After advancing to the third round of the 2022 U.S. Open Cup, Sacramento’s next matchup in the competition is sure to bring some high spirits. USL League One side Central Valley Fuego FC comes to town Wednesday on the heels of a blistering start to their inaugural campaign.
The squad’s tough stretch got off to a good start with a draw in Southern California on Saturday – despite only grabbing a point, Sacramento outplayed the defending USL champions on their home turf.
“It was a good point,” said midfielder Damia Viader, who netted the club’s lone score in the second minute and earned Team of the Week Honors for his performance. “We felt good about ourselves and felt that we were on the front foot.”
“We were outstanding [Saturday],” said Head Coach Mark Briggs. “Everything clicked, and the only negative was that we didn’t score as many goals as we liked.”
With Orange County in the rear view mirror all eyes are on Wednesday, since a victory punches a ticket to the fourth round draw where a matchup with an MLS club is all but set in stone. Sacramento has history with MLS teams, and Fuego FC is confident they can beat anyone, especially after upsetting El Paso Locomotive in the second round. The match also marks the club’s third all-time open cup matchup with a Fresno-based squad and a homecoming for a few Republic FC alumni who now don a Fuego FC jersey.
“Wednesday is a massive game against a very good team,” continued Briggs. “We’re focusing like we would for a league match … we’ve got to make sure we turn up and continue our home form.”
Wednesday will be Sacramento’s second contest of the week, and afterward, they’ll head to Texas to face off with Rio Grande Valley FC. With a lot of distractions provided by that schedule, the entire roster knows they need to focus only on the next thing in front of them, and if something is to divert their attention, it’s that they also need to be healthy so they can take the pitch whenever their name is called.
“We need to take one game at a time, and make sure we recover properly,” said defender Lee Desmond. “Nobody needs to be told the importance of the game and its one we certainly want to win.”
“Fortunately we’ve got a great squad, but we need to make sure we’re managing bodies and personnel to be as fresh as we possibly can be,” said Briggs.
