Phoenix Rising FC Match Preview presented by NAU
Rising FC (11-8-9) begins another run of three games in eight days this Saturday, September 16 (7:30 p.m.) vs. Detroit City FC (9-12-7) in Phoenix on Hispanic Heritage Night.
“We want to get on the scoresheet and continue the good momentum we have had defensively,” said Rising Head Coach Juan Guerra. “We have two clean sheets in a row. Our aim is to try and make it three, especially playing at home.”
Detroit is coming off a run of seven home matches in its last 10 dating back to July 12. City used that home-field advantage to climb back into the playoff picture by going 5-2-3 over that stretch, but they’re not at home this weekend.
“We love playing at home,” said Guerra. “The heat is coming down a bit, more and more people are coming out to support the team and that’s important in helping us to finish the regular season strong.”
Phoenix is also beginning its own run of home matches.
“Having four of the final six at home is important, but the number one priority right now is Detroit,” said Guerra. “We don’t want to look further than that. We have Detroit at home in front of our people and we have a squad that is 95% healthy. We’re living with good momentum.”
Detroit has been living well as of late also. But sitting in the eighth and final playoff position in the Eastern Conference, City has won just three away matches (3-7-4). In each of those three wins, Detroit needed three goals to steal three points from hostile territory. That will be a tough task facing a defense that has given up just 0.66 goals per game since center back John Stenberg started his first match on August 12.
Stenberg’s arrival coincided with homegrown product Jose Andres Hernandez’s first start in seven games, but since August 5, he has started six consecutive matches.
“It’s been solid,” said Hernandez. “I wanted to show I can step into a leadership role here. It’s good to have the team behind you, supporting you. That has made it easy. [Saturday’s match] depends on how Detroit shows up. We’ll be prepared whether they sit in or come out and press us. We need to create and be clinical – have a killer instinct.”
“This is the time of year I love the most,” added Guerra. “Everyone is fighting for something. Every game means something. Every point is important. This is the time of the year when you see who’s who. It’s important for us to be at home this time of year – when the games mean a lot.”
