Saturday's match between Phoenix Rising and Oakland Roots ended in a 2-2 tie, with both teams battling hard to secure the win. The game started off strong for Phoenix, with the team taking control in the first five minutes and Kevon Lambert hitting the crossbar from the top of the 6. However, just four minutes later, Oakland's Dariusz Formella launched a counterattack and found the back of the net, putting the Roots up 1-0.
Following Oakland's goal, Phoenix struggled for the remainder of the first half, playing sloppy and mediocre football. However, Eddie Munjoma provided a bright spot for the team with his impressive runs down the left flank and good crosses.
Phoenix made a substitute at half time taking Henry Uzochukwu off and brining bringing Baboucarr Njie in. This led Phoenix to come out with more energy in the second half, and in the 58th minute, Danny Trejo managed to beat numerous Roots defenders and found Varela, who tucked the ball into the net to even the score at 1-1. However, Phoenix's momentum was short-lived, as they turned the ball over deep in their own end in the 66th minute, allowing Oakland's Lindo Mfeka to put the Roots back in the lead at 2-1. You could sense the disappointment of the supporters and could almost here a loud here we go again from the fans.
It took until the 89th minute for Phoenix to find the back of the net again, with Manual Arteaga scoring the equalizer off a corner kick from Erickson Gallardo to end the game in a 2-2 tie. Despite the tie, both teams put in a strong effort, with Phoenix showing improvement in the second half and Oakland demonstrating their ability to capitalize on their opportunities. Overall. Once again Rising had the better time of possession at 58-42% and out shooting Oakland 15-6.
Phoenix has some issues they need to find answers too if they want to be in the thick of the playoff fight. Right now it seems the team is ok with being mid table and not putting in full effort each match. This is something that many fans will struggle with if this funk continues much longer.
Some things for Rising to think about:
1 cleansheet in 13 games
- Scoring 1 goal a game
- Scored 2 goals in 270+ minutes of football and to top it all off It does not get any easier for Phoenix as next week they host Louisville and that promises to be another difficult match.
Let's hope Phoenix can figure out the issues sooner rather then later.
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