Baboucarr Njie scored his second goal of the season, going back-to-back in home games to level the match in the second half as Roots earned a point in the East Bay on Saturday night in a 1-1 draw with visiting Memphis 901 FC.
Oakland got out on their front foot, looking aggressive and motivated from the first whistle, spending much of the first ten minutes in the Memphis defensive third.
Roots nearly capitalized on the pressure early when Trayvone Reid pickpocketed a defender on the endline and took a tough angle shot that was swallowed up by the Memphis keeper in the 15th minute.
As the contest wore on, play began to level a bit and Memphis started to find openings in Roots defense. This would lead to an opening goal for the visitors in the 32nd minute when midfielder Panos Armenakas corralled a ball just outside the Oakland penalty area and sent a rocket towards the net which bent around Paul Blanchette and found twine just inside the left post to make it 1-0.
Roots returned to the pitch looking strong again in the second half, battling until finding an equalizer in the 61st minute — a gorgeous header inside the box sent past the keeper by Njie from a corner kick delivered by Oakland’s all-time leader in assists, Memo Diaz.
The game continued to be a scrum, as the match saw a total of 12 yellow cards, but neither side would score again before the final whistle, and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Roots will return to action next weekend, Saturday, August 31st as they prepare to host New Mexico United in the East Bay on the day of the team’s 5th anniversary. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 PM PT.
Talking with Head Coach Gavin Glinton
Okay, Gavin, tie after falling behind. I thought you guys were still controlling the first half and then they scored. Just take me from there, and the adjustments you guys made.
We didn’t make too many adjustments, actually. The goal came, and then they almost got a second one, but Paul made a great save when they beat the offside trap. I thought we started well, and then kind of got away from it a little bit. When we talked at halftime, we just said, ‘look, we just need to clean up some things, and it’ll come.’ Didn’t come as much as we’d like. We haven’t been clean, to be honest, with the ball, especially over the past two games. But, you know, another point. Good draw against a good team. Disappointed not to come away with three, but don’t know if we played well enough to earn them.
You mentioned it right there — two ties against pretty tough teams, albeit the circumstances. What are your thoughts on what you need to clean up?
Yeah, we need to be better when we win the ball. You know, you’ve seen the last two games. I think we’ve completed maybe two passes. I’m joking, obviously, but it hasn’t been near enough for what we’re doing when we have guys in good spots. And, you know, we just haven’t been clean enough and executed. So we’re going to keep working, and to be fair, when you’re not executing like that and you’re still coming out with draws against good teams there’s something to hold your hat on. We’re going to continue building and keep going. When you don’t play well, and you’re able to go on the road and get a point, and get a point against Memphis, not the worst you can do.
Oakland Roots SC vs Memphis 901 FC
USL Championship | August 24, 2024
Venue: Pioneer Stadium, Cal State University East Bay, Hayward, California
Kickoff: 7:00 PM PT
Weather: 68ºF, Sunny
SCORELINE:
OAK: 1
MEM: 1
SCORING SUMMARY:
MEM: Panos Armenakas 32’
OAK: Baboucarr Njie 61’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:
MEM: Lucas Henrique Turci 8’ (yellow)
OAK: Baboucarr Njie 20’ (yellow)
OAK: Memo Diaz 43’ (yellow)
OAK: Miche-Naider Chéry 45’+ (yellow)
OAK: Gagi Margvelashvili 51’ (yellow)
MEM: Noe Meza 62’ (yellow)
MEM: Abdoulaye Cissoko 65’ (yellow)
MEM: John Tyler Deric 90’+ (bench) (yellow)
OAK: Johnny Rodriguez 90’+ (yellow)
OAK: Camden Riley 90’+ (yellow)
OAKLAND ROOTS LINEUP: Paul Blanchette, Niall Logue, Camden Riley, Gagi Margvelashvili, Irakoze Donasiyano (Etsgar Cruz), Daniel Gomez, Memo Diaz, Justin Rasmussen, Trayvone Reid (Napo Matsoso), Baboucarr Njie (Ali Elmasnaouy), Miche-Naider Chéry (Johnny Rodriguez)
Unused subs: Ilya Alekseev, Thomas Camier, Tim Syrel
Shots: 6 | Shots On Goal: 3 | Corner Kicks: 3 | Fouls: 13 | Offside: 0 |
MEMPHIS 901 FC LINEUP: Triston Henry, Lucas Henrique Turci, Akeem Ward, Abdoulaye Cissoko, Alvaro Quezada, Samuel Careaga, Zachary Duncan, Panos Armenakas (Leston Paul), Bruno Lapa, Noe Meza (Dylan Borczak), Marlon Santos (Nighte Pickering)
Unused subs: John Tyler Deric, Abdel Walid Yacoubou, Oscar Jimenez, Jon Baquero
Shots: 10 | Shots On Goal: 6 | Corner Kicks: 6 | Fouls: 14 | Offside: 1 |
