Sacramento Republic FC returned home Saturday night after a two-game road trip to face Reno 1868 FC in their second derby match of the week. Republic Manger Simon Elliott rolled out the following starting XI against Reno. Of note, Cameron Iwasa and Villyan Bijev (who are still recovering from injuries) remained out of the 18.
The Quails would strike first in the 12th minute after defender Mitchell Taintor tracked down a ball that wasn’t quite cleared out, and he hit a laser top left corner to give the boys in Old Glory Red a quick 1-0 lead. Without question, this goal will be in consideration for goal of the week, if not goal of the year. It was the exact start the Republic needed. Unfortunately, the momentum from the goal quickly faded.
Reno wasted no time in responding, first leveling the match in the 24th minute on a Corey Hertzog goal and seven minutes later (31st minute), a goal by Brian Brown to give Reno a 2-1 advantage heading into halftime.
1868 FC would add two more goals, including in the 83rd minute on a goal from Raul Mendiola, and Hertzog would get his brace in the 88th minute pushing Reno’s lead to 4-1. It’s the second time in a week the Republic conceded four goals in a match.
With the loss, the Republic move to 4-4-2 (14 points) and are in eighth place, while Reno moves to 4-2-4 (16 points) and into second place in the Western Conference table. Sacramento still has not beaten Reno at Papa Murphy’s Park and are 0-3 all-time at home.
Final Stats:
Sacramento Republic FC: 1 goals, 17 shots, 4 shots on target, 52.5 possession, 9 corners, 2 offsides, 0 yellow cards.
Reno 1868 FC: 4 goals, 14 shots, 8 shots on target, 47.5 possession, 3 corners, 0 offsides, 3 yellow cards.
Republic FC Lineup: Josh Cohen, Shannon Gomez (OUT, 76’), Mitchell Taintor, Hayden Partain (OUT, 63’), Keven Aleman (OUT, 57’), Sam Werner, Drew Skunrich, Tyler Blackwood, Dekel Keinan, Ray Sarri, and Jordan McCrary (OUT, 81’), Ray Saari, Elliott Hord, and Stefano Bonomo (OUT, 78’).
Republic FC Bench: Rafael Diaz, Matt Mahoney (IN, 81’), Haris Chantzopoulos, Jaime Villarreal (IN, 57’), Elliott Hord, Stefano Bonomo (IN, 76’) and Mario Pengars.
Comments
10,000 Years Dungeon! No Trials!
Outside of Sam Werner, the creative performance of this team was horrible. Republic has two playmakers, Bijev and Werner. Everyone else in the mid and front lines can’t work his way out of a paper bag. Our goals in this game and last came about to due defensive blunders and smartly opportunistic shots that were unchallenged. At no point this season has Republic dominated the possession with quality ball control and the field vision is woefully lacking. As for ball striking, if he’s not Iwasa or Taintor, he doesn’t appear to have the ability to shoot with any consistency (I see you, Tyler Blackwood).
As for our new acquisitions, Skundrich is Mr. Mediocrity, Saari has heart, but is also 5’6", McCrary is no Shannon Gomez and makes me want to see Hord play, which is an accomplishment, and Bonomo is a joke.
Where is Jeremy Hall when you need him? Did he just retire from the sport? Did we decide not to resign? If his departure is management’s fault, they should be supplicating him in sackcloth and ashes.
If not for Cohen, we’d be questioning whether we’re going to fight this season against relegation, let alone promotion to MLS.
As for Elliot, twice this week the panic has set in while only one goal down and roughly ten minutes to go. The result in both matches: two more goals scored in short order to make Republic look like total fools. When opportunities present themselves with set pieces, the effort lacks creativity and shows little forethought. That’s on the staff more than the players.
This season’s performance? Totally unacceptable.
By CranstonGorky on 05.12.19 1:32pm