An in-state foe visits the River City this week – San Diego Loyal SC – as Republic FC continues its three game homestand. Each club will be fighting to keep their unbeaten start to the season going at Heart Health Park in the first of two meetings on the year.
It’s lining up to be a stellar contest between the two squads, who always play each other tough. Through the first two weeks of the season, San Diego has gone a perfect 2-0-0, and Sacramento’s unbeaten after resilience in Week 2 secured a draw in the home opener. Each club knows the challenge the other presents coming in.
“They’ve had two good games to start, done very well and had two good results,” Head Coach Mark Briggs said of San Diego. “We know they’re a good team. We know their strengths and weaknesses, and just have got to be prepared for a difficult game.”
“They’ve got good players, they spread out the ball in possession and can go forward and score goals,” said defender Jared Timmer. “We’re going to have to be on our A-game, possess the ball and be clinical when we go forward.”
After last week’s match, the club learned a lot about themselves. Playing with 10-men from the 36th minute on and still getting a result was the product of a lot of hard work in the face of adversity. After seeing what they could do when the going gets tough, the squad is confident in their ability to perform no matter what’s thrown at them.
“We always ask them to give their never-say-die attitude and play ‘til the ref blows the whistle,” Briggs continued. “Last week after facing adversity, the guys reacted really well, showed the quality they have and that when we play with intensity, we’re a really good team.”
“There’s no easy games,” said goalkeeper Danny Vitiello. “Every week is going to be a hard road. No matter who we’re playing, we’ve got to be at our best to get three points.”
Three points remains the goal for Sacramento. And not just for this match – the road ahead will bring tough opponents week in and week out as the club continues forward in the first half of the season. Performing against other top clubs on the schedule early on will go a long way, both on and off the pitch.
“Winning games instills confidence,” Briggs said. “We’ve got a difficult start against some of the higher-level teams in the league. [But] We get an opportunity to show what we can do as a group.”
