Rising will face Orange County for the second game in succession at Championship Soccer Stadium tonight (KO: 7pm). Rising coach Rick Schantz and defender Corey Whelan spoke this past week about some of the bigger talking points going into tonight’s game.

LAST MEETING

Phoenix and OC faced off just nine days ago, ending in a 1-1 draw. Junior Flemmings opened the scoring in the 64th minute from a Solomon Asante corner that was flicked on by Rufat Dadashov. Kevin Coleman drew the teams level ten minute later, breaking past a sleeping Rising back line and firing just before Corey Whelan could catch up to him.

Rising’s performance was questioned on social media, and Schantz agreed that there was room for improvement. “I thought that we played a little bit tense to start,” he said. “We weren’t good on the ball. Our possession…we struggled a little bit.”

That sentiment was echoed by Whelan, who said that everyone on the team knows that “the performance wasn’t good enough.”

“I think we played into Orange County’s hands almost,” he added.

Rising did have the upper hand in possession, with 54.1%, but failed to take advantage of a variety of chances. Of the 18 shots taken by Rising over the 90 minutes, only two were directed towards 18-year-old Aaron Cervantes’ goal. The percentage of Rising’s shots that hit the target (11.1%) was actually significantly less than the team’s conversion rate (18.4% of shots resulting in goals) last season.

Flemmings bagged himself the man-of-the-match crown after finding his third goal in as many games. Over the course of the match, he played on the wing, in the center of midfield and up front.

“Whenever we did get the ball to Flemmo, we looked dangerous,” Whelan said. “Flemmo, I thought, was outstanding the other day.”

Yet Flemmings also put a few chances wide late in the game that could have handed Rising the extra two points. Similarly, Dadashov failed to hit the target with a pair of headers that probably should have caused more trouble for Cervantes.

Whelan suggested that the team will need to focus on how to play its own game: higher intensity, with a lot of pressing and finding playmakers up front. While there is disappointment at how the last game ended, there are positives as well.

“One moment in the game happens, and the ball is in the back of the net and we only go away with a point,” he said, “but looking back in a couple of weeks time, in a month or two, will that be a bad point? Probably not.”

PLAYING CONDITIONS

Orange County’s pitch drew no shortage of attention after the game, with Rising captain Solomon Asante saying it “wasn’t playable” on Twitter after the match.

At this week’s press conference, Schantz said the field had been badly damaged by fertilizer, but painted green to make it look more attractive for the ESPN2 broadcast.

“When you paint fields, it makes it extremely sticky and the ball doesn’t roll very well, and it also makes the field very hard,” he said. “We had requested for them to wet the field before the match, and they said they couldn’t because the paint would run off and would end up everywhere.”

Whelan was quick to point out that the field was not an excuse for the team’s performance, but highlighted another issue that day.

“We were struggling sometimes with the balls being flat, which is something you don’t see in the modern-day game very often,” he said, later adding that having to kick several balls off during the game did have an impact on Rising’s rhythm.

However, Whelan did concede that that he would prefer to play on Orange County’s painted grass than on some of the baseball fields in the league, which he believes are more prone to cause player injuries.

In a response to the Arizona Republic, Orange County’s general manager Oliver Wyss dismissed the complaints about the field as “trivial excuses.”

Both Schantz and Whelan are expecting the conditions to be exactly the same when they return tonight.

“Are they a little bit more used to it?” Whelan asked. “Did they do it on purpose? I don’t know. I don’t know the ins and outs, but that’s what we’re going to face [this week] as well.”

Neither Schantz nor Whelan wanted the conditions to be considered an excuse for their performance in the last game, but the question is: if Rising doesn’t adapt its gameplan to conditions that they know will be waiting for them, and points are dropped again, can that really be excused?

FULL BACKS

Rising will be forced into at least one change this week. Owusu-Ansah Kontoh will miss the match after receiving a red card in stoppage time for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

“It was a good foul,” Schantz said, “but he should have never been in that situation in the first place.”

Kontoh’s suspension could open the door to a return for Kyle Bjornethun, although some fans have suggested that Whelan could instead move over to the left.

What will also be interesting to watch is how the absence of Kontoh affects Orange County’s gameplan. Nine days ago, it was clear that the hosts targeted their ex-player’s left-hand side, although their best chances still came from long balls through the middle.

More broadly, there could be some difference in how the full backs look to play, as Schantz wasn’t best impressed with the last game.

“Ultimately I think Darnell [King] and Kontoh played too passive in this game,” Schantz said, adding that their conservative playing style contrasted with his own philosophies. “I thought they dropped off and gave Orange County too much room out wide, so when we were pressing, it was easy for them to break through the midfield on us.”

MIDFIELD

Rising’s midfield trio was certainly underwhelming against Orange County, with both Sam Stanton and Jon Bakero withdrawn by Schantz during the second half.

The trio featured just one change from the previous match, with Stanton replacing Jordan Schweitzer. Against Los Dos, the latter played surprisingly further forward on the pitch than anticipated.

“We tend to treat our midfielders as if they’re all 8s,” Schantz said. “They’re not defensive midfielders. They’re not attacking midfielders. They’re central midfielders.”

The trio that faced off against Orange County was Rising’s original starting group, but don’t be surprised if Schantz tinkers with it tonight.

“At the start of the season, with Sam, Jon and Kev, we felt really really good about that group,” he said, “but coronavirus and four months off has really impacted some of their fitness levels, and I think you’ll see more changes.”

Jack Barmby is one option. He missed the Los Dos game while recovering to full fitness after catching COVID-19. After being listed on the bench last week, he could be set to make his Rising debut this week.

A more unexpected option could be putting Flemmings in the center of the park, as opposed to the wing. That could open up room for Santi Moar to start the game. We did see Flemmings play there briefly last week, as well as with Jamaica at the 2019 Gold Cup.

“We’ve always known he can do it,” Schantz said. “It’s like putting the Energizer bunny in the middle of the field and turning him loose. No one can run as much as that guy, and no one’s as strong as that guy.”

A FEW MORE TALKING POINTS

• It wasn’t a great game back for AJ Cochran last week, with his positioning playing a role in both the goal and Kontoh’s red card. There’s pressure from some fans to revert back to Joey Farrell alongside Whelan for tonight’s game – but who will Schantz pick?
• Orange County certainly didn’t shy away from a physical game last week, with Daniel Crisostomo in particular launching into at least on challenge that perhaps should have resulted in a card. Will OC play similarly this week, and could a different referee take a different approach?
• Chandler Hoffman made his debut for Orange County last week, but didn’t have much of an opportunity to impact the game. Will the experienced striker, who has four double-digit goal seasons in USL to his name, play an important role in this rematch?

From the Ashes Prediction: Rising will be frustrated for most of the game, but will just sneak out with a win from a second half goal.