It was a night to forget for Oakland. The Roots conceded four first-half goals to visiting Birmingham Legion FC on Saturday, October 26, at Pioneer Stadium in Hayward—and then gave up another one late in the second half. It was the fourth time Oakland conceded five or more goals in a single season.
The Roots looked fit through the first 20 minutes of play, putting pressure on the Birmingham defense and generating some early scoring chances. But a minute later, Legion had the first goal Preston Tabortetaka hit a gorgeous strike from outside the Oakland area that bent into the top left corner of the goal, beating netminder Tim Syrel and giving the visiting side a 1-0 lead.
Ten minutes later, in the 31st minute of the match, Legion struck again, doubling their lead on a counterattack which caught Syrel far out of position. Birmingham’s Stefano Pinho capitalized on the mistake, lobbing in a shot from near midfield that dropped in over Oakland’s keeper to make it 2-0.
Just moments later, in the 35th minute, Birmingham added a third goal when Matthew Corcoran found Diba Nwegbo on a set piece. Nwegbo redirected the service with a header that found an opening to make it 3-0.
Legion scored yet another just five minutes later, in the 40th minute of the match. This time it was a heat check shot from distance taken by Tabortetaka to earn him a brace. The shot was mishandled by Syrel and trickled into the net to give Birmingham a 4-0 lead in the first half.
The Roots looked a bit better on defense throughout much of the second half, but Legion wasn’t finished scoring. In the 87th minute, Birmingham scored their fifth goal after a ball played by Enzo Martinez via a throw-in was dribbled towards the top of the Oakland box and sent towards the net. Syrel looked as though he thought the play was dead, or that the ball would miss the target, as he stood motionless while the ball whirred into the twine to give the visitors a 5-0 lead.
The Roots will now prepare for the 2024 USL Championship playoffs, having locked in their position as the No. 7 seed in the West. They will begin their postseason slate on Saturday, November 2, heading to Colorado Springs to face the No. 2 seed Switchbacks in the first round.
Talking with the Head Coach
After the tough loss that marked the fourth time the Roots allowed five goals, Oakland Head Coach Gavin Glinton was asked why this keeps happening.
“We have a lack of commitment and consistency in our mentality,” Coach Glinton said. “The minute we have anything going right for us, we start to think that we’re Real Madrid and we don’t have to work. That team has nothing to play for. We’re on top of them, they transition, and we feel like we don’t have to run back. It’s embarrassing. It’s just about fight, and commitment, and heart in a lot of these moments.”
Asked to expand on the lack of effort, Glinton made his frustration clear. “It’s unacceptable. I don’t know what else we’re talking about. We’re talking about game plan, where we have to go and fight and we’re scrapping for points. We talked about preparing for the championship, and we come out and act like we don’t need to do the details. We didn’t respect the game, we didn’t respect our opponent, we didn’t respect ourselves. It’s not even close.”
Summary
Scoring:
- BHM: Preston Tabortetaka 21’
- BHM: Stefano Pinho 31’
- BHM: Diba Nwegbo 35’
- BHM: Preston Tabortetaka 40’
- BHM: Enzo Martinez 87’
Discipline:
- OAK: Neveal Hackshaw 24’ (yellow)
- BHM: Enzo Martinez 69’ (yellow)
- BHM: Enzo Martinez 90’+ (2nd yellow) (red)
Oakland Roots SC
Lineup: Tim Syrel, Baboucarr Njie (Justin Rasmussen), Neveal Hackshaw (Niall Logue), Gagi Margvelashvili, Ilya Alekseev, Camden Riley, Daniel Gomez, Trayvone Reid, Irakoze Donasiyano (Dom Dwyer), Luis Sinisterra (Etsgar Cruz), Johnny Rodriguez (Miche-Naider Chéry)
Unused subs: Napo Matsoso, Ali Elmasnaouy, Thomas Camier, Edwin Rodriguez
Line: Shots: 22 | Shots On Goal: 2 | Corner Kicks: 11 | Fouls: 14 | Offside: 0
Birmingham Legion FC
Lineup: Trevor Spangenberg, Phanuel Kavita, Ramiz Hamouda (Alex Crognale), Jake Rufe, Moses Mensah, Foster Hernandez, Matthew Corcoran (Miguel Perez), Enzo Martinez, Diba Nwegbo (Darwin Matheus), Preston Tabortetaka, Stefano Pinho
Unused subs: JP Philpot, Dawson McCartney, Rida Zouhir
Line: Shots: 13 | Shots On Goal: 5 | Corner Kicks: 2 | Fouls: 13 | Offside: 2 |
