After a week dominated by confusion and concern about the Oakland Roots’ future at the Oakland Coliseum, the team had a chance to deliver a positive result on the field against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
However, an early goal from Pittsburgh in the 20th minute was enough to claim the victory and send Oakland to their fourth defeat in a row in league play.
Oakland came out on the attack looking to take an early lead and reward the fans who made the trek out to the Coliseum to support the team. But a slack defensive effort in the 20th minute opened the door for the visitors.
The buildup to the goal began when Pittsburgh’s Albert Dikwa Lega took possession of the ball at midfield, and it was eventually spread wide to Charles Ahl. He then crossed the ball toward the back post.
Two Oakland defenders, Neveal Hackshaw and Jesus DeVicente, had a chance to clear the ball, but it appeared as if both got in each other’s way, and the ball bounced instead to Pittsburgh’s Max Viera. He headed the ball to the center of the box, where Eliot Goldthorp thundered a shot into the net for the 1-0 lead.
“I think we could have defended the box significantly better in that action, which is something we’ve been really pressing around training, and then it changes once you go down a goal, and they are a very good defensive team,” said Oakland Roots head coach Ryan Martin after the game.
From that point forward, the Riverhounds were content to fall back in their 4-4-2 defense and soak up Oakland’s pressure. For the first half, the Roots were only able to muster four shots, with none on target. Oakland’s best chance was in the 39th minute, but Wolfgang Prentice’s shot was deflected and fell out of bounds.
“You’ve got to break down a low block, and then it becomes execution, ” said Martin. “It becomes commitment to score and get in the box, and it becomes playing with more tempo and assertiveness to try to get in behind and create chances.”
Pittsburgh then effectively carried their defensive dominance into the second half, allowing Oakland only three shots, none on target.
They were able to stem the Oakland Roots attack, which led to the team’s fourth straight loss in league play and fifth overall.
“And so, you know, frustrated with the result,” said Martin. “Think we did a lot of things really well. Think there’s a lot of things we need to continue to hammer and clean up, and we keep going.”
The Roots will look to rebound on the road against the Las Vegas Lights on Wednesday night. The loss dropped Oakland out of the playoff standings, into 11th place in the 12th place Western Conference, but only a point out of the playoff standings.
