On Wednesday evening, the Roots unbeaten streak climbed to five games with an impressive 3-1 victory over Phoenix Rising at Las Positas College in Livermore.
“What usually comes after losing a lot is a team that hates losing and is really hungry to win,” said Oakland Roots coach Jordan Ferrell after the game. “I think you saw that here tonight.”
Despite being on opposite ends of the USL Pacific Division standings, both teams came into the game riding impressive unbeaten streaks. Rising had not lost a game since June 19, and the Roots were looking to earn their fifth undefeated game in a row and start their first-ever winning streak in the USL.
With a nine-point lead in the table over second-place Orange County, Phoenix decided to play this mid-week game primarily with their reserve players. Five starters from their previous match against the Sacramento Republic were on the team’s bench.
“Maybe they took us a little lightly with the starting lineup they rolled out against us, but good for us, right?” remarked Ferrell with a smile.
Both teams had chances in the first half, but it looked as if they would head into the half scoreless. That was until a nice Roots buildup gave the home side a goal two minutes before the break.
In the play, Oakland’s Ariel Mbumba crossed a high ball over the box to Chuy Enriquez. He held up the ball, forcing the Phoneix defense to commit, before smartly cutting back a pass to an onrushing Wal Fall. The Roots captain did not waste the opportunity blasting the ball into the upper corner of the net.
After the break, the Roots’ continued to pressure Phoenix and were rewarded for their efforts.
All game long, Rising keeper Benjamin Lundt played balls short to his defense instead of booting it down the field. One of his short passes to backup center back Manuel Madrid gave the Roots a golden opportunity to double their lead.
In the 51st minute, Lundt passed the ball to Madrid just outside the box. Oakland forward Jeremy Bokila quickly stripped the defender of the ball and ran in unmarked on goal.
His first shot attempt was pared away by Lundt. Bokila’s was able to chase the loose ball, and defender Tate Schmitt blocked his follow-up attempt. However, the ball fell right into the path of Roots midfielder Jose Hernandez, who lifted his shot over Lundt and into the back of the net for the 2-0 lead.
Just when it looked like Oakland might run away with the game, Phoenix’s Darnell King connected on a spectacular volley shot a minute later to pull Rising back to 2-1.
“At two-nothing up, everybody knows that the worst lead in football,” noted Ferrell. “…Credit to the guys and a couple of big leaders on the team. I saw them snap-in and say ‘we’re not giving this one up.'”
Oakland continued to attack and regained their two-goal advantage eight minutes later.
Chuy Enriquez unleashed a shot on goal that Lundt pushed away. Fortunately for Oakland, the ball went right to the feet of Ariel Mbumba, who tapped the ball in.
From there, the Roots were able to keep Phoenix off the board the rest of the game, and as the final whistle blew, they celebrated defeating Rising for the first time.
With the victory, Oakland continues to climb out of the Pacific Division basement. They are now in seventh place ahead of Las Vegas on goal differential. But despite that milestone, the Roots head coach reminded his team to focus on what they can control.
“I’ve told the guys don’t look at the table, focus on the game ahead of you,” noted Ferrell. “I really think tonight that Phoenix looked at the table, and they said, “Hey, we’re in first. They’re in last. We can rotate and rest some guys, and that’s a big mistake.”
“Same for us,” he continued. “We’re not going to look at the table and say, ‘Oh, we can’t get back to where we want to be.’ We just need to take it a game at a time, and if we do that, we’ll be alright.”
Next up for Oakland is the Tacoma Defiance at the friendly confines of Laney Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 28. The kickoff is at 5:10 pm.
