Republic FC’s three-match road trip comes to a close this week, as the club heads south to face off with San Diego Loyal SC for the final time in the regular season. Sacramento is looking for its third straight unbeaten result in the match before returning to the River City for a three game homestand.
The Quails know San Diego will be far from an easy opponent. Loyal SC is playing its first home match in nearly a month, and is coming off a big come-from-behind result of their own on the road. Sacramento’s never won at Torero Stadium, and it isn’t an easy task to do so – Loyal SC’s 16 home wins since the start of last season are the second-most of any team.
“No matter where we play, we should take that intensity and the way we play over there and dominate games,” said Jack Gurr. “That’s what I think we need to do more of, and hopefully we’ll see that on Friday night.”
“It’s going to be a difficult opponent,” said Head Coach Mark Briggs on Tuesday continued. “We’ve got to go there with confidence and belief, and try and execute a game plan.”
Coming off two road results, Briggs and his staff pleased with what they have seen from the squad in recent weeks. Back-to-back trips to the opposite coast can take a lot out of a team. For the club to emerge with results from each match of the road trip to this point shows a lot about what they’ve done well and the toughness each player has exhibited.
“I think it’s just our character,” Jack Gurr said of what’s led to the club’s recent road success. “We’ve went down a couple of times, just to come back and get results. That’s important for us. We stick together, home and away.”
“I’ve seen some humility, I’ve seen a team that’s adapted and changed,” said Mark Briggs. “We’ve seen a team that’s been ruthless in moments, and a team that has bounce back ability when you when you face a negative moment or you face something that goes against you.”
As the club prepares for Friday’s contest, it is looking for the same approach that led to a strong second half last week in Florida. The club took a tough start and turned it on its head to post a strong performance against a hot opponent in difficult conditions.
“We played on the front foot and we defended forward,” Mark Briggs said of what his team did well in last week’s draw. “So we’re looking for those things as we go into the game on Friday night.”
