Oakland failed to score once again on Saturday night in the East Bay, conceding all three points to visiting Phoenix Rising FC in an 0-1 loss.
Though there was little fanfare in the first half in terms of stats, Roots finally looked like a team playing with a purpose.
Despite this, it was the visiting side with the best scoring opportunity through the first 45 when in the 27th minute a Phoenix header on a rebound looked destined to float under the crossbar. But Roots keeper Paul “The Wall” Blanchette once again earned his nickname with an acrobatic leap behind him to punch the ball away from danger at the last moment.
After the break, Phoenix looked to take over the game. In the 55th minute, they scored the contest’s only goal after Rising’s Emil Cuello worked his way to Oakland’s back line and chipped a short cross in front of the net, finding an open Tomás Ángel who finished the easy header to give his side a 1-0 lead.
Roots might have looked better on the field, but their scoring woes continued. Oakland failed to put a notch in the goal column for the sixth time in their last seven games and skittered to the 90 minute mark still trailing by one.
Roots have two remaining contests left in the USL Championship regular season, and the playoff push intensifies with tonight’s loss. The squad will now head on the road to face Las Vegas Lights FC on Oct. 19th before returning home for their final regular season match versus Birmingham Legion FC on Oct. 26th.
Oakland Roots SC vs Phoenix Rising FC
USL Championship | October 12, 2024
Venue: Pioneer Stadium, Hayward, California
Kickoff: 7:00 PM PT
Weather: 67 degrees, partly cloudy
SCORELINE:
OAK: 0
PHX: 1
SCORING SUMMARY:
PHX: Tomás Ángel 55’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:
OAK: Memo Diaz (yellow) 38’
OAK: Johnny Rodriguez (yellow) 68’
PHX: Pape Boye (yellow) 68’
OAK: Gagi Margvelashvili (yellow) 70’
PHX: Tomás Ángel (yellow) 73’
PHX: Charlie Dennis (yellow) 90’+
OAKLAND ROOTS LINEUP: Paul Blanchette, Camden Riley, Neveal Hackshaw, Gagi Margvelashvili, Baboucarr Njie, Daniel Gomez (Luis Sinisterra), Rafael Baca (Irakoze Donasiyano), Memo Diaz, Trayvone Reid (Miche-Naider Chéry), Dom Dwyer (Justin Rasmussen), Johnny Rodriguez
Unused subs: Etsgar Cruz, Ilya Alekseev, Thomas Camier, Tim Syrel
Shots: 11 | Shots On Goal: 2 | Corner Kicks: 2 | Fouls: 12 | Offside: 1 |
PHOENIX RISING FC LINEUP: Patrick Rakovsky, Pape Boye, Laurence Wyke, Alejandro Fuenmayor, Edgardo Rito (John Scearce), Giulio Doratiotto (Mohamed Traore), Charlie Dennis, Emil Cuello, Renzo Zambrano, Tomás Ángel, Dariusz Formella (Jose Hernandez)
Unused subs: Rocco Rios Novo, Federico Varela, Jamison Ping, Christopher Grote
Shots: 5 | Shots On Goal: 3 | Corner Kicks: 4 | Fouls: 17 | Offside: 1 |