Republic FC plays its third game in eight days this Saturday as the club takes on defending league champion San Antonio FC on the road. It’s a tough test for the club, and another match against a top team in the league early in the year. But as Sacramento has shown so far, they also are among the league’s best and will be looking to keep their recent form.
Winning on the road is a tough task no matter the opponent, and the Texas side presents one of the toughest challenges of the season. Regardless, after two straight victories over strong foes, and a come-from-behind win in the U.S. Open Cup, the club’s confident in their chances. Getting a result on the road will advance that confidence even more.
“It’s a difficult place to go, obviously they’re the defending champions and have a fantastic home record, so a difficult place to go,” Head Coach Mark Briggs said on Thursday. “But guys are in confident spirits, guys are in good form and have a lot of confidence.”
“It’s an early test for us to go into a place where they’re known for being very good,” said defender Jared Timmer. “We’re confident in who we are and the players that we have. We’re clicking, and we’re going to keep going.”
San Antonio is notoriously a tough team to play against with an aggressive, physical style. Last season, Sacramento took the pair’s first meeting 1-0, but was bested by the same scoreline in the second. This year, the club is playing a similar brand of football with largely the same group of players. Mark Briggs and his men are well aware of what they’ll be facing, as well as what the club needs to do well to keep control of the match.
“Every game you play your approach has to be about winning and doing all you can to win,” Briggs continued. “But we also understand the opponent and what they’re capable of. We’ve got to go there and play our game and stick to the game plan.”
“It’s going to be a battle, it’s always a dogfight playing against them,” said Shane Wiedt. “It’s going to come down to just being compact and executing the game plan.”
The club’s recent results put them in a good spot to get out of the match what they want and set themselves up for more success. To get the points desired, however, it’s going to take a full squad effort and an eye for detail.
“We’ve just got to keep the momentum,” said Briggs. “We’ve got to do the simple things to the standard we have been. When you play simple, and play quickly, that makes the game a lot easier. And that breeds confidence. And when you have confidence, you can grind out results and grind out points.”
