Phoenix Rising welcomed Oakland Roots on Saturday night at Phoenix Rising Stadium FC.
Rising was coming off a 1-1 draw to El Paso, while Oakland was coming off a 1-1 draw to Birmingham.
Oakland sat fourth in Group West, while Phoenix sat just below them in fifth.
Both teams had played 13 games, more than most teams in the West, meaning this game could have a lot of implications further in the season.
Oakland started off well with the ball, even getting some golden chances, but to no avail.
Regardless, Oakland continued to press, while Rising seemed to soak up the pressure to spark counter attacks.
“I don’t think we started the game well,” Rising head coach Pa-Modou Kah said. “We were sloppy. Start to finish.”
Despite that, neither team was unable to create many chances, as both steams were stuck in a deadlock after 30 minutes.
Rising switched to a more pressure-based style, electing to use their wingers, while Oakland kept putting up pressure.
Even then, neither team found a chance as the game remained scoreless entering the second half.
However, just two minutes into the second half, Oakland won a penalty after a player was shoved from behind in the box.
Peter Wilson was the taker for Oakland, and it was Rising goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky looking to make a save.
Wilson shot right, and while Rakovsky went right, it was placed perfectly, as it went into the back of the net, as Oakland took a 1-0 lead.
In the 55th minute, Oakland made it two. Wilson got the ball before passing it to forward Danny Trejo, who slotted it past Rakovsky with ease, making it 2-0 for Oakland.
However, three minutes later, Oakland fouled a Phoenix player in the box, and the ref gave a penalty for Phoenix.
Ihsan Sacko stepped up to take it against goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh.
Sacko went right, and despite McIntosh going the right way, Sacko seemed to mimic Wilson’s penalty, as he put it on the money, making it 2-1.
“We knew we could come back,” Kah said. “But then we made silly mistakes.”
The game was on, and Phoenix was still in it, as the goals came pouring in.
Phoenix pushed forward, as they looked to be more stable at the back, and in the 71st minute, Rising got their equalizer.
Sacko whipped a ball in after a through pass, before midfielder Diego Gomez took a shot, who found the bottom left corner to make it 2-2.
Phoenix got their equalizer, but it didn’t last long.
Just two minutes after the equalizer, Oakland’s Florian Valot got on the end of it after a solid cross, making it 3-2 in favor of Oakland, but it didn’t stop there.
In the 78th minute, Oakland midfielder Wolfgang Prentice got the ball down the left-hand side before squaring it to Wilson, who made it 4-2.
In just seven minutes, Rising went from grabbing their equalizer only to find themselves down two goals again.
With less than 10 minutes remaining, Rising got desperate.
In the 90th minute, a cross from Rising was pinged around, before Phoenix’s Kelvin Arase headered it in, making it 4-3.
“Really good,” Arase said regarding his goal. “But we lost so that’s kind of a mixed feeling.”
Phoenix rushed to the center circle as they looked to equalize.
This also marked Arase’s first goal for Phoenix Rising.
The fourth official added a whopping 10 minutes of stoppage time, and Rising threw themselves forward.
However, in the 100th minute, it all kicked off, as Phoenix’s Luke Biasi fouled Trejo, who retaliated with a kick to the groin, causing players to rush into the area.
“Frustration will kick in when you’re not doing the right things,” Kah said.
Both Biasi and Trejo were shown a straight red, before the referee ended the match.
The final score said it all, as Oakland walked off the pitch with a 4-3 win.
The team seemed deflated by this defeat.
“We have five days to recover,” Kah said. “We were sloppy.”
Rising will visit the Colorado Spring Switchbacks on Saturday at Weidner Field.
