If FC Tulsa misses the USL Championship playoffs, looking back on the two games with West-leading New Mexico United will be a reminder of what the club could have accomplished this season.

Both of FC Tulsa’s meetings with New Mexico ended in a draw, the last being a 1-1 draw on Saturday evening at ONEOK Field.

In most situations, rallying for a point against a conference leader would be a positive development, but the home side found themselves in a virtual situation where they had to win to get three points.

With two regular season games remaining, FC Tulsa (8-13-11, 35 points) is four points behind Orange County for the final playoff spot and OC has a game in hand. As a result, FC Tulsa could be eliminated before hosting Hartford Athletic next Saturday, while OC plays on Wednesday.

“The harsh reality is just the culmination of how I think our season is going,” said FC Tulsa veteran defender Bradley Bourgeois. “It seems like we’re in a hole where we probably shouldn’t be, and then we’ve got to fight and dig and claw and claw our way out. Thanks to the boys for regaining the goal and making a push…

“It’s a shame we didn’t find that late goal, and we haven’t been able to really find that late, late winner all year.”

In their first meeting, New Mexico rallied from a 3-1 deficit to a 3-3 tie on August 14. This time it was FC Tulsa who came back as Aaron Bibout fired a one-timer from twelve yards out, assisted by Harvey St. Clair in the 69th minute. That ended FC Tulsa’s goalless streak after 332 minutes. Bibout has FC Tulsa’s last three goals and four of the team’s six in the 10 games he has played since being loaned from MLS side LA Galaxy.

“He has a big future ahead of him,” said FC Tulsa coach Mario Sánchez. “I think he’s going to be a player where we talk about, ‘This kid played at Tulsa.’ I can’t say enough about what he brings to the table. His finishing in the box is fantastic.”

After a boring first half. New Mexico (18-10-4, 58 points) opened the scoring on Jacobo Reyes’ goal in the 55th minute when he broke in alone on goalkeeper Johan Penaranda after receiving a headed pass from Daniel Bruce.

The match was postponed 25 minutes early in injury time due to a leg injury suffered by New Mexico defender Arturo Astorga, who was carted off the field.

When play resumed, FC Tulsa had several scoring opportunities. Bibout shot high from twelve meters and Diogo Pacheco missed a header. And reflecting the desperation of Tulsa’s playoff hopes, Penaranda left his net and joined the offensive attack. During an intense final possession, after two teammates’ shots were blocked, Penaranda shot high from 15 yards as time expired.

“We looked at it very carefully three times,” Sánchez said. “I can’t blame the boys because they left it on the field.”

The outcome gave Sánchez ‘mixed emotions’.

Sánchez said: “We really needed three points, and the flip side is that the boys showed great character. The second half was great. We could have scored a few goals. Unfortunately that’s where we’ve been all season .”

“It’s really strange when you look at the standings and everyone in the top half we played really well against.”

Bourgeois added: “It’s just frustrating because even the conference leaders, East and West, the top four of the league, we’ve proven that not only can we compete with the best, but we can certainly outpace them And that, I think, is the frustrating part that we get out of the whole year.

“We certainly had our chances that we didn’t take and no matter who it was, we were definitely fighting to beat them. So yeah, it’s positive to see, but I think you can really only keep taking so many. positive things when you know the results are not there.”

FC TULSA 1, NEW MEXICO UNITED 1

Goals: NM, Reyes 6 (Bruce) 55′; Tulsa, Bibout 4 (St. Clair) 69′. Shots: NM 15, Tulsa 10. Saves: NM, Tambakis 1; Tulsa, Penaranda 3. Fouls: NM 12, Tulsa 12. Yellow cards: NM (2), Hernandez, Seymore; Tulsa (1), St. Clair.