Lindo Mfeka scored a brace with his first two goals of the season, which was all the Oakland Roots needed to earn a 2-0 road win at Phoenix Rising on Saturday night.
The win not only significantly enhanced Oakland’s hopes of making the playoffs, but perhaps just as importantly, may have dealt a death blow to Phoenix’s chances.
While Danny Stone was manning the Phoenix bench, instead of former Roots Head Coach Juan Guerra, the win was clearly a statement for Oakland’s players and Interim Coach Noah Delgado.
Any lingering anger over Guerra’s midseason departure may have been at least temporarily relieved by the Roots’ inspiring performance. They took control of the match in the first few minutes and left the home side looking frustrated and confused.
Mfeka’s first goal came in the 5th minute, as Oakland took advantage of confusion in the Phoenix backline. As Oakland shifted the ball over to the right side, Darek Formella made a dummy run to draw his defender away, leaving Mfeka with space to make his run. He dribbled to the edge of the penalty area and delivered a low, hard shot that tucked inside the far post.
The Roots had two great chances in the 7th minute. Edgardo Rito made a run down the right side and took a shot from a difficult angle that deflected off of goalkeeper Ben Lundt and Formella on the goal line. Seconds later, Formella picked up a loose ball and passed it to a wide open Rito, who couldn’t turn quickly enough to get his shot on net.
Phoenix’s first significant chance came in the 26th minute, when Greg Hurst’s shot from the penalty arc got by Roots goalkeeper Paul Blanchette but bounced off of the post.
And two minutes later, the Roots delivered the all-important second goal, thanks to their precision passing. Juan Carlos Azocar made a run down the left side and delivered the ball to Mfeka in the penalty arc. Mfeka played a two-man game with Óttar Karlsson, whose return pass found Mfeka for the clinical finish.
Phoenix had another chance in the 35th minute, but Blanchette made the save at the near post on a free kick from Aodhan Quinn from beyond the penalty area.
In the final few minutes before halftime, the home side frantically searched for a goal, with shot attempts from Baboucarr Njie (high), Santi Moar (blocked), and Quinn (wide right).
Oakland’s Defense Hangs On in the Second Half
As the second half began, Phoenix went back on the attack.
The home side had two excellent chances to score in the 60th minute, when Njie blasted a shot from the top of the penalty area that caromed off of the crossbar. The rebound went out to Joey Calistri. His cross found Santi Moar open at the far post, with Blanchette out of position, but Moar missed with the header from close range.
But as the half went on, Oakland reasserted control. Karlsson had a couple of chances, with a header that went wide in the 80th minute and a free kick in the 81st that went wide. And substitute Mikael Tørset Johnsen had a chance in the 85 minute from a difficult angle, but Lundt made the save.
As Phoenix saw their chances fading away, they began taking out their frustrations with hard fouls, including yellow cards from James Musa (76th minute), Kevon Lambert (80th minute), and J.J. Williams (83rd minute). But the Roots would not be denied.
With the win, the Roots climb into a three-way tie for 8th place in the Western Conference standings, one point behind 7th place Las Vegas for the final playoff spot. And Phoenix falls to 12th place, five points behind Las Vegas with only six matches left to play.
