Opponent: Memphis 901 FC
Match Date: Saturday, June 8th
Location: AutoZone Park in Memphis, Tennessee
Kickoff: 6:30pm MT
Last Meeting with Opponent: Memphis 2, Switchbacks 1. May 13th , 2023 at AutoZone Park in the Bluff City. Goals by Luiz Fernando (9’ and 88’) and Romario Williams for the Switchbacks (22’).
How to Listen: XTRA Sports 1300am with the Voices of the Switchbacks, Ryan Kaufman and Roland Vargish – coverage starts at 6pm MT.
Player’s Points: “It’s been really good to get back into the lineup after such a long time out,” said midfielder Zach Zandi. Zandi put in a box-to-box, Man of the Match performance in the Switchbacks’ 1-0 win over the Oakland Roots last Saturday at Weidner Field. The Switchbacks won after a second minute thunderbolt from defender Delentz Pierre. “[I’m] just really happy to be contributing to the team,” continued Zandi. “I feel like I’m getting a little bit better each game – a little bit more comfortable [and] a little bit more back to myself, so if I can continue this, you know, I’d be really happy. I think [Delentz Pierre] was just as surprised as everyone else when that thing flew into the top corner! But you know we’ll take it! “[Memphis] have a lot of good attacking pieces, but it’s really going to be us focusing on ourselves again. That’s been the theme with this win streak [that] we’ve been on, so [Saturday is] just more of the same. Obviously in the last game we felt we weren’t as good as we are normally, so getting back to [being] ourselves is [the] important thing for us.”
Coach Chamber’s Comments: “[Delentz] scored one on Friday the day before the game and then obviously one Saturday – so that would be two,” said Head Coach James Chambers when asked how many thunderbolts Pierre has scored in practice with the Switchbacks. “But [seriously] I’m delighted for him. It was a great goal [and] a great strike and gets us the win in a game that we didn’t perform as well as we would like. “I think the staff behind me have done a terrific job of managing [Zach Zandi] and making sure he can get back and sustain his level. And I still think he’s a little short of [his top form] if I’m being honest. He obviously needs more games to be able to get back to his elite level and hopefully, please God, he stays healthy, and he can continue to do that. I thought [at] Hartford and [on] Saturday were his two best performances for us so far this year.”
Opposition Outlook: “[Memphis] definitely should have gotten something out of the game against San Antonio,” continued Head Coach Chambers. “[Memphis has] scored a lot of goals; they have a lot of attacking firepower. It’s a really tough test for us, but it’s one that we’re looking forward to. We’re in a good vein of form. Results obviously would be nice, but we need to get back to putting [on a good] performance. The last two performances haven’t been as good as we would have liked, so we need to make sure that we focus on that and put our best foot forward. “[Brazilian striker Marlon] was in the league before [with FC Tulsa and Birmingham Legion] and he came back from Israel and [he] started the season a little bit slow, and over the last number of weeks has really taken off [with] lots of goals [and] lots of assists. [He’s] very creative and he’s one of a number of players that we need to be aware of, but also they need to be aware of our attackers too, so it’s a little bit of to-and-fro.”
Vargish’s View: Saturday is a massive test for the Switchbacks. Yes, the Switchbacks and Memphis are only 11 and 12 matches, respectively, into their 2024 USL Championship regular season campaigns, but Saturday’s opponents are separated by just a single point in the Western Conference. The fact that the Switchbacks have a murderous upcoming schedule that includes three matches in just eight days piles further importance on this weekend’s clash. The Switchbacks must limit space for Memphis’ prodigious attacking talent, first and foremost being the aforementioned Marlon. If the match is wide open, both teams will easily find space to score and run up their offensive stats. One imagines the more fruitful gameplan for the Switchbacks will be to stymie Memphis and hit clinically on the counterattack.
