A big three points was the result of Republic FC’s Mother’s Day trip to New Jersey. Sacramento broke their three-match winless streak with a victory against New York Red Bulls II behind game-changing play from the club’s reserves that forced New York on their heels throughout the second half.
Welcome Back, Maalique
Maalique Foster waited a long time for his season debut – at the start of the 2022 campaign, he was sidelined with a PCL injury sustained in a preseason friendly. The recovery wasn’t easy, but the Jamaican national forward entered a match for Sacramento on the club’s trip east and made an immediate impact.
In just six minutes off the bench, Foster changed the game in exactly the way Mark Briggs hoped he would, putting even more pressure on a New York backline already overwhelmed by Luther Archimede, Emil Cuello, and Rafa Jauregui. Ahead of his match-winning score, he burned the defender assigned to mark him in transition and put himself in a great position to field a sharply angled pass left from Archimede to put the ball in the net – his first-ever score in a Sacramento uniform.
Deep Roster Steps Up
As a few fans likely noticed, some notable names were absent from the lineup Sunday morning. Sacramento took on Red Bulls II without the services of Rodrigo Lopez, Jack Gurr, Lee Desmond, and Zeiko Lewis. The challenge of playing four matches in twelve days – with a cross country trip – was no match for the depth of the roster. Missing a few key contributors didn’t phase the club one bit; showcasing Mark Briggs has the ability to rotate with players that he believes can start at every position.
“We’ve got a roster where every player can step in and do a job for the team,” said Briggs after the match. “And I thought today the guys that stepped in and they came into the team. They helped the team and achieved our goal of three points. With all the things you have to take into consideration, to come away with three points is a huge achievement from the group.”
Keep Being Dangerous Late
Before Maalique Foster entered the match and netted the winner, Republic FC had already put themselves on the front foot with a couple of changes. The pendulum clearly swung Sacramento’s way after Luther Archimede and Rafa Jauregui entered for Keko and Douglas Martinez in the 65th minute and begun wearing down a backline that had been strong for most of the match. It allowed Sacramento to maintain their most consistent attributes this season – being dangerous when the game most demands it. Foster’s winner was the sixth goal in league play this season to come in the final 15 minutes of games, the highest total of any team in the entire league.
