Phoenix Rising welcomed FC Tulsa for the home opener on Saturday and it marked a new chapter, not just for Rising and Tulsa, but for the USL Championship. 

Rising fans came in big for the home opener and the first game for Rising’s new head coach, Pa-Modou Kah.  

“Our fans were unbelievable,” said Rising head coach Kah. “The atmosphere was fantastic…I think the boys felt it, I definitely felt it, they were on the whole game so, you know, credit to our fans.” 

The first few minutes saw little chances, but Tulsa quickly turned up the intensity, putting pressure on Phoenix at every move.

Rising looked hesitant, and possibly overwhelmed with Tulsa’s pressure. 

In the 25th minute, Rising would make a mistake, and while Rising keeper Peter Rakovsky would make a stop, it would deflect to Alex Dalou, who found the net to give Tulsa the lead. 

“Football is full of mistakes,” Kah said.  “I don’t think they put so much pressure on us. I think it’s part of the game.” 

Tulsa kept the pressure up, and made more chances, but Rakovsky made big saves to keep them out. 

“Well…I conceded a goal so, it’s not good,” Rakovsky said regarding his performance. “I feel I saved what I had to save, building up was okay, I did also have a lot to do, I saved the first shot before the goal and after that they were really defensive, I didn’t see any chance.” 

Rising had done little attacking in the first half, and were looking to turn it around in the next 45 minutes. 

“I mean, credit to them,” Kah said with regard to Tulsa. “They slowed the game down, they didn’t want to be fast paced, we wanted to be fast paced—they took their time. I mean, they did well, so fair play to them.” 

Almost immediately, Rising shot out of a rocket, playing much more aggressively. 

Rising made chances, and added much needed pressure. It was if the tables had turned, as Tulsa were defending their lead. 

Rising would try everything to get an equalizer, from clever passing, to crosses into the box, and substitutions to help the attack. 

“We’ve been together six weeks, there’s some chemistry there,” said Rising forward Damian Rivera. 

“My coach told me to stay wide and you know, go 1v1 and be dangerous and I tried my best and we were unlucky to not score any chances but I think we keep progressing.” 

Nearing the end of the game, Rising were given a foul near the edge of the box, with a chance to cross it in and equalize. 

In the end however, Tulsa, walked away with all 3 points, as they cleared the cross and the game ended shortly after.

“It’s the first game,” said Kah. “Little bit of jibbers, which is normal.” 

Phoenix will play El Paso Locomotive at Southwest University Park on Saturday.