Despite coming out as 4-3 winners on the night over LA Galaxy II on Saturday, Rising coach Rick Schantz was not happy with what he saw on the field.
“Our performance against LA, I thought, was really poor,” Schantz said in his weekly press conference. “The mistakes we made were very, very basic.”
The coach pointed out a variety of errors defensively which cost his side on each of the three goals on the night, and which could have cost Rising at least two points.
“For us to get three points and for us to be disappointed in our performances is kind of where we need to be at this point right now,” Schantz said. “I’ve told them that we have to hold ourselves to higher standards. Yes, while three points on the road, you would take it no matter how you can get it, we know that in that particular game, we created enough chances to probably win six or seven to zero. We just weren’t clinical in the final third, and we made mistakes, and that’s a recipe for disaster.”
Yet it wasn’t just the performance on the field that left Schantz unhappy. The late switch of the game to Dignity Health Sports Park’s Track and Field Stadium saw the team have to traipse across a road into the main part of the complex to access locker rooms – something the team did not do during the half-time break.
“That field was not very good, but I don’t want to make excuses,” he said. “The lights were poor. The locker room situation is unprofessional. Everything about it was difficult.
“What I’ll see tomorrow is a perfect pitch with fantastic lights and wonderful fans, and I expect a different performance. Whenever we’re at home, everyone says that we’re a different team, but the reality is we play on the best field in the league and the best environment.”
Rising is now set to face two games at home this week, but will be without Joe Farrell for the first match. The center-back is suspended for one match after picking up a second yellow card against Galaxy II, a decision that Schantz accepted during his press conference on Tuesday.
Beyond Farrell, the Rising coach stated that there could be ‘one or two’ further changes to the lineup, due to the nature of the busy week.
“We’re a little bit nervous about [Darren] Mattocks,” Schantz said. “Darren hasn’t played a lot and to play three in a week might be a bit tough. We’re contemplating a change. David Egbo was in training today. That was good. I also think Tate Schmitt has been playing a lot and put in a lot of miles, so we may see a change there.”
Rising will face Las Vegas at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Wild Horse Pass.
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