The Oakland Roots probably deserved at least a point from their 13th all-time meeting with arch-rival Sacramento Republic FC, but a strong defense and a penalty kick early in the second half was all the visitors needed to secure the three points.
After a scoreless first half, the turning point of the match came 52 seconds into the second, when Jack Gurr was taken down from behind in the box by Baboucarr Njie. On the subsequent penalty kick, Oakland’s goalkeeper, Kendall McIntosh dove to his right, but Cicerone’s shot took two bounces off of the turf and settled just inside the post.
Oakland spent the rest of the match searching for an equalizer, while Sacramento sat back and played conservatively.
“I’m really, really proud of the effort tonight, and it’s just tough to walk out of here when you know you have more shots, passes in the attacking half, possession,” Oakland Roots Head Coach Gavin Glinton said after the match. “All the silly numbers that everyone talks about, um, outside of the result, which is the thing that matters. So I’m gutted for the guys tonight, but really, really happy with their effort. [It’s] how we continue to keep growing in the league.”
Oakland Roots’ Captain Tyler Gibson echoed Glinton’s sentiments.
“I’m very proud of how everybody fought,” Gibson said. “We didn’t feel like they had much of anything, they didn’t create much. They got a penalty, which in my mind, I don’t believe it was a penalty. But that happens. Overall, I feel like we’re moving forward in the right direction. We created a bunch. We created enough to get a couple of goals ourselves.”
Few Chances for Either Team
Other than the penalty kick, there were only a few chances on either side.
The Roots had a great chance in the 8th minute when José Luis Sinisterra received a pass from Neveal Hackshaw at midfield. A spin move enabled him to elude a pair of Sacramento defenders. He then sent in a long pass to Peter Wilson, who eluded another pair of Sacramento defenders, leaving him one-on-one with Sacramento goalkeeper Daniel Vitiello, who slid on the turf to turn Wilson’s shot away.
The rebound came out to Wolfgang Prentice, who was only able to get off a weak shot that was smothered by Vitiello.
Sacramento had their first chance in the 11th minute, when Gurr sent in a long ball from the Sacramento half that landed at Cicerone’s feet as he approached the Oakland penalty area. Cicerone blasted a shot from just inside the box that was turned away by McIntosh. Hackshaw nodded the rebound into McIntosh’s arms.
After the penalty, chances were even more rare. Oakland’s best came in the 72nd minute. when Peter Wilson deflected a pass into open space in the box. Panos Armenakas ran onto the loose ball and fired a low shot that scooted along the turf and ended up going just wide.
“The guys put a hell of an effort in,” Glinton said. “I was really happy with what we were able to do in the first 45 minutes. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to reward that with a goal, but we talked about staying locked in and continuing to do the job. Obviously, the penalty to start the second half is a gut punch, and they were able to kind of just sit back in and protect a little bit. I thought we did a good job again to not give up too much, trying to stretch ourselves going forward. Would have liked us to create a little bit more, but you know when they’re when they’re sitting in deep it’s gonna be difficult to kind of pull them out and get out. I thought we created some good movements and serving opportunities. A couple of moments with second ball opportunities. Not enough to get the result, but definitely not for lack of trying and effort.”
“I think things are coming together,” Gibson said. “I think we’re getting more of an identity. I think we’re fighting better. We understand the minimum requirements and the non-negotiables, and I feel like the group is coming together more. It’s been a lot of internal stuff. A lot of internal talks. Meetings, fighting and training. And I think we’re now moving in the right direction.”
The Rivalry Continues
Though there are plenty of new players and coaches on both sides, Oakland’s matches with Sacramento are always bitter and full of conflict.
“I think you probably saw that today was a bit of a street fight,” Glinton said. “A lot of stuff that again, for some reason, they seem to get away with. We are not, but we got to fight through that stuff too. That’s also Oakland. And I’m proud of our resiliency. It’s always going to be a street fight with us and them, you know. We’re immediately gonna look for it because there’s a bitter taste in our mouth from this one for sure, so. We’ve get right back on.
“And there’s another street flight in San Antonio [next week}, but we will see them again,” Glinton continued. “Every weekend is going to be a street fight is what I’m seeing in the west, and so I think we’ve taken the right strides over the last few weeks to make sure that we’re ready. The last three losses, if you look at the numbers we’ve outplayed our opponents. We got more of the ball. We’ve created more chances. That is good, and I think over time you’ll expect to win more of those games.”
