The Republic’s battle to get into the playoffs is over, with their win last week over Whitecaps 2 booking their postseason ticket. Their battle for playoff seeding, home field advantage, and a possible first round bye begins this Saturday when the defending USL champions travel up north to face Portland Timbers 2.

Setting the Table

Although Colorado Springs Switchbacks widened their lead over the rest of the Western Conference with their win over Austin Aztex on Wednesday, the race for the top seed remains close. Although the Republic are 4 points behind first placed Colorado Springs Switchbacks, they have a game in hand over the leaders, meaning that they could potentially be back near level terms by the end of the weekend.

Saturday’s game against T2 does not just represent a way to potentially get within quick striking distance of Colorado Springs, however. If the Republic get all three points from the match, they could put themselves in a good position to move up the table. How much the Republic move on the table depends on the results of matches between other playoff teams, like the OKC vs Colorado Springs game that kicks off just 2 hours prior the Sacramento’s game on Saturday.

Familiar Faces

When they travel up to Portland to face T2, the Republic will also be facing off against some familiar faces. Harrison Delbridge and Jake Gleeson, who were both members of the 2014 USL Championship winning team, have been big contributors so far the T2.

Delbridge, who saw his minutes dry up towards the end of last season with Sacramento, has found fairly regular playing time with T2 this season, with 17 starts this season. The Australian center back is 5th among field players on T2 for minutes played with 1516.

Gleeson, who was in and out of the Republic’s starting spot due to injury in 2014, has also seen a substantial number of minutes for T2 this year. Although he did not play in the team’s 2 most recent games, Gleeson has started 19 games and played 1710 minutes, 2 more games and 293 more minutes than he got in 2014. He has also been busier during his time on the field, racking up 74 saves this season compared to 47 in 2014, an increase of 1.13 saves per game.

Delbridge and Gleeson are not the only familiar faces who could take the field for Sacrmento on Saturday though.

The Return of Ivan Mirković

Saturday’s match against Timbers 2 marks the end of Ivan Mirković’s suspension due to yellow card accumulation and, presumably, his return to the Republic’s starting XI. His return is impeccably timed, coming back just at the turn of the tide, when the Republic has clinched a playoff spot and is gunning for a high seed.

The topic of Mirković’s return was covered extesively in this week’s episode Beeman’s Republic, the official podcast of ICS. In essence his return means 2 things: Sacramento gets back a key player and defensive presence in midfield, and they have a decision to make regarding what formation they will line up in.

Mirković is without a doubt the best defensive midfielder on Sacramento Republic, and when the team was running a 4-3-3 he was utilized well as the holding midfielder in the midfield trio. However, while he has been out on suspension, the Republic returned to a 4-4-2 with Danny Barrera pairing first with JJ Koval then with Agustin Cazarez. That will likely not be a problem, however, since Mirković was a central part of the 4-4-2 that the team ran under Preki.

When it comes down to it, Mirković will still be a key contributor regardless of how the Republic line up. 4-4-2 or 4-3-3, he’ll still provide the same thing: the ability to win the ball back, circulate possession well, and just generally make the opposing team hate life for about 90 minutes.

Player to Watch

Justin Braun comes into Saturday’s game having put in a fantastic shift against Vancouver Whitecaps 2 last week, scoring a brace in what was one of his most impressive performances with the Republic. His performance earned him the ICS Man of the Match award by an overwhelming, near unanimous margin.

Not only did Braun finish chances against Whitecaps 2, his runs and general overall play looked good as well. If Braun can put in a similar caliber performance against Timbers 2, the Republic should have a good chance of walking away with 3 points.

How to Watch

Sacramento Republic FC kick off against Portland Timbers 2 on Saturday at 7pm PDT. It can be viewed, as every USL match can, live on YouTube.