EL PASO, Texas — Phoenix Rising fought back to rescue a point on the road against a Locomotive side trying to keep pace with them in the standings.

Alex Mendez put the hosts ahead just a minute into the second half of play following a rough first half in which neither side managed to create much of anything. JP Scearce equalized with his head off a Damian Rivera cross, with the latter being subbed on in the minute prior to the goal.

Phoenix Rising lineup notes

Just days after a home loss to Louisville City, Phoenix Rising made just two changes to its starting lineup. Daniel Flores came in as a winger, while Gunnar Studenhofft led the line. Damian Rivera and Alexander Vukovic were relegated to the bench, with Ihsan Sacko starting out wide and JP Scearce dropping into the back line.

However, the biggest surprises were the inclusion of Kelvin Arase and Dominique Badji on the substitutes bench. Both players had missed a lengthy spell due to injury, with their last appearances coming in April. Both were substituted into the match in the final ten minutes.

“It was great for us to get them those minutes together to play, and I’m very happy with what I saw from them,” Phoenix Rising coach Pa-Modou Kah said.

Slow second half start

Phoenix Rising was slow off the mark in the second half, and El Paso made them pay for that.

Just a minute after the break, Rubio Rubin on the edge of the Rising penalty area managed to cut back and run across JP Scearce and Pape Mar Boye, before finding an unmarked Alex Mendez running into the box. Mendez made no mistake with his finish, putting the hosts on top.

Minutes later, El Paso had another big opportunity. Eric Avila was fed the ball behind the back line to set up a one-on-one with Phoenix keeper Patrick Rakovsky, but a poor first touch ultimately squandered the chance.

“I think it was just miscommunication, misdirection, us not being sharp in the head,” Kah said. “That’s the only thing.”

A poor crossing performance… until it wasn’t

Phoenix Rising’s crossing was poor throughout the first half, as well as through the start of the second half. Through a collective 19 cross attempts, Rising had succeeded just once, and that came from a set piece.

“I don’t think something was wrong with the crosses,” Kah said. “Maybe the question is did we have enough runners. That’s what I would look at.”

In the 69th minute, Phoenix brought in Damian Rivera. Less than a minute later, his cross found the head of JP Scearce on the back post, who duly tucked away his chance.

Scearce himself was moved around on the field as part of that substitution, pushing up into the midfield, and Kah said that that change could have played a role in finally capitalizing from a cross.

“We know that [Scearce] can be that guy to give us that, so I’m very happy for him to score a goal,” the coach said.

Owain’s Take

Phoenix Rising and El Paso Locomotive ending in a draw. Feels pretty familiar, doesn’t it?

This was the fifth clash between the two sides under Pa-Modou Kah, and four of them have ended with the spoils shared. The other was a playoff matchup in which Rising progressed through a late spot kick converted by Charlie Dennis, so was hardly the most convincing of victories either.

After a bit of a stinker of a first half for both sides in which neither really found a way to create much of anything, I honestly thought that Rising had thrown it away after conceding early after the break, with how little they’d been able to do up until that point.

Instead, Phoenix Rising again reminded us: never, ever count this team out.

There are still going to be questions. How does this team actually work with a player like Gunnar Studenhofft up top? Can they stay switched on for a whole match, or will they still be error prone in moments as we’ve seen so many times?

Still, a point on the road is a point on the road, especially when trailing previously and on a short week’s rest.

But coming off of a loss in midweek, a cup loss last weekend, and only picking up a point now, all eyes are turning to that Oakland game next weekend. Pick up a win in that one, and you’ve halted the skid. Fail to do so, and you’re not going to be carrying the momentum that you want to into the extended break.

Top image: El Paso Locomotive