The Indomitable Club came home from Seaside with all three points in hand on Saturday night after besting Monterey Bay F.C. 1-0 in enemy territory. The result secured a split of the season series with MBFC, as well as the Indomitable Club’s third consecutive win.
It also marked Sacramento’s second win in Seaside, following last season’s come-from-behind win on June 25. With road wins always difficult to achieve in a tough Western Conference, the result was no small feat. Republic FC secured its fourth road win this season and kept a hold on the top spot in the table with 44 points and a league-best +22 scoring differential.
“I was really pleased. It’s a difficult place to come, it’s a difficult place to get points,” said Head Coach Mark Briggs after the match. “We obviously went ahead and I thought we defended very well. Thought a few of the decisions were a little bit dubious, but really pleased with the players and that shouldn’t take away anything from their performance.”
Sacramento got on the board first just after the half hour mark in the first half – the club’s league-leading 24th first half goal this season. Russell Cicerone slotted it in for his third score in as many games. Also for the third straight contest, Keko served up the assist. Cicerone and Keko, along with Zeiko Lewis, have combined for an impressive seven goals and five assists across the Quails last five games dating to July 15, when the trio was first installed as a tandem atop Sacramento’s formation.
“I think we’ve got a great chemistry. We’re all guys that are comfortable on the ball,” said Cicerone after the match. “And we want the ball, we want to combine and make things happen. So we’ve just been working really well together and we’re seeing it on the score sheet.”
Briggs was quick to point out the club’s defensive relentlessness after the match was a big part of securing the win. The resulting clean sheet marked the club’s eighth on the season and the second in its last three games. It also kept going an impressive streak – since October 2021, the club is an unbeaten 17-0-4 when leading after 45 minutes.
“I thought we defended well as individuals, and then defended really well as a unit,” Briggs continued. “And to see at the end of the game – we’re down a man but the guys are heading every ball that comes in the box, following their runners. Jared Timmer made an absolutely massive tackle that was just as good as Russell Cicerone’s goal. Overall, really happy with how we defended and to keep a clean sheet away from home at a difficult place is obviously very pleasing.”
Sacramento now sets out on the most difficult part of its four-match road stretch in August. Back-to-back East Coast trips – first to Alabama to take on Birmingham Legion, and then to Virginia to face Loudoun United – await the club in each of the next two weeks.
