For those who watched Wednesday night’s clash between FC Tulsa and Miami FC, it wasn’t the prettiest of games.

Scoring chances were few and far between as both defenses held the upper hand for much of the contest.

But when you’re in a fight for a place in the USL Championship Playoffs, it’s not always about how you play, but whether you find a way, and who you find a way against.

Thanks to Marcus Epps’ brilliant strike with 19 minutes to go, FC Tulsa earned a 1-0 victory and a major boost to the side’s chances of returning to the postseason this fall.

“I think we still have a long way to go from a playing perspective,” said Tulsa Head Coach Blair Gavin. “I think we want to keep building; we want to keep improving – this is definitely not the finished product, but what I’ve seen from a team comradery and a team belief is fantastic. I’m very proud of these guys that through difficult moments through adversity they stuck together and now they are reaping the rewards because of that.”

Tulsa’s victory was significant in its own right as the club’s third in a row. On a night when all five clubs between seventh and 11th place in the Eastern Conference were in action, however, it showed how important victories become at this point of the season.

With Detroit City FC and Loudoun United FC playing to a 1-1 draw at Keyworth Stadium, and Indy Eleven letting a second-half lead slip in a 1-1 draw against the Charleston Battery, Tulsa’s win against a Miami side it led by three points going into the night provided a major jump to the chances Gavin’s side will be postseason bound.

In the middle of a run of seven home games out of 10 before the end of August, however, Tulsa is on the right path, no matter how the wins come about.

“No game is easy and that’s why it’s so enjoyable to get these wins,” said Gavin. “It’s so rewarding because of the challenge that this league brings, home or away or anything.”