Following a midweek Open Cup defeat in San Jose, Phoenix Rising recorded a second consecutive 3-0 league victory as it prevailed over Miami FC.

An early penalty from Ihsan Sacko was followed up by a second half goal from Charlie Dennis. Late in the game, Miami missed a chance to pull themselves back into contention from the penalty spot, before Sacko scored his fourth goal in eight days to seal the victory.

Early goal sets the tone

Much like in Phoenix Rising’s match a week ago against New Mexico, an early penalty changed the match.

Just minutes into the contest at Pitbull Stadium, referee Edson Carvajal judged Darius Johnson to have been fouled in the penalty area. Ihsan Sacko stepped up to record his fourth goal of the season, and his second from the spot this year.

That penalty was Rising’s only significant chance of the first half, but still gave the squad a lead to defend in under 10 minutes.

Miami create, but can’t convert

Despite Phoenix Rising taking the early lead, it was Miami that created the most in terms of chances in the first half. However, the team struggled to put efforts on target to threaten goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky.

On of the hosts’ best chances of the first half came from Mathieu Ndongo, whose 29th minute effort from the left hand side ultimately hit the post.

While Rising enjoyed a fair amount of possession, especially in the first half, they didn’t look convincing as they attempted to play it out of the back. Miami won the ball four times in Rising’s third, while Phoenix didn’t manage to do so even once.

After Rising took a 2-0 lead thanks to Charlie Dennis, Miami could have found a way back into the match through a penalty kick of their own. However, Arney Rocha’s effort hit the crossbar, and unable to play it again himself as the ball hadn’t yet touched another player, was cleared from danger by Phoenix.

Miami would not find a way back into the match. Instead, an Ihsan Sacko breakaway in stoppage time made the scoreline 3-0 to the visitors.

Phoenix Rising debut, and a return

In the 60th minute, Dominique Badji made his debut for Phoenix Rising.

Announced hours before the match kicked off, Badji had been unattached since his release from DC United in January. The forward has featured for several MLS clubs over his career, including FC Cincinnati and the Colorado Rapids.

In the 78th minute, winger Kelvin Arase made his return to the pitch. Arase made two appearances for Rising last year after signing from Waldhof Mannheim in Austria, before suffering a season-ending injury.

Owain’s TAke

If you had to sum up Phoenix Rising’s performance in one word, it would be ‘clinical.’

In front of goal, Rising probably only had three major chances across the game. All three of them ended up in the back of the net.

On the other side was Miami FC. By the end of the night, the hosts had recorded over 2.6 expected goals (xG), but failed to find a goal. You’d almost expect that was the result of defenders throwing bodies in the way, or Patrick Rakovsky making a series of spectacular saves.

But it wasn’t. It was the result instead of an extraordinarily wasteful performance in front of goal from Rising’s opponent. Frankly, I spent most of the match wondering how exactly Miami had failed to capitalize at any stage.

In some ways, the 3-0 scoreline flatters. A better team would have found ways to punish. At the same time, you can only play the team that is in front of you, and while Rising will want to continue to work on its efforts to play out of the back that have failed to convince so far this season, those mistakes didn’t matter in Florida.

At the other end of the pitch, Ihsan Sacko has started to hit form. His first goal may have been from the spot, but his second showed off his skills as he sent Eloy Room tumbling before round him for the easy finish. He contributed well to Charlie Dennis’ goal, too, and will be a serious contender for another feature in the league’s team of the week.

Contextually, too, it’s an important three points. At the end of a long week, with an already depleted squad and a lengthy travel schedule, this game was never going to be easy. In spite of that, they won. We can critique things that still need work, but still recognize that this team is, for now, getting the job done.

And for that, Phoenix Rising can be satisfied.

Top Image: Miami FC via Phoenix Rising FC