Rising’s win last Saturday against Sacramento was an impressive performance in many aspects against a higher-ranked team. Many things stood out from the game. One of the most notable was that they managed to keep 11 men on the field for the first time in three games. For a team that has quickly risen to 4th in USL’s red card table, this was a welcome change.
On their recent road trip, three Rising players were sent off. Dia and Mala saw red against Rio Grande Valley, with Gray joining the list against Orange County. In both cases, Phoenix went on to throw away their 1-0 leads. Even in the win over Los Dos, Woszczynski was lucky to stay on the pitch after he appeared to deny an obvious goal scoring opportunity early on.
Of course, we can question whether the red cards for Rising on the road are fair; but if we do, we ignore that the players are giving referees decisions to make. Recently, Rising have been too keen to go to ground in an attempt to win the ball. The challenge that resulted in Mala’s sending off was unnecessary given its context, and Gray’s lunge seemed to be in desperation after his touch saw the ball get away from him. Even against Sacramento, Wakasa appeared lucky to get away with only a yellow card after sliding in. Needless challenges like these aren’t going to do Phoenix any favors.
Since July 1st, there have been 15 red cards shown to players in the Western Conference. If we ignore the reds shown in injury time, as their impact is much more limited, there have been 9 occasions of a team having a man (or two man) advantage.
The results of these games show just how costly a lack of discipline can be. Five times, the team playing a man down conceded a goal. Four of these goals changed the outcome of the match. Only once did the team playing short score: when Orange County rescued a late point against Portland, after two of their players and one of their opponents were sent off for fighting.
Time is quickly running out this season. As we move into September, if Rising are to make a serious run for the postseason, they’re going to have to cut out the cards. A couple of points dropped through indiscipline could be the difference between finishing 8th or 9th.