Goalkeeper’s Miscue Enables Roots to Turn One Point Into Three in San Antonio

After a gritty performance where they largely shut down the home side’s potent offense, the Oakland Roots took advantage of an opposing goalkeeper’s error to earn their first-ever win in nine matches vs. San Antonio FC.

Peter Wilson was the key man in both Oakland goals in the Roots’ 2-1 victory.

The game-winner came in the 84th minute. Julian Bravo attempted to pass the ball to Wilson, but it went directly into the arms of San Antonio’s goalkeeper, Richard Sanchez, who was trying to distribute the ball to a teammate to begin the counterattack. Instead, the ball dropped out of his hands and Wilson put it into the unguarded net.

Roots Survive First Half Attacks, Then Equalize

Wilson also had the first chance of the match, on a miscommunication in the third minute. A back pass from San Antonio’s Alex Crognale got behind Nelson Blanco Flores. Wilson chased him to the edge of the penalty area. Blanco Flores fell, leaving Wilson in a one-on-one situation with Sanchez. Wilson maneuvered around, trying to find an easier shot, but Sanchez was able delay the shot attempt, and eventually Wilson was only able to get off a weaker shot that went wide.

The host side grabbed the lead on the counter attack in the 12th minute, after a series of four passes took them quickly down the field. Jorge Hernández’s one-timer as he was falling to the turf took one bounce and settled just inside the far post.

San Antonio appeared ready to take over the match in the 16th minute. A long ball from Hernández found Luis Paredes in stride as he entered the penalty area. Paredes redirected the ball to his left, but Oakland goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh got his fingertips on it. Paredes tried again with a soft header, but McIntosh tapped it make sure it went over the crossbar.

In the 19th minute, Oakland’s José Luis Sinisterra got a shot off from distance. Sanchez only had to move one step to stop it, and San Antonio’s defense quickly cleared it away.

The turning point of the match came in the 23rd minute, when Wilson earned a penalty after he was taken down in the box by Mohamed Omar. Like last week’s penalty by Sacramento, Wilson shrewdly positioned himself to take the contact. Sinisterra stepped up to take the penalty, stutter stepped, saw Sanchez move to his left, and slotted the ball in at the other side.

Wilson had another chance on a cross by Sinisterra in the 29th minute, but Sanchez rushed out and Wilson’s one-timer sailed the bar.

McIntosh’s Second Half Saves Set Up Late Game Winner

In the 62nd minute, Paredes sent in a cross at the near post to set up a cheeky backheel for Juan Agudelo, but McIntosh was not fooled.

In the 70th minute, Diogo Pacheco had an open look at the near post, but McIntosh stretched out his arms to bat the ball away.

Wilson’s go-head goal unleashed a sense of urgency by the San Antonio players, but their chances for a comeback were nearly non-existent when Mitchell Taintor was red carded for elbowing Wilson to the face in the 88th minute.

The hosts’ final chance came in the 5th minute of stoppage time, when a Pacheco header was deflected over the bar by Oakland defender Kai Greene.

Next Matches

The Roots face their first Eastern Time Zone trip of the season when they take on North Carolina FC on Friday.

They return home to the Coliseum on Saturday May 24, when they take on New Mexico United.