USL Sacramento Republic FC

Sacramento Republic FC cruise to victory to close out the regular season

October 4, 2020 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Sacramento Republic FC News Release


SACRAMENTO, California - Republic FC finished the regular season on a high note with a 4-0 win over Portland Timbers 2 at Papa Murphy's Park on Saturday night.

The victory for Mark Briggs' men elevated SRFC's total points tally on the campaign up to 30 before the boys in Old Glory Red begin their playoff journey next weekend for a seventh consecutive trip to the postseason.

Saturday night's win was the fourth time during the 2020 season that Republic FC claimed all three points over T2 and the shutout was the fifth time this season Sacramento blanked its opponent - the first clean sheet for Republic FC since August 12.

The Indomitable Club's first on the night came in just the second minute of the match when Dariusz Formella scored his first of two goals against Portland. Villyan Bijev put pressure on the visiting goalkeeper and after an inability to clear, Bijev with the ball close to the end line picked out Formella entering the box and with his first touch the Polish playmaker steered his shot low and by Leeker to lift his side to a 1-0 lead.

Saturday night was Dariusz Formella's third brace scored this season.

It took all of two minutes later for Formella to bag his brace when Kharlton Belmar with possession on the right flank found Rodrigo Lopez in the center of the pitch and delivered a perfect pass to RoRo who wasted no time moving the ball to Formella. With an eye for goal already, Formella curled his effort into net to double the hosts lead and elevated his goalscoring tally on the year up to a team-high eight goals.

In the ninth minute, Republic FC made it 3-0 when after some nifty team passing to set up Formella on the left flank, the attacker with two goals to his name already whipped in a cross that met Jaime Villarreal on the top of the goalkeeper's box. Villarreal nodded his attempt towards the back post and his headed effort dipped just inside the woodwork to net his second goal this season.

But perhaps the best of the bunch was the squad's fourth and final goal of the game when Bijev provided a moment of magic with a stunning left-footed curling effort that the Bulgarian-born winger tucked inside the top far corner for a 4-0 first half advantage. Bijev's goal - the fourth goal of the year for him - was a beauty he created by cutting inside from the right wing after RoRo spotted him and as Bijev barreled towards the middle of the field the former Liverpool FC playmaker fired his scintillating effort on target and into net.

Villyan Bijev bagged one goal and one assist against T2 on Saturday night.

Despite four goals in the first half, Republic FC couldn't might manage to muster up a fifth, but goalkeeper Rafael Diaz was called into action a number of times on the night to preserve the shutout. The clean sheet was Rafa's fourth in net this season after the Sacramento shot stopper made eight saves against T2 on Saturday.

Next up for the boys in Old Glory Red is an opening round playoff trip to Phoenix Rising FC on Saturday, October 10. Kickoff for the Western Conference Quarterfinal matchup is set for 7:30 p.m. PT.

Sacramento Republic FC 4-0 Portland Timbers 2

USL Championship

Papa Murphy's Park, Sacramento, CA

October 3, 2020

Scoring Summary: SAC - Dariusz Formella (Villyan Bijev) 2', Formella (Rodrigo Lopez) 4', Jaime Villarreal (Formella) 9', Villyan Bijev (Rodrigo Lopez) 25'

Misconduct Summary: SAC - Kharlton Belmar (caution) 16', Jordan McCrary (caution) 22', Jaime Villarreal (caution) 42', Dekel Keinan (caution) 67', Juan Barahona (caution) 85', Frank Lopez (caution) 90'; POR - Harold Hanson (caution) 45', Ken Krolicki (caution) 45'.

Sacramento Republic FC - Rafael Diaz; Juan Barahona, Tomas Hilliard-Arce, Dekel Keinan (Hayden Sargis 69'), Jordan McCrary (Shannon Gomez 45'), Rodrigo Lopez ©, Jaime Villarreal (Cameron Iwasa 45'), Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu (Rafael Jauregio 69'), Villyan Bijev, Dariusz Formella, Kharlton Belmar (Frank Lopez 45').

Unused substitutes: Brady Scott, Julian Chavez.

Stats- Shots: 10, Shots on Goal: 6, Saves: 8, Fouls: 21, Corner Kicks: 3, Offsides: 5.

Portland Timbers 2-Jake Leeker;Williams Velasquez, Harold Hanson, Mamadou Danso © (Max Ornstil 45'), Aedan Stanley, Aaron Molloy, Jose Anguiano, Marcus Epps, Ken Krolicki (Cullen Wilkerson 84'), Jorge Gonzalez, Tega Ikoba (Dyson Clapier 64').

Unused substitutes: Hunter Sulte, Caleb Kiner, Salvador Villegas, Giovanni Calixtro.

Stats- Shots: 12, Shots on Goal: 7, Saves: 2, Fouls: 14, Corner Kicks: 2, Offsides: 0.

Check out the Sacramento Republic FC Statistics



United Soccer League Championship Stories from October 4, 2020


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central