Despite a second half that saw Roots nearly erase a two goal deficit earned in the first, it was not to be for Oakland on Independence Day in Albuquerque as Roots eventually fell 1-2 to New Mexico United on Saturday evening.
It was a forgettable start for Oakland. In just the 6th minute of the match New Mexico nearly broke the scoring open when an odd bounce on the Roots endline found a United boot that required a goal-line clearance to keep the match level.
But just seconds later in the 7th, New Mexico found a goal anyway when a long ball from the center line into the box found United’s Cristian Nava who corralled the ball with a touch before firing a shot off the bounce that found the top left corner to make it 0-1.
The momentum of the match continued to heavily favor New Mexico as United looked able to get men behind the backline almost at will while Roots struggled to develop any attacking momentum of their own.
After Roots eventually did begin to work their way back into the match, New Mexico doubled their lead on a counterattack in the 41st minute when Dayonn Harris on a full speed run into the left side of Oakland’s penalty area played a low cross to Zico Bailey on top of the 6-yard box who poked it home to make it 0-2.
A couple key halftime substitutions including the addition of Roots leading goalscorer Peter Wilson worked effectively to level the momentum of the match as Oakland began finding some opportunities of their own.
In the 65th minute Roots officially started to turn the tide after being awarded a penalty kick when Wilson was fouled hard from behind while exiting the New Mexico box. Wilson deposited the spot kick to become the all-time club leader in USL Championship goals and make it 1-2 in the 67th.
After the penalty conversion, Oakland began to look hungry for a leveler, shifting their shape to push higher up the field and torment the New Mexico backline.
While Roots did create a number of chances that easily could have drawn the game level and earned them a point on the road, their salvation could not be found before the final whistle blew and the match ended still showing a 1-2 New Mexico advantage on the scoreboard.
Roots will now return to the East Bay for a Members only home match at Merritt College in Oakland to face USL League One side Spokane Velocity in a Group Stage fixture of the Prinx Tires USL Cup on July 11th.
