Safe to say, the four games in which Jack Gurr was absent from the starting lineup for Sacramento Republic FC over the past month were frustrating for the Englishman.

“The last few weeks have been horrible for me,” he said. “It’s the first time I’ve been out with an injury. I just wanted to come back and have a big performance and do what I could for the team.”

Mission accomplished.

A thrilling performance by the Newcastle native matched by teammate Keko saw Republic FC break its longest winless streak of the season in a 4-0 victory against Phoenix Rising FC that saw the USL Championship’s Western Conference leaders back to their imperious best at Heart Health Park on Wednesday night.

Making his first start since suffering an injury in Sacramento’s 3-1 victory against San Antonio FC on June 25, Gurr’s importance to the side’s attacking structure was in evidence throughout the night. He set up Keko for the opening goal after 20 minutes, sticking to the right touchline to create a cushion on his defender before cutting inside onto his left foot and delivering an inch-perfect cross the Spaniard headed home at the back post.

The duo combined again to create the second, passing and moving to create space for Keko’s deflected cross to cause a scramble at the top of the six-yard area that Russell Cicerone put home for his league-leading 11th goal of the year. The coup de grace came two minutes before the break as Gurr released Keko with a header down the right flank and then shifted through the gears without a defender tracking him to receive a return pass at the top-right edge of the penalty area before burying his fifth goal of the season.

“It’s always good to play with a player like Keko,” said Gurr. “I think we play together well.”

It was another vintage display by a team that at its peak looks capable of dismantling any defense put in its path.

“We wanted to show what we’re about – our energy,” said Gurr. “We want other teams to be scared to come here [to Heart Health Park] and play, and we've got to show them that in the first 15 minutes, we’re coming out and we’re going to match whatever you bring.”

Keko – whose energy is palpable as he whirrs around the field with the ball at his feet – provided plenty to go alongside Gurr, but the 27-year-old’s return felt like a difference maker. By the numbers, in league games Gurr has started this season, Sacramento has now recorded 1.9 goals per game and averaged 2.1 points per game. Without, those numbers drop to 0.5 goals per game and 0.8 points per game over the four games he was absent from the starting lineup.

After the disappointment of last Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to New Mexico United, it was exactly the response Head Coach Mark Briggs was hoping to see.

“We shared a quote before the game that says ‘good teams bounce back when they lose a game,’” said Briggs, who earned his 50th win as Republic FC’s Head Coach with the result. “Tonight, I felt we bounced back in emphatic fashion. We scored four goals in the first half and then tightened up defensively half to keep a clean sheet, so I couldn’t ask for any more from the guys.”

The result also saw Sacramento defeat one of the teams that has consistently proven a thorn in its side over the years. Phoenix had gone undefeated in its past 10 meetings with Republic FC, a run dating back to the 2018 season, but after an early shot by Fede Valverde clipped the top of the crossbar and Manuel Arteaga put the side’s best chance of the first half off target, the visitors were never properly in the contest after the halftime break as they remain below the playoff line.

With a four-game road trip ahead – starting in Las Vegas on Saturday night – Gurr and his teammates will be aiming to replicate the energy and quality they showed for the grind ahead as their pursuit of silverware at the end of the season continues.

“It’s a big one that we needed, and we’re still at the top [of the Western Conference],” said Gurr. “Now we’ll go away for a few weeks. We’ll need that fight and that desire that we showed tonight when we’re away from home as well.”