Despite a second half that saw the Oakland Roots [1] nearly erase a two-goal deficit earned in the first, an Independence Day victory for Oakland was not to be, as the Roots fell 2-1 to New Mexico United on Saturday, July 4, at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque.
[2]It was a forgettable start for Oakland. In just the sixth 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 seventh minute, New Mexico found a goal anyway. 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 to 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 the Roots struggled to develop any attacking momentum of their own.
The Roots did begin to work their way back into the match, but New Mexico doubled their lead on a counterattack in the 41st minute. 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 six-yard box who poked it home to make it 2-0 United.
A couple of 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, the 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 2-1 in the 67th minute.
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.
The Roots did create a number of chances that easily could have drawn the game level and earned them a point on the road, but their salvation could not be found before the final whistle blew with a 2-1 New Mexico victory on the scoreboard.
The 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 11.
Summary
Scoring:
- NM: Cristian Nava 6’
- NM: Zico Bailey 41’
- OAK: Peter Wilson 67’
Discipline:
- NM: Ousman Jabang 9’ (yellow card)
- OAK: Keegan Tingey 21’ (yellow card)
- NM: Kipp Keller 36’ (yellow card)
- OAK: Tommy McCabe 83’ (yellow card)
- NM: Maliek Howell 90’+ (yellow card)
Oakland Roots SC
Lineup: Kendall McIntosh (Raphael Spiegel), Tommy McCabe, Bobosi Byaruhanga, Wolfgang Prentice, Jesus De Vicente, Neveal Hackshaw, Keegan Tingey (Jackson Kiil), Tucker Lepley, Julian Bravo (Tyler Gibson), Michael Edwards, Faysal Bettache (Peter Wilson)
Unused subs: Emilio Martinez, Charlie Wachs, Luka Rosić
Line: Shots: 7 | Shots On Goal: 2 | Corner Kicks: 3 | Fouls: 6 | Offside: 5
New Mexico United
Lineup: Kristopher Shakes, Maliek Howell, Kipp Keller, Niko Hämäläinen, Chris Gloster (Cullen Wilkerson), Ousman Jabang, Zico Bailey, Cristian Nava (Valentin Noël), Justin Rennicks (Luther Archimède), Dayonn Harris (Joseph Melto Quiah), Greg Hurst (Tyler Blackett)
Unused subs: Raiko Arozarena, Grady Gilchrist, Kyle Hofmann, Gedion Zelalem
Line: Shots: 17 | Shots On Goal: 7 | Corner Kicks: 4 | Fouls: 10 | Offside: 2