Esteban Franco’s missed penalty kick weighed heavily on his mind in the second half Thursday at Manteca, but he had a chance to atone for it in the 80th minute.

Sierra escaped Guss Schmiedt Field with a 2-1 Valley Oak League victory thanks to two favorable deflections from the goalkeeper.

Franco put away the game winner after teammate Alejandro Sanchez’s scorching attempt was saved by Manteca goalie Leo Garcia, who earlier denied the penalty in the 53rd minute.

“Ever since that penalty, that was all I was thinking about,” Franco said. “I just thought, ‘I have to score now, no matter what.’ So, on that play, I saw the opportunity when (Sanchez) shot it. It was just a rebound.”

All three goals in the game were off second-chance opportunities. In the 29th minute, right back Matthew Valdez skipped a low, speculative shot from distance that was parried away by Garcia, but Neddy Ramos was there to follow up for Sierra (6-2 VOL, 13-3 overall).

The Buffaloes (1-6-1, 2-16-2) responded six minutes later. Christian Ambriz lofted a free kick from midfield into the penalty box, and Kevin Mundo was the beneficiary of two fortunate bounces. His initial half-volley caromed off a defender, but the ball rolled back to his powerful right foot for the equalizer.

While both teams had their share chances, the Timberwolves — who had a 25-12 advantage on shots — were moments away from feeling like they let two points slip through their fingers, until Franco’s clutch goal.

Manteca, to its credit, has played both of its cross-town rivals tough. The Buffaloes’ two losses to Sierra were by one goal, and they have a 1-1 draw against East Union. Sierra and East Union are firmly entrenched as top-three teams on the VOL table and in reach of automatic playoff berths.

“I think they get up for these games, and for some reason, we are not able to match their energy,” Sierra coach Joe Pires said. “And one of our biggest problems throughout the whole season is finishing. We create, we get good looks and we get shots, but they only count when they get in the net.”

Part of Sierra’s struggles on the attacking end can be attributed to Garcia, who racked up five of his seven saves in the second half. The Timberwolves were able to capitalize on two of those saves, however.

“I think it’s unfortunate,” Manteca coach James Burns said. “He had played so well in that second half and gave us a chance to win it, but I wouldn’t put that moment on him. I kind of see the game from a bigger picture, so I’m going to look at the way the dominoes fall. Some of those chances don’t happen if players are taking care of business on different lines of the field, so it’s hard to say one player is at fault for that moment.”

Sierra first-half goalie Andrew Gilton had two diving saves on well-struck shots from Jesus

Gomez and Mundo. John Thomson had one save late in the second half.

The Buffaloes came up empty-handed on a breakaway in the 72nd minute. With Sierra committing numbers forward on a corner kick, Manteca defender Prospect Afanyu sent striker Julian Oregel on his way with an over-the-top clearance.

Timberwolves defender Christian Gonzales did well to recover in time to challenge Oregel inside the penalty box, and the two went to ground along with Thomson in a collision. Oregel popped back up to gather the loose ball with the goalie still off his line, but Sierra’s Axzel Razo deflected the shot while protecting the near post.

“I thought the boys played outstanding. There was a lot of fight,” Burns said. “I thought we weathered their pressure at the beginning of both halves and found moments to elevate our game. We had our own chances to go out and win this game. I’m proud of the guys for putting themselves in that position. The one thing I asked is, ‘Can we be clocked in every minute and moment of this game?’ We were, Sierra was jut a little bit better in the end.”

Manteca hosts VOL-leading Patterson next Tuesday, while Sierra travels to Oakdale for the start of a challenging stretch to end the regular season.

The Timberwolves may be without leading scorer Alejandro Sanchez, who was carted off with a lower-leg injury sustained on a dangerous tackle in the final seconds of the game Thursday.

“Today, we were already missing one of our main defenders, Noah (Ofman), who is out with the flu,” Pires said. “Now, there’s a chance of us not having one of our top players. We have to regroup. Sometimes, weird things happen, and something like this can bring the team together.”