Phoenix Rising followed up a sloppy 4-1 defeat in Orange County by conceding three goals at home to Eastern Conference strugglers Birmingham Legion in a home draw. However, transfer news after the final whistle overshadowed what was otherwise a poor performance.

Jearl Margaritha transfers to belgium for fee

Jearl Margaritha was not in the matchday squad, and in his post-match press conference, Phoenix Rising coach Pa-Modou Kah confirmed the player’s exit.

According to Kah, Margaritha has signed for SK Beveren in the Belgian Challenger Pro League.

“Jearl received an offer from Beveren,” Kah said. “We didn’t want to let him go, but we understand that what he needed was to be closer to his family, especially his son.

“We knew what he meant to this group and what he brings, but the most important thing as well is also that we and the club, Bobby [Dulle] and Brandon [McCarthy], got something for him.”

Margaritha joined Phoenix on August 16, 2024, and quickly won over the fans by scoring the winner away to Loudoun United in just his second match for the club. The Curaçaoan international recorded six goals and five assists across his stint with Rising, playing 26 games in all competitions. He also played substantial minutes in all three of Curaçao’s group matches at the recent CONCACAF Gold Cup.

“Marga was a big impact for the attacking side,” Rising midfielder Hope Avayevu said. “We’re going to miss him because he’s been there, he’s been putting in a lot of goals and assists for the team. He’s been helping us a lot, so yeah, we’re going to miss him a lot.”

Asked about how the club will use the fee received for Margaritha, Kah pointed to the club’s sporting director and president looking to add new players.

“Brandon and Bobby are working very hard to upgrade the squad,” the coach said. “So for me, I’m not even worried, because they’re working 24 hours and we’re in constant communication with the type of players that we want to be here and need to be here.”

Sources have told PHNX that a replacement for Margaritha is likely to join the club shortly, and that the club is actively looking to also sign players in other positions.

A better start for Phoenix Rising, quickly reversed

After a slow opening ten minutes as both Phoenix Rising and Birmingham Legion figured each other out, Phoenix Rising were the team to take advantage early.

Emil Cuello opened the scoring with a rocket from a tight angle that bested Legion goalkeeper Fernando Delgado. Minutes later, Hope Avayevu doubled Rising’s advantage with an effort from outside the penalty area. Those would be Phoenix’s only two shots of the first half.

“We were visible for the first 30 minutes,” Rising coach Pa-Modou Kah said after the match. “The rest of the game, we were not visible. I think we started the game very well, getting two goals. Then, again, very sloppy. To allow them to come back in the game and allow them to even go up… This game should have been done and dusted, 2-0 going into half-time.”

Asked about what changed after the hydration break that took place on the half-hour mark, Kah replied that he thought “our players all thought that they were Messi.”

Legion would find one goal in the first half through Tyler Pasher, before Sebastian Tregarthen and Enzo Martinez flipped the game on its head by giving the visitors the lead within 64 minutes.

Rising would find an equalizer, as Charlie Dennis‘ 90th minute strike followed up a disallowed Damian Rivera goal just minutes before, leaving both sides to share the spoils when referee John Matto blew the final whistle.

“Every point matters, and at home you don’t drop points,” Kah said. “We’ve dropped too many points at home, but also, we’ve dropped points from winning positions, allowing teams to come back. That’s not good enough.

“But you’ve got to credit them for fighting back and coming back. Maybe we had a disallowed goal, a disallowed penalty, but again, you don’t put yourselves in that situation when you’re 2-0 up.”

Rough week for the Rising defense

Three goals conceded against Birmingham Legion followed up four conceded in midweek against Orange County for Phoenix Rising’s defense.

Halfway through being asked about the seven goals conceded after two games, coach Pa-Modou Kah interrupted with a simple “not good enough, not good enough.”

“If it was a simple trend, I know you can always fix it, but I think it’s coming from everywhere,” Kah said. “I know we’re going to rectify it. Me, I’m not happy with it. My staff is not happy with it. The players are not happy with it, but it’s going to take responsibility and commitment on that side.”

Rising has now conceded 33 goals on the season, which would have been the highest tally in the league had Las Vegas not lost by six goals against El Paso. Even excluding the seven goals conceded in the last week, only four teams would have conceded more goals this season than Phoenix Rising.

“I think we’ve had some progress [defensively since the start of the season],” Kah said. “But this is football. Tell me one team that doesn’t have a little slump and get back up again, right? But we can rectify that, and that’s the most important thing.”

Owain’s take

Sloppy, sloppy Phoenix Rising. Feels like it’s becoming a bit of a trend, isn’t it?

For around half an hour, it felt as though the club was turning the page somewhat from a weak defensive showing against Orange County. But soon enough, the ghosts of poor defending came back to haunt this side.

Not one of the goals that Rising conceded was impossible to prevent. This is something that feels all too familiar for a squad that concedes among the most goals in the entirety of USL Championship.

Rising may point to weak back-line depth for this, but in all honesty, the fault for that lies completely at the team’s door.

Among those that Rising started the season with, Pape Mar Boye is currently out through suspension after poor-decision making led to a violent conduct red card on Wednesday. Mo Traore is currently out injured, but he’s also been injured for a decent spell in each of the two seasons he’s played with Rising prior to this year.

Collin Smith‘s injury perhaps leaves the side weak in the full-back positions, too, but reliance on a player in Braxton Montgomery that I’ve been expecting to depart for college ever since the start of the season shows poor planning. Two players — a center-back in Alex Araneda, and a full-back in Harvey Neville — all but appear to be exiled as though they aren’t rated, with Neville ultimately shipped off to San Antonio on loan. Casey Walls, the final piece of the puzzle that isn’t available, retired just weeks after making his first appearance for the club.

There aren’t spaces for excuses at the back any more, and I found it notable that Pa-Modou Kah didn’t offer any up in his post-match remarks.

Instead, Kah underscored his disappointment in the performance, blasted the way his side nearly threw away all of the points on offer and said on multiple occasions that the outcome simply was not good enough.

He’s right, but it’s going to take more than just acknowledging that to fix Rising’s problems at the back.

A key part to that could come in the form of the transfer fee received for Jearl Margaritha. Yes, Rising will need to replace him first, but if they nab a player that was out of contract from Europe to fill his boots, it’s likely that there’ll be money left over to go after other positions that the team still needs to bolster.

Margaritha himself will be missed. One of the more exciting players on the squad, he won fans over with his performances in a struggling Phoenix Rising side in 2024 and continued to show those moments during the start of this year. However, it is worth noting that his form looked to have dipped somewhat after his stint with the national team at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

The outcome of this season for Phoenix Rising is going to be judged on how well they replace him, and how well they find ways to patch up gaps elsewhere on the field. That may not prove easy. Let’s not forget that it took Darius Johnson, who joined at the same time as Margaritha, a fair bit of time to really get up and running, and we’re already in August.

Simply put, Phoenix Rising cannot afford to miss on its next moves.

And with that, it’s over to the club’s recruitment team to show us what they can do.

Top image: Orange County SC