Oakland let in an early goal that they couldn’t overcome on Saturday night in the East Bay as a late rally in momentum fell short and visiting San Antonio FC earned all three points in an 0-1 contest.
The visitors didn’t take long to get to work. In the 4th minute of the contest San Antonio’s Jorge Hernandez worked in close to the goal line and chipped it over Paul Blanchette to a waiting Luis Solignac who booted it into the empty net to give his side a 1-0 lead.
Despite going down a goal early, Roots looked to rally, earning multiple scoring chances and playing fairly dangerous soccer for the remainder of the first half.
In added time of the first frame, Roots’ Camden Riley was shown back-to-back yellow cards and a subsequent red card, leaving Oakland down to ten men for the remainder of the contest.
Even playing down a man, Roots were clearly the more threatening team in what was an aggressive second half from both sides. Oakland came inches away from scoring on multiple occasions, but couldn’t find an equalizer before the final whistle.
Roots will now head on the road for a contest at Hartford Athletic on Saturday, Sept. 21st before returning to the East Bay for a home matchup with FC Tulsa on Sunday, Sept. 29th — that game is scheduled for a 3 PM PT kickoff.
Talking with Head Coach Gavin Glinton
Okay, Gavin, a pair of losses against teams you probably circle on the calendar — teams you got to take care of. Just what do you think has gone wrong these past two matches?
Well, I would definitely separate the two matches. Last week was an abomination, and nowhere near what we want or what we expect and what we demand. We were very, very clear about that. This one, it’s tough. We give away an early goal. We need to be tighter there and a little bit more locked in. But we know that this team, they thrive on that. And I thought going down to ten men obviously changes the game. I thought we were still proactive and good with the ball, and I’d like to see us be a little bit more dangerous when we come to the final third — just in terms of service and half chances, because we know that they’re going to pack in. They don’t care if they have the ball, they’re going to play long. So, you know, even down to ten men we had moments where it just didn’t fall — game of inches — but I can’t fault the effort and the commitment and the attention to detail. I can say week in, week out, we seem to get the tough end of some refereeing decisions. Referee is quick to give a yellow card for diving, but misses a complete penalty that the rest of the staff is talking about after the game. So, it’s a tough one. It’s a game of inches, and when that stuff goes against you, it’s tough. But I can’t fault the guys in their commitment.
What can you say about the execution and what is it that you wanted them to do?
We need to be aggressive. I thought, you know, especially last week, we were just very casual playing in our end and not looking to get in and attack the other team. I think we’re very, very tough to play against when we’re direct and we force the opposition to hold more defenders back, and it opens up the game for us. But we don’t get those moments unless we’re aggressive and getting forward and forcing teams to defend us. We’re much better when we’re playing in that end.
Oakland Roots SC vs San Antonio FC
USL Championship | September 14, 2024
Venue: Pioneer Stadium, Cal State University East Bay, Hayward, California
Kickoff: 7:00 PM PT
Weather: 71 degrees, sunny
SCORELINE:
OAK: 1
SA: 0
SCORING SUMMARY:
SA: Luis Solignac 4’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:
SA: Luis Solignac 43’ (yellow)
OAK: Camden Riley 45’+ (yellow)
OAK: Camden Riley 45’+ (2nd yellow) (red)
SA: Luke Haakenson 45’+ (yellow)
OAK: Niall Logue 49’ (yellow)
SA: Richard Sánchez 58’ (yellow)
OAK: Baboucarr Njie 62’ (yellow)
SA: Juan Agudelo 63’ (yellow)
SA: Omar Grey 65’ (yellow)
OAK: Trayvone Reid 79’ (yellow)
OAK: Rafael Baca 89’ (bench) (yellow)
OAKLAND ROOTS LINEUP: Paul Blanchette, Niall Logue, Neveal Hackshaw, Gagi Margvelashvili, Justin Rasmussen (Ilya Alekseev), Camden Riley, Daniel Gomez (Miche-Naider Chéry), Memo Diaz, Baboucarr Njie (Irakoze Donasiyano), Dom Dwyer (Johnny Rodriguez), José Luis Sinisterra (Trayvone Reid)
Unused subs: Rafael Baca, Ali Elmasnaouy, Thomas Camier, Tim Syrel
Shots: 13 | Shots On Goal: 2 | Corner Kicks: 6 | Fouls: 13 | Offside: 1 |
SAN ANTONIO FC LINEUP: Richard Sanchez, Mitchell Taintor, Carter Manley, Kendall Burks, Nelson Blanco, Rece Buckmaster (Omar Grey), Luke Haakenson, Jorge Nogueira [Burá] (Trova Boni), Jorge Hernandez, Juan Agudelo (Jake LaCava), Luis Solignac (Hugo Mbongue)
Unused subs: Kendall McIntosh, Shannon Gomez, Jesús Brigido
Shots: 7 | Shots On Goal: 2 | Corner Kicks: 0 | Fouls: 18 | Offside: 1 |
