After a thrilling 3-3 draw at home to New Mexico United in the Jägermeister Cup, Phoenix Rising‘s Patrick Rakovsky stepped up in goal to secure a penalty shoot-out win and secure an additional group stage point.

Phoenix Rising gets one over New Mexico, again

Two weeks ago, Phoenix Rising played New Mexico United at Isotopes Park and came away with a 2-1 win. At that point, Rising had only won one match all season, and came in more jaded than their opponents having played a midweek cup match.

This time around, Rising had once again played a midweek match where their opponent had not, but that didn’t prevent Phoenix from taking more points than New Mexico once again.

For Rising’s Jearl Margaritha, the conclusion is simple.

“I think we’re better than them, and I think it showed,” the winger said after the match.

Across Phoenix Rising’s last four matches against New Mexico United, the club has won two, lost one, and won a penalty shootout in the other. Three of those four games took place at Isotopes Park.

“I know what it is to play in a derby game, and you want the bragging rights,” Rising coach Pa-Modou Kah said. “We want our fans to have the bragging rights. We want our club to have the bragging rights. Creating good rivalries is good for the game of football, and that’s what you need.”

Goals galore in a thriller

In a match that featured six goals in total, things didn’t start in Phoenix Rising’s favor. A New Mexico free kick from just outside the penalty area was well-taken by Mukwelle Akale, giving the visitors the lead, although Rising’s coach didn’t agree with the initial foul call.

“That was clear that JP [Scearce] had the ball,” Pa-Modou Kah said after the match. “Everyone could see, even Stevie Wonder. I’m sorry Stevie Wonder, but not understanding the trajectory of where the ball is going, that for me is poor. That standard needs to be higher.”

Rising would soon benefit from a set-piece of their own, however, as Darius Johnson was taken down in the penalty area and Ihsan Sacko buried the ensuing spot kick. Then, a pinpoint Jearl Margaritha cross on a breakaway found the head of Hope Avayevu to give the hosts the advantage at the break.

“I saw one of their guys wanted to attack me,” Margaritha said. “Then it’s just how I do. I just faked him. I think he made a tackle. I think he’s still sitting there.”

New Mexico would come back after half-time, with goals from Luiz Fernando and McKinze Gaines putting United up 3-2. Their lead lasted for less than ten minutes, as a JP Scearce header off a corner restored parity.

Patrick Rakovsky was the hero in a Wednesday night clash with Las Vegas Lights after making a save from the penalty spot, and he would prove the same on Saturday night in a shoot-out. New Mexico’s first three penalties were all saved by the German goalkeeper, seeing Phoenix secure a valuable additional point.

Still room to improve

Phoenix Rising has stepped up in recent weeks, and has now gone unbeaten in 90 minutes across its last six games in all competitions.

“We’ve been together from the start,” Rising winger Jearl Margaritha said. “Through the hard times that we were losing, and now we’re winning, and everyone’s just in a good vibe.”

That doesn’t mean that things are perfect, though, and all members of Rising’s contingent to face the press after the New Mexico game expressed some degree of frustration.

“Second half was not good,” goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky said. “It was not good enough. I feel like we can be lucky that we tied the game and again, it’s a mixed feeling. Yes, happy we won, but not super happy right now if I’m really honest.”

For Margaritha, the frustration came in part from missing his own penalty in the shoot-out.

“I missed myself, first time I changed my corner,” Margaritha said. “That’s why I’m mad, also. Maybe you can see it in my face.”

That frustration, even after a shoot-out win, is something that Rising coach Pa-Modou Kah believes to be a positive.

“That shows it all,” Kah said. “One, the self-awareness to know that we can get better, and that we’re going to get better, and like I said, the killer mentality. That is the difference between if you’re going to be a good team, or you’re going to be a great team, if you have that killer mentality.”

Owain’s take

It’s hard to start this little summary without going back to the words that Jearl Margaritha said after the match.

“I think we’re better than them, and I think it showed.”

If you’re a Phoenix Rising fan, there are no words you’d rather hear after a match against the club’s little brother from the state next door.

It may have taken a penalty shoot-out on the night, but in a season that hasn’t entirely come together, it’s yet another step forward in terms of positive momentum that has come against none other than New Mexico United.

Overall, it wasn’t Phoenix Rising’s best game, but it also wasn’t their worst. That something that feels like it’s becoming increasingly obvious as time goes by — that while at times this club may seem like they’re not at their best, they have such an abundance of playmakers in the final third that they’ll almost certainly make something happen. Those magical moments are why this club is up for goal of the week so frequently, and why they are outperforming their expected goals tally on the season by such a largin margin.

Also notable is that set pieces from wide areas have suddenly become a threat for this team over multiple consecutive matches. JP Scearce added to that streak against New Mexico, much as he did against Monterey Bay.

But at the same time, we need to be honest that Rising very much were not at their best, and that’s something that was widely accepted by those who spoke to the media after the match. Still, Rising has improved from its early season struggles, shows signs that the team can improve further, and most importantly, Phoenix Rising’s players seem motivated to step up to the challenge of improving week-over-week.

That challenge will only get harder soon as more players become unavailable. Rémi Cabral went for an MRI scan after his injury on Wednesday, and with Pa-Modou Kah saying post match that the scan had to wait for swelling to go down… forgive me for being skeptical that we’ll see the Frenchman on the field in the near future. Four Rising players: Jearl Margaritha, Darius Johnson, Damian Rivera and Carl Sainté have been called up for national team duty, and that will only put further strain on a front line that will be missing many forward options.

Reinforcements may very well end up coming in, and potentially very soon, but there still will be challenges in the short-term to keep this momentum going. In a Western Conference filled with results that just don’t make a lot of sense, just a few bad results can be the difference between battling for a home playoff spot or battling for any playoff spot at all.

Still, that’s a problem for next week. For now, it’s a good time to sit back, relax, and remember: Phoenix Rising has played New Mexico United twice this season, and come away with the upper hand on both occasions.

Thanks for the five points out of six so far, little brother!

Top image: Phoenix Rising FC