Gagi Margvelashvili put on a show Saturday night, August 10, at Pioneer Stadium at CSU East Bay in Hayward, playing all 90 minutes and earning two assists in the Oakland Roots SC 3-1 victory over visiting Loudoun United FC.
The match started with both teams trading possession at midfield throughout the first 10 minutes of the contest. The Roots then began to pick up a little steam, earning the first goal of the night in the 24th minute when Margvelashvili made a spectacular run into the Loudoun box and put a shot towards the far post that beat the United keeper. The ball was a slow roller though, and a defender looked to clear the ball off the line, but the Roots’ Baboucarr Njie was just quick enough, tapping the ball across just before the defender could reach it, giving Oakland a 1-0 lead.
Loudoun had prime opportunities following the Roots goal, with two shots on an empty net, but both sailed over the crossbar. Despite those misses, United leveled the match in the 54th minute, when a corner played in short led to a well-placed cross in front of the net from Florian Valot and found Kalil Elmedkhar in front who finished the header to draw even once again.
From there on out, the Roots took over the match.
In the 62nd minute Memo Diaz, Oakland’s all-time leader in assists, sent a long ball up the field to find the Roots’ all-time leading goal scorer Johnny Rodriguez. Rodriguez controlled the long ball and made a brilliant run into the box, chipping the ball over the Loudoun keeper to give his side a 2-1 lead.
Margvelashvili picked up his second assist of the night in the 81st minute with a gorgeous through ball up the right side to a sprinting Trayvone Reid. Reid took a touch inside the United penalty area to shake a defender, and rocketed a tough angle shot past the Loudoun keeper to give Oakland a two-goal cushion and push the score to 3-1.
The Roots maintained their aggressive approach and nearly added another goal before the final whistle, but were content to earn the victory without piling on further.
Oakland will now head on the road to face Rhode Island FC on Saturday, August 17, at Bierne Stadium in Smithfield, Rhode Island, before returning home to the East Bay to host Memphis 901 FC at Pioneer Stadium, CSU East Bay in Hayward, on Saturday August 24.
Summary
Scoring:
- OAK: Baboucarr Njie 24’
- LDN: Kalil Elmedkhar 54’
- OAK: Johnny Rodriguez 62’
- OAK: Trayvone Reid 81’
Discipline:
- LDN: Robby Dambrot 77’ (yellow card)
Oakland Roots SC
Lineup: Tim Syrel, Niall Logue, Neveal Hackshaw, Gagi Margvelashvili, Justin Rasmussen, Daniel Gomez, Camden Riley (Irakoze Donasiyano), Memo Diaz (Bryan Tamacas), Baboucarr Njie (Napo Matsoso), Johnny Rodriguez (Miche-Naider Chéry), Lindo Mfeka (Trayvone Reid)
Unused subs: Etsgar Cruz, Ilya Alekseev, Thomas Camier, Edwin Rodriguez
Line: Shots: 10 | Shots On Goal: 5 | Corner Kicks: 2 | Fouls: 18 | Offside: 3 |
Loudon United FC
Lineup: Hugo Fauroux, Keegan Hughes (Christiano Francois), Robby Dambrot, Jacob Erlandson, Keegan Tingey (Gavin Turner), Kwame Awuah, Tommy McCabe, Isaiah Johnston (Kalil Elmedkhar), Florian Valot, Wesley Leggett (Thomas Williamson), Zach Ryan
Unused subs: Dane Jacomen, Yanis Leerman, Isaac Espinal
Line: Shots: 11 | Shots On Goal: 5 | Corner Kicks: 5 | Fouls: 6 | Offside: 1 |
