Can we start over? It’ll be a long 119 days from our last match out in Colorado Springs when RIFC kicks off against Phoenix Rising on Saturday night to start the season. We get to turn the page on a new seas-. OK, OK, it wasn’t that bad. RIFC lost 2-0 last weekend in Charleston to a Battery team that were out for revenge. It was not a great start to the campaign but the good news is that our boys in amber and blue are right back at it this weekend out in Phoenix. Phoenix are coming off of a thrilling 4-4 draw and are looking for their first win of the season (more on that later). As always, let’s take a dive into what to expect out of both teams heading into Saturday night.

I really don’t want to relive the opening game against Charleston, but I have to mention a few things. Before I do so, if you want more on that game, check out Timmy’s Player Ratings, where there was certainly not an overabundance of 7/10s.

It was a poor start to the season and my biggest gripe was with the lineup. I’m going to say what I told anyone who would listen to me on Saturday night: this felt like a makeshift lineup. Jojea Kwizera played at Right Wingback, somewhere he hasn’t ever played for RIFC (at least not to my recollection). Taimu Okiyoshi started in midfield, which was also pretty surprising to me. And JJ Williams started on the bench. This is where I was going to say something like “We’ll never know how much of the decision making here was due to fitness reasons and how much was purely tactical”. But once again, procrastination has helped me out. Khano Smith recently indicated that both JJ Williams and Zachary Herivaux were carrying knocks. So one would think that that likely is the reason why they did not start last time out. Hopefully both are fit and ready to go on Saturday night. If they are, this is what I’d like to see:

This is the exact same lineup I had going into the opener except newcomer Aldair Sanchez is at Left Wingback instead of Jojea Kwizera. This is because Kwizera was called up to the Rwandan national team for their upcoming World Cup Qualifiers and will be unavailable. That means that our RWB spot will still be up in the air for at least another few weeks. As I’ve said in previous blogs, that position is the biggest question mark for me this season. Kwizera starting there last time out was an interesting development and I’m curious to see if that ends up being a long-term solution.

The most important thing heading into this one is the midfield. There were a lot of longballs last time out, bypassing the midfield entirely. I think in order to get back to their best, RIFC need to be better in possession through the midfield in order to set up their very talented attacking players. And on the defensive side of things, disrupting the opponent and creating quick transition moments can also lead to scoring opportunities. That is how the team was successful last season and that needs to continue in some form moving forward.

Phoenix Rising come into this one with 1 point in their first 2 matches. The first match was a 1-0 loss at home to FC Tulsa. This was followed up with a thrilling 4-4 draw at El Paso Locomotive. Rising were down 4-1 in the 2nd half before goals from Remi Cabral, Ihsan Sacko and Mohamed Traore rescued the team a point. The Traore goal was an unbelievable shot from the half-way line. Take a look at this awesome angle that the club released:

As we head into this game, Phoenix Rising have a few players I would look out for including a few familiar names:

• Pape Boye (CB)
  • Young 21 year old Defender. Huge potential to play at a higher level. Very comfortable on the ball. Leader in the back line
• Collin Smith (RB)
  • Former RIFC player. Loves to get forward in Phoenix’s system
• Damien Rivera (MF)
  • Rhode Island native, formerly of Tampa Bay Rowdies and New England Revolution. Dangerous when taking defenders on one-on-one
• Remi Cabral (FW)
  • Talented goal scorer. Scored 2 against RIFC in last season’s meeting

Now that RIFC is in its second season, I’m going to be looking forward to watching former players from last season with their new teams. This will be no different Saturday night with Collin Smith. He never got too many opportunities here in RI and I’m curious if Phoenix’s system suits him better.

Speaking of the system, new Phoenix manager Pa-Modou Kah likes to deploy his fullbacks high up the field. The intent with this system is to try to overload wide areas and put in a lot of crosses. A downside here is that it isn’t always easy to cover those wide areas defensively when the ball turns over. It’s a work in progress and the 4-4 draw last time out really epitomizes this. Phoenix conceded 4 goals within the first hour of the game but were able to use their attacking prowess to get back into the game and earn themselves a point.

I think Phoenix is a pretty talented team overall. Their outlook for this game and heading forward is pretty positive. It all really depends on how everything comes together with a new manager and new players adjusting to a new system.

I think this game is ultimately going to come down to what happens on the wings. Phoenix should leave some space in behind for RIFC’s wingbacks and attacking players (Noah Fuson especially) to attack. If RIFC can get the ball forward quickly after turning their opponent over, there should be ample space to exploit. Because of this, I’m predicting a 4-2 RIFC win. I see a lot of goals in this game. I wasn’t that impressed with RIFC’s ability to defend crosses last week, even if the goals came from corners with elite delivery. RIFC hasn’t shown the ability to clear their lines well enough for me to be confident in getting a clean sheet. However, the space that should open up going the other way should help and the team has plenty of attacking talent to start banging in goals.

I will be back next week with the Prematch Lookout to preview matchup with Loudoun United. I plan on being at The Guild on Saturday night for the 10pm kickoff and hope to see everyone there. All that’s left to say now is UP THE TIDE!