlon and Rodrigo da Costa on the right sent Marlon into the penalty area for a low shot that 901 FC goalkeeper Kyle Morton got a piece of but required a big goal line clearance from Mark Segbers to clear the danger.

Segbers threatened at the other end 10 minutes before the halftime break as he surged forward in an attack but was denied the chance to shoot by an excellent tackle from Tulsa center back Modou Jadama. Deep in first-half stoppage time 901 FC took the lead, however, as Michael Salazar played a pass to Raul Gonzalez on the left side that allowed the Puerto Rico international to cross for Murphy to head home into the left corner of the net.

Kissiedou almost added a second for the hosts just past the hour-mark as he fired a dipping shot from 30 yards toward the right corner of the net on which Wormell made a fine save to keep out. Tulsa pushed to try and find an equalizer as the half went on and Da Costa was denied an opportunity with 20 minutes to go by a good challenge from Memphis defender Skylar Thomas, who stretched out a leg to clear the ball away after the Brazilian had controlled on his chest in the penalty area.

The visitors went close to an equalizer with a minute to go as Lebo Moloto skipped past his marker on the right side and delivered a good deep cross for Marlon at the back post but Morton just got a hand to the effort to keep it from finding the net with a game-saving stop. The pressure continued to ramp up into stoppage time, and in the sixth minute a chipped cross by Lucas Coutinho found the head of Jadama, only for his effort to clip the crossbar and go behind for a goal kick.

That proved to be the final big chance for Tulsa, though, as Memphis held on to run its undefeated streak to four games and close the gap on the playoff places in the Central Division.

USLChampionship.com Man of the Match

Laurent Kissiedou, Memphis 901 FC – Kissiedou was a consistent two-way presence for the hosts, registering four shots and completing 25 of 29 passes while making five interceptions and 10 recoveries in midfield.

Scoring Summary
MEM – Kyle Murphy (Raul Gonzalez) 45+4’

Full Box Score