Phoenix Rising kept its USL Championship playoff hopes alive with a 3-2 win over Las Vegas Lights.

The match proved a true tale of two halves, with Ihsan Sacko bagging a brace and Gunnar Studenhofft also finding the net before the interval. However, second-half goals from Patrick Leal and Oalex Anderson gave the hosts a scare.

A half of Phoenix Rising dominance

The first-half floodgates truly opened for Phoenix Rising in what most considered a must-win match against a rival for the last playoff spots.

Ihsan Sacko put the hosts up 24 minutes into the game, leaving his defender for dead with a change in direction and slotting the ball away at the near post of former teammate Triston Henry.

Minutes later, Gunnar Studenhofft found the net off a set piece to double Rising’s advantage and record his fifth goal of the season.

Then, deep into first half stoppage time, Studenhofft won a penalty after being taken down by Henry in a one-on-one break. Sacko stepped up to take the kick and, despite describing himself as battling sickness in the postgame media availability, duly slotted on the right-hand side to record his brace.

Second half struggles

According to Phoenix Rising coach Pa-Modou Kah, his side went into the second half looking to remain on the front foot, and the team did create chances after the break. They wouldn’t find a fourth goal, though.

Instead, it was Las Vegas who gave the hosts a nerve-wracking finish to their must-win match. In the 77th minute, Patrick Leal denied Rising a clean sheet by making it 3-1. Eight minutes later, Oaklex Anderson cut the deficit to just one.

There wouldn’t be another goal in the bag for the visitors, though. In the end, Vegas attempted only one further shot as they attempted to find their equalizer.

The PLayoff picture

Results elsewhere were kind to Phoenix Rising. With the win over Las Vegas, Rising rose to 9th but remains outside of the playoff places on 36 points. Their maximum point tally, presuming they win both remaining fixtures, is 42. Rising’s opponent Las Vegas also sits on 36 points.

In other games, Orange County lost on the road to El Paso, meaning that they remain in 7th place on 39 points, three ahead of Rising. A draw between San Antonio and Oakland means the former climbed to 39 points also, while Oakland sits on 35 points.

In all cases, the teams have two games remaining, allowing up to six more points to be gained. Notably, San Antonio and Orange County will meet in their final game of the season.

Owain’s take

There are different ways you could take Saturday’s Phoenix Rising win over Las Vegas Lights.

You could choose to focus on the display that the team put in for the first 45 minutes, in which they made it clear that Vegas was second best and that they were going to take all three points on the night.

Or, you could choose to focus on the display late in the second half, where a pair of Vegas goals late in the game gave genuine fear that they would throw it all away.

At half-time, when Rising was cruising, I was choosing not to get too high on their hopes. The reality is that this season will not be made by a 45-minute showing. There was little to be gained by piling on the misery on a Las Vegas side that struggled in the way that they did other than adding to the confidence. In reality, this playoff push is a series of tests over three weeks.

A win in the first of those games does not imply success later on; it’s just a win in the first of those tests. A workmanlike approach is the way to go about things.

To be consistent, therefore, I can’t accept that the second half was any form of disaster. If they’d conceded the third, dropping points from what appeared to be an unassailable lead? Sure, then it would have been. But they didn’t, so it isn’t worth talking about.

We’re not at a point now where Phoenix Rising and its fanbase have the luxury of caring about how the team wins. They simply need to win. That’s as far as it goes. And against Las Vegas, Rising did win.

A dominant win over Vegas would mean nothing if they don’t get it done in Irvine for a first, and only, Western Conference road win of the year. A near collapse at home is irrelevant so long as they walk away with the three points.

Seven points in the final three games gives Rising a shot at making the playoffs. Nine points out of nine feels like it’d make the playoffs impossible to miss, save for some surprising Las Vegas results against both Lexington and Monterey Bay to close out the season.

Saturday night’s match gave Phoenix Rising three of those points. It was the start they needed to kickstart this final push, and that’s about all there is to say about it.

Top image: Phoenix Rising/Ashley Orellana