Following a cross-country trip, Republic FC returns home for the final regular season meeting with Phoenix Rising FC. It will be the first of Sacramento’s nine remaining games against Western Conference teams and with a table that seems to get tighter and tighter each week, every point counts in the race to clinch a spot in the playoffs and hosting rights for postseason soccer.
“It’s been nice to have a full week of training after a long trip to the East Coast. And the guys have been good this week,” said Republic FC Head Coach Mark Briggs. “We know what we’re facing in Phoenix. They’re the champions, so you have to respect that they have quality all over the field, but we don’t fear anyone in our league. I think our performances have shown that.”
The Indomitable Club is coming into the match with two shutout wins in its last two home games. Facing San Antonio and El Paso, the squad put out an aggressive press that stifled the opponents’ attack, and only faced three total shots across 180 minutes. “The last two games at home we’ve been on the front foot. When you play like that, you suffocate teams and you don’t give up many chances. And we’ve got to try to do that again against a very good Phoenix team on Saturday,” said Briggs.
“We’re at home on Saturday, in front of our fans, and that’s where we want to be,” said defender Jack Gurr. “Then we’ve got two tough away games, so it’s really important we get a positive result against Phoenix and then build on that for the rest of the week.”
“We’re at home on Saturday, in front of our fans, and that’s where we want to be,” said defender Jack Gurr. “Then we’ve got two tough away games, so it’s really important we get a positive result against Phoenix and then build on that for the rest of the week.”
Following the tilt with Phoenix, the team will have a quick turnaround and head out on a road trip to face conference leader New Mexico on September 18 and Las Vegas Lights FC on the 21st. “The table is still really tight and we’ll get the chance to play against some of the other teams that are near us in the standings,” continued Gurr. “It’s a good chance for us to test ourselves and get some positive results heading into the playoffs.”
“It’s three games that are massive for our season, so we want to put our best foot forward in every game,” said Briggs of next week’s stretch. “We’re going to have to rotate at times, we’re going to have to have different people on different time restraints. Ultimately, we want to win, but we also want to make sure we’re in form and ready to go in the playoffs. Where we finish remains to be seen, but at the end of the day, we want to win every game. We want to put ourselves in the best position possible.”
