Las Vegas Lights (2 wins, 3 draws and 4 losses) currently sit in last place in the Group B table. The team is four points adrft at the bottom, but does have two games in hand over 4th place San Diego Loyal.
This is the second meeting between Rising and Las Vegas at Cashman Field this season, and the fifth overall at the stadium. Rising has won two, drawn one and lost one of the previous encounters.
In the last encounter 14 days ago, Rising led for over 90 minutes of gameplay, but it wasn’t enough to bring home the three points. Rufat Dadashov gave Rising the lead just five minutes into the match, and Junior Flemmings doubled the advantage in the second half. Yamikani Chester brought one back for the hosts, but the game looked to be over after Solomon Asante tucked away a penalty as the clock ticked over to 90. However, Malik Badawi’s stoppage time came to Lights’ rescue, with an A.J. Cochran own goal in the 96th minute and Ramón del Campo’s equalizer in the 99th minute rescuing a point for the Nevadan team.
IN FORM
Vegas has played three times since facing Rising: a victory over Orange County, a road loss to LA Galaxy II and a point at home on Wednesday against San Diego Loyal.
Ramón Del Campo found the equalizer for Lights against Rising, and he followed that up with another goal in the subsequent game. However, he’s been out ever since through injury, and it’s unclear if he’ll be available for tonight’s match.
In Del Campo’s absence, fellow center-back Johnny Fenwick has had to step up; and it certainly looks like he has, winning over 80% of duels in those three games. The absence of Fenwick’s usual partner at the back seems to be increasing the pressure on him, though, as he’s been forced to make as many clearances in those two matches (12) as he has in the other six he’s played this season. The Englishman also took the opportunity to bag his first goal of the season away to Los Dos.
Yamikani Chester scored Vegas’ first goal against Rising, which makes it two in his last three appearances. In the game before, he recorded his sole assist of the season. Chester really needs to work on his shooting accuracy, though, as those two goals are the only shots on target he’s had all season. The remaining 85% of his shots have failed to challenge the opposition keeper.
32-year-old Salvadoran midfielder Junior Burgos is certainly getting his shots off. He’s averaging 4.5 per 90 minutes since Lights faced Rising, and two-thirds of those are on target. Despite this being the highest average on his team, he hasn’t managed to find the net over those three games. What he is doing, however, is averaging 2.5 chances created per 90 over the spell, which led to him picking up two assists.
The man described as “a thorn in my side forever” by Rick Schantz has certainly been making an impact off the bench. Blake Frischknecht currently leads the Vegas team in goals, despite not making a single start. How’s that for an impact sub? Intriguingly, he’s had just one shot per game in each of those matches since his team faced Rising, and every single one has hit the back of the net. Schantz compared Frischknecht, who have faced each other since they competed in the PDL, to Rising’s Rufat Dadashov, in that he’s a physical presence who never stops moving.
Quincy Amarikwa could potentially make his Vegas debut tonight. The 32-year-old forward signed as a free agent for the Nevadan club this week, but hasn’t played a match since last year. A.J. Cochran, who faced Amarikwa in MLS, earlier this week described him as a threat, and the new signing definitely brings experience with over 200 appearances in the top flight. That might sound impressive, but he’s never managed to make it into double-digits for goals in a season at any stage of his professional career.
TACTICAL APPROACH
Vegas is coached by former Rising boss Frank Yallop. Yallop led Phoenix during its transition from Arizona United, but left shortly after the arrival of Didier Drogba. He took over at Vegas during the season stoppage, after Eric Wynalda was fired by the club.
According to Schantz, RIsing expects Lights to line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. That’s no surprise – it’s how the club has lined up in all but one of its matches under Yallop. It’s also very similar to how Vegas played for the majority of the season under Wynalda last year.
“They like to get the ball wide and get the service into the box,” Cochran said of Vegas’ attacking style earlier this week. His coach agreed, pointing out that that defending crosses has been a challenge for Phoenix this season.
The club’s fairly direct style of play can be seen in its stats for the season. Vegas is currently averaging 47% of possession, and has completed the lowest numbers of passes per game in Group B. In fact, Lights is averaging over 15% less passes per game than San Diego, who have the most in the group.
Rising should be looking to convert early this evening, just as they did two weeks ago. Vegas is fairly weak at that point in the game, conceding one-third of all goals this season during the first 15 minutes. However, they also need to be vigilant defensively as the game progresses, with two-thirds of Vegas’ goals scored after the hour mark.
ONE TOP TALKING POINT
A couple of poor games on the road led to no shortage of grumbling on social media. How do Rising’s A.J. Cochran and Rick Schantz deal with the criticism that gets lobbed in their direction online?
From the Ashes Prediction: Rising put their poor road form behind them, and pick up three points with some ease.