The Oakland Roots could not have dreamed up a more dramatic first victory in the USL Championship with a comeback 3-2 win over LA Galaxy II. Here are three things we learned from the game:
1) Roots show fighting spirit rebounding from opening loss
After a convincing drubbing in their first USL game against Phoenix Rising, it looked like the Roots were a way off from competing with the best teams in the Western Division. On Sunday Oakland faced another stiff test against a Los Angeles Galaxy II side sitting at the top of the division table.
A disjointed and unsettled preseason for Oakland, including a string of poor results, led the team to part ways with head coach Dario Pot before starting the season. Then in their first USL game, Oakland offered little resistance as Phoenix Rising took advantage of several Roots miscues to win 3-0.
Luckily for Oakland, the team had two weeks off between their first and second game. It allowed them to rebound, refocus, practice, and gell together ahead of the Galaxy II game.
Despite once again falling behind early due to a defensive miscue, Oakland responded with some high pressure to tie the game early in the second half against Los Angeles.
Danny Flores put Oakland on the board with the team’s first-ever USL goal in the 47th minute. Then after conceding another LA Galaxy goal in the 61st, Oakland continued pressure lead to Memo Diaz’s tying strike in the 76th minute and the game-winner by Jeremy Bokila in the 91st minute.
“The thing is, from the beginning, I knew every one of my teammates has the fight, the hunger, the belief in themselves that we can go far in the USL,” said Flores after the game. “We are here to prove everyone wrong and compete with the best teams in the league.”
2) Head coach Jordan Ferrell’s lineup changes paid off
Despite receiving interest from several head coach candidates after the departure of Pot, the Oakland Roots decided to keep Ferrell as the head coach for the remainder of the season as well.
Ferrell was instrumental in helping construct the roster as the team’s Technical Director. Being out at the field leading every practice allowed the head coach to tailor his starting eleven for the Galaxy.
“I said after the last game in Phoenix that we showed really good personality,” the head coach said after the Galaxy game. “The only thing is we didn’t have a product.”
Five new players cracked the opening lineup for the Roots on Sunday, including a duo of 19-year old midfielders: Danny Flores and Ariel Mbumba.
“They did the job today and showed the depth of our squad,” said Ferrell. “Young guys stepping in a game like this early on in the season is really huge for experience.”
Flores was dangerous across the pitch and scored Oakland’s first-ever goal. His strike was set up by Yohannes Harish, who also impressed well out wide in his first start, with his dangerous and aggressive play that kept the Galaxy II defense under pressure.
Ferrell even struck gold with his substitutions. Memo Diaz started the second half and scored the tying goal. And then forward, Jeremy Bokila subbed on in the 77th minute and scored the winning goal in the 91st minute.
In this game we showed that same personality and we had the product for it,” added Ferrell. “It’s a great benchmark for us.”
3) Jeremy Bokila’s game-winning goal was a thing of beauty
Even though Danny Flores’s first goal for the Roots will long be remembered in the history books and changed the complexion of the contest, it felt important to single out Jeremy Bokila’s strike in extra time as a singular moment of beauty and inspiration.
The experience Congo international forward wasn’t fazed after being replaced in the starting lineup for the Los Angeles game. Like any successful experienced striker, he knew he needed only one moment of inspiration and movement to make an impact on the game.
In the 91st minute, Bokila collected a long ball from Roots goalkeeper Zeus Delapaz about 30 yards out from the Galaxy goal. He smoothly deflected the ball into the path of his teammate Akeem Ward who was running up the wing.
Next, while Ward delivered a square pass to teammate Jesús Enríquez above the box, Bokila sprinted past the midfielder giving Enriquez a simple short pass to complete with the forward.
Bokila’s weighted his first touch perfected pushing the ball past the last Galaxy defender and into space. Then he used his pace to run onto the ball and then calmy fire off a near-post shot high above the reach of Los Angeles keeper Luis Flores and into the net.
It was a stunning work of individual brilliance that protends more beautiful goals and dramatic moments for the Oakland Roots this season.
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