Tucker Bone leads Republic FC past Las Vegas Lights FC to end a nine-match skid

Las Vegas Lights FC hosted Sacramento Republic FC at Cashman Field last night and the visitors were able to end a nine-match winless run with a 2-1 victory. Tucker Bone scored twice in the first half before Julian Gaines pulled one back in the second half.

Key Stat

Outshot five to three on goal: While this isn’t a massive disparity, the Lights held a major edge in possession, corner kicks, and had one more total shot. That should have been a recipe for putting shots on target and more chances for goals, but they could only muster 3/13 shooting accuracy on the night.

Three Brightest Lights

(BGN Man of the Match) Julian Gaines: The 18-year-old scored the lone goal for Las Vegas from close range on a corner kick. He added five tackles and attempted four crosses on the night.

Cal Jennings: He was able to assist on Gaines’ goal and also had six shots himself (two on target). Jennings had a great chance to cut the lead in the first half, but a perfectly-timed challenge ended that opportunity in the box.

Danny Crisostomo: The Las Vegas captain completed 54/59 passes, created two chances, and intercepted a pass. He was instrumental in the Lights controlling the midfield.

Quick Kicks

• While Las Vegas were still the underdog according to the Westgate, this was a very winnable match against a club that had not won since May 12th (also vs. the Lights) entering the match. It’s less pressure to play against a club that you shouldn’t beat on paper, but this was not one of those matches and is a frustrating result for Steve Cherundolo’s side at home.
• The opening goal came on a long throw-in and nobody marked Bone in time to block his shot. His second goal was completely unacceptable as Alvaro Quezada and Mohamed Traore both closed him down near the Sacramento bench, but the Air Force Academy product split the two of them and beat Alex Rando. A poor effort defensively combined with a stellar offensive display from Bone was bad news for the Lights.
• In addition to a nice performance from Crisostomo in the midfield, Frank Daroma completed 100% of his 32 attempted passes and also had one chance created.
• Big performance from Mamadou Fall on the backline. He finished with six clearances, four interceptions, and 80% passing accuracy.
• With Tomas Romero manning the goal for LAFC lately, Alex Rando will be locked in as the first-choice goalkeeper. Donovan Palomares has served as Rando’s backup recently as Duncan Turnbull’s time with the club has likely met an unceremonious end. On loan from Portsmouth FC, he never made an appearance for Lights FC and his contract with Portsmouth expired at the end of June.
• The attack was lacking a bit of explosiveness and flair last night. Jennings had a solid performance, but he didn’t have much help. Las Vegas got zero combined shots from Bryce Duke, Roberto Molina, Erik Duenas, Julian Vazquez, and Christian Torres. That is not a recipe for success going forward.

What’s Next?

Lights FC will head to the Lonestar State to face El Paso Locomotive FC on Saturday night. Mark Lowry’s side sits atop the latest USL Championship Power Rankings and won their last match vs. Real Monarchs SLC.