Republic FC secured another important point on Saturday night, playing to a 1-1 draw on a hot night at Heart Health Park. A tough Memphis side came to Sacramento for the two sides’ first ever contest, but the Indomitable club wouldn’t go down without a fight.
Memphis had control of the possession balance throughout the first half. Mark Briggs Men connected on only 75% of their passes as compared to Memphis 86%. But despite the stat sheet going against them, the Indomitable club still found a way to earn a result. Sacramento put pressure back on the visitors following the intermission, posting seven of their ten attempts at goal for the game and advancing into the final third 43 times.
“I thought the energy was missing and that resulted in us not showing the quality that we usually do,” said Head Coach Mark Briggs after the match. “But the guys – give them credit where credit’s due – they found a way to get back in the game and get a point.”
Briggs changes off the bench provided the spark to turn the tides as Keko, and Aldair Sanchez attacked the left flank, and Jared Timmer locked down the right defensively. It’s been a recurring theme for Sacramento the past few weeks, getting contribution from up and down the roster.
“When we came out in the second half, I thought we started a little bit better and we started to do what was asked of us tactically, and then I thought the substitutes came in and impacted the game,” Briggs went on. “I thought Keko was excellent, Zeiko Lewis got on the ball, Jared Timmer came in and did well, and young Zeke Padilla came in and did well. I thought they impacted the game in a positive way and at least gave us a bit of energy.”
Eventually, Russell Cicerone netted the late equalizer in the 87th minute – the club’s eighth goal in the final 15 minutes of a game this season. The score was his 10th goal in league play this season, moving him back into a tie for the Golden Boot.
Sacramento looks ahead now to a tough challenge. Next week, the Quails visit New Mexico United on the road. Last year, the club took an important victory while on its trip to Albuquerque. Isotopes Park has been a difficult place for visiting teams to go all season.
“We’re on the road and we know that we can go and win anywhere,” said Russell Cicerone. “Now we’ve just got to have the right mindset. We’ll look to getting back to fighting and battling first and then letting our talent show after that.”
