Phoenix Rising won in dominating fashion at 38th & Washington, seeing off Sacramento Republic 2-0.

Ihsan Sacko recorded both goals for the hosts, with each coming from the penalty spot as Rising held its opponent to just six shots in total.

Coming off a rough loss

A week ago, Phoenix Rising had played poorly against a very strong Tampa Bay Rowdies squad. Going 3-0 down in the first half against the unbeaten Floridian side, Rising failed to come away with anything.

Sacramento represented a different challenge. Neill Collins’ side lingered in the bottom end of the playoff race and, despite beating Phoenix 2-0 in California earlier this year, was a much more beatable opponent.

For a Rising side that had seen its unbeaten streak snapped, this was an opportunity to get things back on track quickly.

“I think it was a great response, as we spoke about the whole week,” Rising coach Pa-Modou Kah said. “Obviously, we didn’t show who we were when we were down in Tampa, but I think the whole week, the focus, the concentration was exceptional.”

A Dominant Phoenix Rising showing

Throughout the 90 minutes, there was no question as to which side was on top: Phoenix Rising.

Rising’s 23 shots on the night was their highest in league play through the season to date. On the other side, Sacramento’s six represented their lowest tally.

“Today, I think, was some of the best football we actually played with in the first half and second half,” Kah said. “We created also opportunities to go 3, 4 up, but I think overall it was a great performance from the boys.”

Sacko’s Brace from the spot

After an early goal from Gunnar Studenhofft was disallowed for offside, Rising had to wait until the 39th minute to finally take the lead. Ihsan Sacko buried from the penalty spot, putting the hosts on top.

Then, in first half stoppage time, Sacko again stepped up to the penalty spot, doubling Phoenix’s advantage by slotting it past Danny Vitiello in the Sacramento net.

With those two goals, the Frenchman is among the league leaders for goals scored, having recorded eight in league play this year. Half of those goals have come from penalty kicks.

Owain’s take

We’ve been asking Phoenix Rising to put in a complete performance for a few years now, and very rarely have we seen anything come quite close enough to it.

Yet this match, against Sacramento Republic, is probably one of the best overall Phoenix Rising performances we’ve seen for a while.

For most of that match, it was beyond clear which side was on top. Rising knocked on the door more than enough times, and as the coach said, could have had three or four goals on another night. In fact, if it wasn’t for a few inspired saves from Danny Vitiello or a few missed chances that should have been taken better, Rising probably ought to have scored three or four.

If there is a critique to have coming off the night, it was that this team couldn’t turn its dominance into a showing that ever really ruled out a comeback from the visitors. Rising had so many opportunities, and if the scoreline had read three or four, you’d expect it to be out of reach for Sacramento. As it was, Patrick Rakovsky made a couple of good saves in the second half, but you feared that if Republic found just a solitary goal, they could find a second. That wouldn’t have been reflective of the way most of the match was played, but this is a results-based sport, and the hosts’ wastefulness could have come back to bite them.

It’s still important to keep that in perspective. Rising won 2-0, and it wouldn’t be fair to slate them after a very good showing. Some of the reasons for their struggle in front of goal are obvious: the team is missing two of its center forwards thanks to injury, and Vitiello played a good second half, as you’d expect from a keeper regarded as one of the best in the league.

However, that ability to be more ruthless and to truly bury an opponent when you’re already on the front foot is an important step in taking this team to another level. There will always be room for improvement. Among the good moments, Phoenix Rising still has to ask itself how to get better. Turning domination into goals from open play, which we didn’t see against Sacramento, is one way to do that.

Anyway, for now, you can sit back and enjoy that Phoenix Rising took the three points. With two road games and a midweek clash against Louisville on the horizon, this side is about to be tested. But having bounced back immediately from a poor showing in Tampa Bay, this side has at least passed one first test before them.

Top image: Ashley Orellana/Phoenix Rising