Rising welcomed Las Vegas Lights Friday.
Las Vegas was coming off a 1-0 win over Lexington, while Phoenix was coming off a 3-3 draw against El Paso.
In what has been a very tight Group West, Las Vegas was at the bottom of the table, while Rising sat in sixth.
Both teams played 22 games prior to this matchup, while many other teams only played 21 games.
Las Vegas had too many elements outside of their control, and even though they were only four points away from eighth place, a loss here could seal their playoff aspirations.
Rising’s schedule after Vegas didn’t see any easy opponents. Phoenix had to capitalize.
Rising was without defender Axel Essengue after he had grabbed a red card in last week’s match.
Even without Essengue, Rising was without multiple players, such as Damian Rivera, Noble Okello, Kelvin Arase, and many more.
“Biggest thing for me, I would love to see in the end of the season, how many times we played with the same lineup twice, “Rising head coach Pa-Modou Kah said. “But when you look on the other side of the spectrum, it created opportunities for everybody, and we’ve seen players play that normally may have not gotten minutes which is a fantastic thing to have.”
Rafael Czichos replaced Essengue in the starting lineup, marking his first starting appearance for Phoenix Rising.
“He’s really experienced, a lot of games in Germany and here,” Rising goalie Peter Rakovsky said. “Definitely what we expect and what we need in the back. Also, a leader on and off the field.”
Rising made a great chance in the 10th minute, but forward Ihsan Sacko was denied by the defense.
Rising was working with the wingers, looking to cross it into the box.
Las Vegas in the meantime tried to pin Phoenix into their own half, but it wasn’t working.
20 minutes in, and neither team had really been able to break the other to find the opener.
“I think we were very sharp the first 30 minutes with a couple of opportunities,” Kah said. “Not enough speed of play today.”
Rising added heavy pressure, and while they made chances, they couldn’t finish.
In the 44th minute, a collision between a Las Vegas player and Rising defender Daniel Flores sent him to the ground, looking a bit shaken up.
Flores would return to action shortly thereafter.
In the fifth minute of stoppage time, Las Vegas won a free kick, and as they aimed for goal, Rakovsky kept it out to keep the game scoreless.
“It was great to see him bounce back,” Kah said regarding Rakovsky’s performance.
Heading into the second half, the game remained scoreless.
Rising subbed on Ryan Flood for Flores to begin the half.
“It was a weird accident between him and the other player,” Kah said regarding the substitution.
“He said he felt good, he said at halftime that he couldn’t feel his leg, so there was no use playing a player who says he can’t feel his leg but, we lost a little bit with him coming out because I think he gave us a good understanding, on and off the ball.”
As time winded down, Phoenix tried to get the opener, but they couldn’t find they back of the net.
Rising subbed on Charlie Dennis for Remi Cabral.
In the 66th minute, Las Vegas was through on goal and while they almost scored the opener, Rakovsky made a massive save to prevent it.
“Last week was disappointing for me and everyone else,” Rakovsky said. “Definitely a good feeling to keep the team in the game. On the other side, that’s why I’m here to keep a clean sheet. Unlucky we didn’t have many this year.”
It didn’t deter Las Vegas to make more chances, ramping up the pressure.
Rising subbed on Collin Smith and Dariusz Formella for Xian Emmers and Czichos.
“It was obvious from the day we spoke, you kind of see him from afar,” Kah said regarding Czichos. “He loves the game, he’s passionate, he has a lot to give to us and not only as a player but as a mentor to Pape, to Essengue, I know there’s a lot more to come.”
In the 85th minute, Vegas made another chance, but the shot was blocked by a Rising player before it deflected and went over the bar.
“Looking at Pape, how he blocked the ball, someone else blocked another ball,” Rakovsky said. “I feel like that’s what we need and if you do that, keeping a clean sheet, we will win games and we will make the playoffs.”
Las Vegas was making it clear they wanted to walk away with a win.
In the 92nd minute, Las Vegas forward Rory O’Driscoll fouled Hope Avayevu on the edge of the box.
Having been a yellow prior to the foul, O’Driscoll was sent off as Las Vegas dropped to 10 men.
This prompted Rising to try and get all three points, but it was too little, too late.
In the end, the game concluded with the same scoreline it started with.
“There’s no magic answer,” Kah said.
“We’re doing the right things, sometimes we have knocks, sometimes we don’t have knocks, and that is part of football and that is a part of a process because we know what the destination is. Eventful turns, some uneventful terms but that’s part of the growth that we need to do.”
Phoenix Rising will play Sacramento Republic next Saturday at Heart Health Park.
