The Oakland Roots finished a demanding four-game road trip to start their first USL Championship season with a 1-0 loss to Orange County SC. Here are three things we learned from the game.
1) Roots remain powerful on offense and team defense improves
Discounting Oakland’s first game of the season against Phoenix, the Roots proved that they have a potent offensive, which included scoring three goals each against LA Galaxy II and the Sacramento Republic, during their first four games.
“We know we can score. It’s not that we are afraid of not being able to score. The past two games and tonight, we created more than enough chances to score,” said head coach Jordan Ferrell after the game. “I think that’s good progress from pre-season and where we were even at the start of the season. But now we need to put the two together and defend well and put the ball in the back of the net as well.”
Against Orange County, Oakland could’ve easily scored one or two goals during their first half but ended up unlucky while also being stymied by some well-timed OC defending.
Despite outshooting OC 14-7 and controlling 60 percent of the ball, the Roots could not find the back of the net while the home side took advantage of their best opportunity to secure the full three points.
Another positive is the team’s defensive play. After giving up five goals in their previous two games (many off of defensive miscues), Oakland only gave up one goal to Orange County when forward Ronaldo Damus got onto the end of a ball right before the halftime whistle.
“To only concede one tonight though they had other opportunities and also showed we are dangerous,” added Ferrell. “But today, we showed we can be more solid defensively than we have been in the past 3 games.”
“I think a big positive is that it wasn’t self-inflicted,” added defender Hakeem Ward after the game. “The past games we have given teams goals, they haven’t earned them. This one was unfortunate, but we didn’t really shoot ourselves in the foot today.”
2) Chuy Enriquez is turning into the Roots most consistent attacker
Although Coach Ferrell has experimented with his starting lineup the first four games, only one offensive positional player, Chuy Enriquez, has played every minute for the Roots.
Enriquez seemed to be involved in many of the team’s scoring chances, including Oakland’s best opportuniy in the 40th minute when his shot was cleared off the goal line by an Orange County defender.
For the season, Enriquez leads the team with nine shots, six on target. He is one of only three players, the other two being defenders Hakeem Ward and Tarek Morad, that have played every minute through the team’s first four games.
It appears Ferrell will continue to experiment with his squad but expect Enriquez to continue to be part of the starting lineup.
3) Roots players can’t wait to play at home
It’s difficult for any team to start up in a new league, but Oakland faced the additional challenge of having their first four games of the season on the road. Fortunately, the wait is over, and the Roots will have their first home game in the friendly confines of Laney Stadium this Saturday night, June 19.
“We are beyond excited,” explained Ward. “Jordan was beyond excited, saying everywhere we’ve been, we have been to four different stadiums now. He said there is no atmosphere like there is in Oakland. I’m super excited to come home, and we are going to give you all a show for sure.”
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