Baboucarr Njie scored his second goal of the season for the Oakland Roots, leveling the match against Memphis 901 FC in a 1-1 draw in the second half, as the Roots earned a point Saturday night, August 24, at Pioneer Stadium in Hayward.
The Roots played aggressive and motivated from the first whistle and nearly capitalized on the pressure early, when Trayvone Reid pickpocketed a defender on the endline and took a tough angle shot that was swallowed up by the Memphis keeper in the 15th minute.
As the contest wore on, play began to level a bit and Memphis started to find openings in the Roots’ defense. This led to an opening goal for the visitors in the 32nd minute when midfielder Panos Armenakas corralled a ball just outside the Oakland penalty area and sent a rocket towards the net that bent around Paul Blanchette and found twine just inside the left post to make the score 1-0.
The Roots returned to the pitch looking strong again in the second half, battling until they found an equalizer in the 61st minute with a header inside the box by Baboucarr Njie from a corner kick delivered by Oakland’s all-time leader in assists, Memo Diaz.
The game continued to be a scrum, with a total of 12 yellow cards, but neither side would score again before the final whistle, when the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
The Roots will return to action on Saturday, August 31, when they host New Mexico United at CSU East Bay Pioneer Stadium in Hayward at 3 p.m.
Talking with the Head Coach
Head Coach Gavin Clinton was asked what adjustments were made after the Roots fell behind in the first half.
“We didn’t make too many adjustments, actually. The goal came, and then they almost got a second one, but Paul made a great save when they beat the offside trap. …When we talked at halftime, we just said, ‘Look, we just need to clean up some things, and it’ll come.’ Didn’t come as much as we’d like. We haven’t been clean with the ball, to be honest, especially over the past two games. But, you know, another point. Good draw against a good team.”
Clinton was then asked what the team needs to clean up.
“We need to be better when we win the ball. … It hasn’t been near enough for what we’re doing when we have guys in good spots. And, you know, we just haven’t been clean enough and executed. So we’re going to keep working, and to be fair, when you’re not executing like that and you’re still coming out with draws against good teams there’s something to hold your hat on. We’re going to continue building and keep going. When you don’t play well, and you’re able to go on the road and get a point, and get a point against Memphis, not the worst you can do.”
Summary:
Scoring:
- MEM: Panos Armenakas 32’
- OAK: Baboucarr Njie 61’
Discipline:
- MEM: Lucas Henrique Turci 8’ (yellow)
- OAK: Baboucarr Njie 20’ (yellow)
- OAK: Memo Diaz 43’ (yellow)
- OAK: Miche-Naider Chéry 45’+ (yellow)
- OAK: Gagi Margvelashvili 51’ (yellow)
- MEM: Noe Meza 62’ (yellow)
- MEM: Abdoulaye Cissoko 65’ (yellow)
- MEM: John Tyler Deric 90’+ (bench) (yellow)
- OAK: Johnny Rodriguez 90’+ (yellow)
- OAK: Camden Riley 90’+ (yellow)
Oakland Roots SC
Lineup: Paul Blanchette, Niall Logue, Camden Riley, Gagi Margvelashvili, Irakoze Donasiyano (Etsgar Cruz), Daniel Gomez, Memo Diaz, Justin Rasmussen, Trayvone Reid (Napo Matsoso), Baboucarr Njie (Ali Elmasnaouy), Miche-Naider Chéry (Johnny Rodriguez)
Unused subs: Ilya Alekseev, Thomas Camier, Tim Syrel
Line: Shots: 6 | Shots On Goal: 3 | Corner Kicks: 3 | Fouls: 13 | Offside: 0
Memphis 901 FC
Lineup: Triston Henry, Lucas Henrique Turci, Akeem Ward, Abdoulaye Cissoko, Alvaro Quezada, Samuel Careaga, Zachary Duncan, Panos Armenakas (Leston Paul), Bruno Lapa, Noe Meza (Dylan Borczak), Marlon Santos (Nighte Pickering)
Unused subs: John Tyler Deric, Abdel Walid Yacoubou, Oscar Jimenez, Jon Baquero
Line: Shots: 10 | Shots On Goal: 6 | Corner Kicks: 6 | Fouls: 14 | Offside: 1
