After controlling the first half of the match against Monterey Bay FC, the Oakland Roots gave up three straight goals and lost 3-2 at Cardinale Stadium in Seaside, California, on Saturday night, March 15.
The majority of the first half came with little fanfare in terms of scoring, as both midfields played lockdown defense, limiting play within the center third of the pitch for long stretches. Despite this, Roots never looked timid, looking to move the ball up the pitch with urgency.
EJ Johnson was tenacious on the forward line in his first start for Oakland, hounding the Monterey Bay keeper whenever he looked to play the ball. That tenacity eventually led to a premium scoring chance in the 40th minute, when Johnson found space outside the top of the penalty area and sent a screamer towards the low right post, requiring a diving save from Monterey’s Nico Campuzano to keep the score deadlocked at 0-0.
The match looked destined to enter halftime scoreless when the Roots earned a 44th-minute free kick from the right side of the pitch near midfield. José Luis Sinisterra delivered a perfect ball on the set piece, sending it into the box and finding a leaping Camden Riley, who headed the ball home to give Oakland a 1-0 lead as the halftime whistle loomed.
Monterey Bay nearly leveled the match in added time, as the ball trickled past the goal line, but the referee ruled the attempt to be the result of a hand ball, earning Monterey a yellow card instead of a leveling score.
Monterey didn’t take long in the second half to redeem themselves. In the 56th minute, Mayele Malango took a touch to shake an Oakland defender before bending a shot from outside the left side of the box into the top right corner of the goal, getting past a diving Kendall McIntosh to bring the score to 1-1.
Moments later, in the 65th minute, Monterey was awarded a penalty kick following a foul inside the box from the Roots’ Neveal Hackshaw. Ilijah Paul then gave Monterey a 2-1 lead.
Monterey doubled that lead after only a few more ticks of the clock when Anton Søjberg sent one home in the 69th minute to make it 3-1.
Not to be outdone, however, the Roots added to the flurry of scoring, earning one back in the 71st minute when Panos Armenakas sent a cross into the box, finding Peter Wilson who laid the ball off and allowed José Luis Sinisterra to send a strike into the back of the net to bring the score to 3-2.
Despite going up a man following a straight red card to Monterey’s Joel Garcia Jr. in the 84th minute, the Roots were unable to claw a goal back before the final whistle, falling 3-2 to Monterey Bay FC.
The Roots now hold an 0-0-2 record on this USL Championship season and will look to reverse their fortunes as they return to friendly ground to play this season’s historic home opener at the Oakland Coliseum, where they will face San Antonio FC on March 22 at 7 p.m.
Summary
Scoring:
- OAK: Camden Riley 44′
- MB: Mayele Malango 56’
- MB: Ilijah Paul 65’
- MB: Anton Søjberg 69’
- OAK: José Luis Sinisterra 71’
Discipline:
- MB: Jacob Muir 43′ (yellow card)
- MB: Adam Larsson 45’+ (yellow card)
- MB: Pierce Gallaway 84’ (yellow card)
- MB: Joel Garcia Jr. 84’ (red card)
- OAK: Danny Gomez 84’ (yellow card)
- OAK: Abdi Mohamed 90’+ (yellow card)
Oakland Roots
Lineup: Kendall McIntosh, Camden Riley (Abdi Mohamed), Daniel Gomez, Wolfgang Prentice (Jürgen Damm), Panos Armenakas, José Luis Sinisterra (Ilya Alekseev), Tyler Gibson, Justin Rasmussen (Baboucarr Njie), Neveal Hackshaw, EJ Johnson (Peter Wilson), Kai Greene
Unused subs: Gagi Margvelashvili, Ali Elmasnaouy, Thomas Camier, Tim Syrel
Line: Shots: 6 | Shots On Goal: 3 | Corner Kicks: 1 | Fouls: 15 | Offside: 1
Monterey Bay FC
Lineup: Nico Campuzano, Nico Gordon, Jacob Muir, Wes Fonguck (Pierce Gallaway), Adrian Rebollar, Adam Larsson (Xavi Gnaulati), Mayele Malango (Carlos Guzmán), Grant Robinson, Ilijah Paul (Alex Dixon), Anton Søjberg, Joel Garcia Jr.
Unused subs: Sam Gomez, Ethan Bryant, Miles Lyons
Line: Shots: 10 | Shots On Goal: 5 | Corner Kicks: 4 | Fouls: 17 | Offside: 1
