Oakland Roots were warmly welcomed home by their fans on their new turf field but could not overcome Phoenix Rising, losing 1-0 at Laney Stadium.
“I thought it was an amazing opportunity to show the whole world what the magic of Laney is like,” said Roots head coach Jordan Ferrell after the game. ” Unfortunately, the result didn’t go our way.”
For the first time in almost a month, the Roots had almost their full roster available and came out brightly against Phoenix. Oakland held the majority of possession in the first twenty minutes.
In that period, the Roots’ best chance was in the eighth minute when forward Brandon Allen’s shot attempt was blocked out of bounds. On the ensuing corner kick, Emrah Klimenta’s right-footed shot sailed well over the bar.
The home side continued to press Phoenix, but the USL Pacific Division’s top side started to turn the tide with their first quality attempt in the 21st minute.
Rising forward Solomon Asante got into the box but had his shot blocked by Klimenta. The ball popped in the air and fell to Phoenix’s Darnell King who’s follow-up attempt sailed just wide right.
The visitors pinned Oakland back but were unable to get a quality strike on target until a minute before halftime when Rising’s Santiago Moar’s shot from distance was smartly pared away by Roots goalkeeper Zeus de la Paz making his first start for the team in over six weeks.
In the second half, Phoenix continued to pressure Oakland with Rising’s Aodhan Quinn taking a low shot from distance that de la Paz pushed out of bounds.
About five minutes into the half, Roots defender Tarek Morad picked up a knock to the head. He attempted to soldier on but finally fell to the field and was subbed out in the 57th minute.
“You have your captain, your center back, go down with an injury that unsettles the team somewhat,” explained Ferrell. “He was a monster for us in the first half and basically up until that point.”
Morad was missed when seven minutes later when Phoenix scored for a well-deserved lead. Rising’s Asante got onto a mistimed clearance by Hakeem Ward and crossed it across the box. The ball eventually made it to his teammate Quinn whose left-footed shot was unstoppable.
“I think we had the better opportunities in the first half, and I think we controlled a lot of the game, but the game is built on moments and the time between them,” explained Ferrell. “In that moment, they took advantage of their chance.”
After the goal, the Roots made a triple substitution to change up their offense, taking out Jose Hernandez, Brandon Allen, and Matias Fissore for Danny Flores, Jeremy Bokila, and Wal Fall.
Phoenix had one more good chance in the 72nd minute when Soloman Asante broke behind the Roots defense, but de la Paz quickly responded for the save.
From there, Oakland controlled the ball and had several excellent chances to tie the game.
They were first led by the aggressive attack of wide-back Hakeem Ward, who found himself in the box a few times but could not unleash a clean shot against the packed in Phoenix defense.
With the fans cheering on the Roots, Oakland had a great opportunity to score in the 80th minute when Jeremy Boklia found himself behind the Rising defense. However, his shot went well wide of the target.
In the 86th minute substitute, Wal Fall got on the end of a cross, and his header went just over the crossbar.
A few minutes later, the final whistle blew, and Oakland was dealt their fourth loss in a row. The Roots will look to turn the tide on the road this weekend against the Tacoma Defiance.
But despite the result, the game had the feeling of a victory for many of the 3,218 fans in attendance because their team was finally back in “The Town.”
“It’s a beautiful night at Laney,” noted Ferrell.
