Roots began their two game road trip in Albuquerque, New Mexico to face off against New Mexico United for the first time in both club’s histories. Roots went down early, conceding a goal in the sixth minute as New Mexico United dominated possession in the first half with six shots on target. However, in the 34th minute Roots found the back of the next off of yet another free kick goal from the captain Wal Fall, this time from 30 yards out.
The team settled in a bit more in the second half, continuing to exchange shots with New Mexico. Johnny Rodriguez made his USL Championship in the 55th minute after suffering an injury in preseason. From there Roots had to focus more on defense to maintain the draw and continue the unbeaten streak with three more games to be played in the next ten days.
Roots look to continue the unbeaten run on the road in Las Vegas this Saturday, 8/21.
Roots began their two game road trip in Albuquerque, New Mexico to face off against New Mexico United for the first time in both club’s histories. Roots went down early, conceding a goal in the sixth minute as New Mexico United dominated possession in the first half with six shots on target. However, in the 34th minute Roots found the back of the next off of yet another free kick goal from the captain Wal Fall, this time from 30 yards out.
The team settled in a bit more in the second half, continuing to exchange shots with New Mexico. Johnny Rodriguez made his USL Championship in the 55th minute after suffering an injury in preseason. From there Roots had to focus more on defense to maintain the draw and continue the unbeaten streak with three more games to be played in the next ten days.
Roots look to continue the unbeaten run on the road in Las Vegas this Saturday, 8/21.
Head Coach Jordan Ferrell:
Three game unbeaten run, what can you say about how things are coming together?
It’s a decent result, but I think tonight we feel like we dropped two. It’s not a good feeling, but it’s a better feeling than we’ve had recently where we’ve been happy to get one point. I think it shows how this group is coming together. This is a difficult place to play with the elevation and this is a very good team that doesn’t concede many goals. I think we want to keep building, the momentum we have right now is very important with where we’re at this season.
How important was Paul Blanchette in the first 20 minutes of the game? He did a lot to keep it from getting out of hand early.
Paul has been really solid for us, he’s just steady. He made a lot of really good decisions that helped the team and in those moments made some really big saves that helped us get out of that period and settle into the game. Once that happened, we didn't have to call on him as much.
Another goal from Wal Fall, what can you say about his performance on the field these past few games?
Yeah he’s our captain, and obviously it’s taken a while this season for us to get him there but the goals are one thing and you see the leadership on the field which makes a big difference for us. How he makes other players around him better, he’s a big piece that’s been missing for us. As he continues catching a rhythm he’ll keep showing why he’s so important for us.
Oakland Roots SC vs New Mexico United
USL Championship | August 18, 2021
Venue: Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park.
Kickoff: 7:30 PM PST
Weather: 78 degrees Cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY:
NM: Devon Sandoval 6’
OAK: Wal Fall 34’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:
NM: Amando Moreno 83’
OAKLAND ROOTS LINEUP: Soya Takahashi, Wal Fall, Matias Fissore (Lindo Mfeka,79’), Jesus Enriquez (Yohannes Harish 70’), Akeem O’Connor-Ward, Jose Hernandez (Ariel Mbumba 70’), Paul Blanchette, Emrah Klimenta, Quincy Amarikwa (Max Ornstil 79’), Brandon Allen (Johnny Rodriguez 55’) , Kai Greene
Unused subs: Memo Diaz, Taylor Bailey
Shots: 5 | Shots On Goal: 3 | Corner Kicks: 3 | Fouls: 9 | Offside: 3 |
NEW MEXICO UNITED: Alex Tambakis, Austin Yearwood, Justin Shmidt, Rashid Tetteh, Josh Suggs (Harry Swartz 61’), Juan Pablo Guzman, Andrew Tinari (Chris Wehan 61’), David Najem (Isidro Martinez 78’), Amando Moreno, Sergio Rivas, Devon Sandoval (Llija Llic 65’)
Unused subs: Will Palmquist, Micheal Azira, Daniel Bruce
Shots: 16 | Shots On Goal: 6 | Corner Kicks: 4 | Fouls: 15 | Offside: 4 |
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Elton Garcia
Assistant Referee 1: Ricardo Ocampo
Assistant Referee 2: Matthew Seem
4th Official: Cuauhtemoc Delgadillo
Head Coach Jordan Ferrell:
Three game unbeaten run, what can you say about how things are coming together?
It’s a decent result, but I think tonight we feel like we dropped two. It’s not a good feeling, but it’s a better feeling than we’ve had recently where we’ve been happy to get one point. I think it shows how this group is coming together. This is a difficult place to play with the elevation and this is a very good team that doesn’t concede many goals. I think we want to keep building, the momentum we have right now is very important with where we’re at this season.
How important was Paul Blanchette in the first 20 minutes of the game? He did a lot to keep it from getting out of hand early.
Paul has been really solid for us, he’s just steady. He made a lot of really good decisions that helped the team and in those moments made some really big saves that helped us get out of that period and settle into the game. Once that happened, we didn’t have to call on him as much.
Another goal from Wal Fall, what can you say about his performance on the field these past few games?
Yeah he’s our captain, and obviously it’s taken a while this season for us to get him there but the goals are one thing and you see the leadership on the field which makes a big difference for us. How he makes other players around him better, he’s a big piece that’s been missing for us. As he continues catching a rhythm he’ll keep showing why he’s so important for us.
Oakland Roots SC vs New Mexico United
USL Championship | August 18, 2021
Venue: Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park.
Kickoff: 7:30 PM PST
Weather: 78 degrees Cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY:
NM: Devon Sandoval 6’
OAK: Wal Fall 34’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:
NM: Amando Moreno 83’
OAKLAND ROOTS LINEUP: Soya Takahashi, Wal Fall, Matias Fissore (Lindo Mfeka,79’), Jesus Enriquez (Yohannes Harish 70’), Akeem O’Connor-Ward, Jose Hernandez (Ariel Mbumba 70’), Paul Blanchette, Emrah Klimenta, Quincy Amarikwa (Max Ornstil 79’), Brandon Allen (Johnny Rodriguez 55’) , Kai Greene
Unused subs: Memo Diaz, Taylor Bailey
Shots: 5 | Shots On Goal: 3 | Corner Kicks: 3 | Fouls: 9 | Offside: 3 |
NEW MEXICO UNITED: Alex Tambakis, Austin Yearwood, Justin Shmidt, Rashid Tetteh, Josh Suggs (Harry Swartz 61’), Juan Pablo Guzman, Andrew Tinari (Chris Wehan 61’), David Najem (Isidro Martinez 78’), Amando Moreno, Sergio Rivas, Devon Sandoval (Llija Llic 65’)
Unused subs: Will Palmquist, Micheal Azira, Daniel Bruce
Shots: 16 | Shots On Goal: 6 | Corner Kicks: 4 | Fouls: 15 | Offside: 4 |
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Elton Garcia
Assistant Referee 1: Ricardo Ocampo
Assistant Referee 2: Matthew Seem
4th Official: Cuauhtemoc Delgadillo
