Another stellar performance against a strong squad on Saturday gave Sacramento Republic FC its second road win of the season, as well as its third clean sheet in four contests dating to May 25. Against Detroit City FC, who had yet to lose at home in 2022, Republic FC was stellar on all ends, great on the ball and remained as hard to break down as they’ve been all year long.
Plus Ultra
On the scoreboard, Sacramento’s victory came as the result of two great individual 
efforts from its Spanish representatives in Keko and Damia Viader. The fellow countrymen were great on the ball and took full advantage of every inch of space given to them throughout the match, entering the attacking third 13 times. Viader led the club in total touches, while Keko finished the match second on the club in passing accuracy and created two chances. Their scores, Viader’s in the 10th minute and Keko’s in the 56th, were each their second of the season.
Collective Excellence
Over the last few weeks, Sacramento’s backline has received a lot of praise. But against Detroit, what was equally impressive was the club’s collective rise to the challenge of facing a club unbeaten on its home turf in over two years. The clean sheet logged in the Motor City was just the second time Le Rouge has been shut out all season long, and Sacramento was threatening all night with opportunities coming from all over the pitch.
“I thought we were absolutely fantastic from the first minute to the 94th minute,” said Mark Briggs after the match. “I thought we controlled the game in a very hostile environment, in a very hard place to come and play. We controlled the tempo of the game, and were fantastic. Every person that stepped on the field from even the people that didn’t step on the field, the support on the sidelines, but just the performance overall, was phenomenal.”
Not Intimidated
Almost every match Republic FC has played this season has featured a feared attacker or two on the other side. But Sacramento contained their opponent’s primary threats well each time, and against Detroit it was more of the same. Sacramento’s defenders kept the dangerous Antoine Hoppenot and Maxi Rodriguez from scoring for the first time in nearly a month, limiting threats from the pair repeatedly and keeping them to just one opportunity that was saved by Danny Vitiello. On the night, the club was successful in just under half its one-on-one duels, and kept the dangerous Detroit offense to just four shots on target.
