Oakland saw more shots and had more possession than its East Coast rival, but former U.S. Men’s National Team Player Tab Ramos’ Hartford Athletic capitalized on a few transition opportunities to flip the script at Cal State, East Bay in Hayward on Saturday night.
Oakland Roots started on the front foot with Edgardo Rito finding space down the right flank and swinging in a few dangerous crosses. On the opposite side, Memo Diaz also found some joy, but there was a lack of penetration through the middle of the field for Oakland.
In the 31st minute, Hartford jumped on a counterattack by isolating Oakland’s right side, which led to an easy finish for Hartford forward Prince Saydee. Five minutes later, Roots’ defense was undone again, this time by a nice individual effort by Jeciel Cedeno.
In the second 45 minutes, Oakland Roots urged on by 4,036 fans in attendance, pushed into Hartford’s half, searching for a way back into the game. The breakthrough came in the 73rd minute when Darek Formella scored a penalty for his second goal of the season. Oakland Roots pressed on for an equalizer, but time ran out as Hartford came away with all three points.
Next up for Oakland Roots is a trip to Leesburg, Virginia, for a USL league match against Loudoun United on Sunday, April 23. Roots will then return to California for a knockout round Open Cup match against Sacramento Republic (April 26) before returning home to Cal State, East Bay to face Miami FC on Saturday, April 29.
Hearing from Head Coach Noah Delgado
Tough loss, Noah. What were your takeaways from the match?
There were some errors early on and we let through some chances. We created a lot of chances tonight, in the second half we were pretty dominant. I’m happy with the team and the way we reacted — to come back from two goals is always tough.
What was Hartford able to do that exploited the Roots’ defense?
We knew they transitioned well and are good at getting numbers ahead. They did a good job at that and had some good counter movements with their wing players and players centrally. Daniel Barrera came in underneath in a central area and made our center backs work really hard.
Oakland Roots SC vs Hartford Athletic
USL Championship | April 15, 2023
Venue: Cal State University, East Bay, Hayward, California
Kickoff: 7:00 PM PT
Weather: 56° degrees, clear
SCORELINE:
OAK: 1
HFD: 2
SCORING SUMMARY:
HFD: 31’ Prince Saydee
HFD: 35’ Jeciel Cedeno
OAK: 73’ Darek Formella
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:
OAK: 26’ Johnny Rodriguez (yellow card)
HFD: 42’ Tristan Hodge (yellow card)
HFD: 71’ Jeciel Cedeno (yellow card)
HFD: 73’ Kyle Edwards (yellow card)
HFD: 90+2’ Richard Sanchez (yellow card)
OAKLAND ROOTS LINEUP: Paul Blanchette; Bryan Tamacas, Tarek Morad, Danny Barbir, Edgardo Rito, Joseph Nane (Neveal Hackshaw), Irakoze Donasiyano, Memo Diaz (Kevin Wright), Lindo Mfeka, Darek Formella, Johnny Rodriguez (Anuar Peláez)
Unused subs: Trayvone Reid, Taylor Bailey, Ethan Kohler, Drew Murray
Shots: 16 | Shots On Goal: 3 | Corner Kicks: 13 | Fouls: 9 | Offside: 2 |
HARTFORD ATHLETIC LINEUP: Richard Sanchez; Niall Logue, Kaven Rad, Matt Sheldon, Triston Hodge, Daniel Barrera (Luke Merrill), Jeciel Cedeno, Connor McGlynn (Ashkanov Apollon), Antoine Hoppenot (Jonathan Filipe), Prince Saydee, Kyle Edwards
Unused subs: Joe Rice, Robin Lapert, Abdel Yacoubou “Tulu”, Beverly Makangila
Shots: 6 | Shots On Goal: 5 | Corner Kicks: 2 | Fouls: 10 | Offside: 3 |
