Oakland Roots stood toe to toe with their arch rival, Sacramento Republic FC at Heart Health Park on Saturday night, and neither one blinked.
The resulting 3-3 draw won’t be completely satisfying to either team. The Roots remain in 11th place in the Western Conference standings, hoping to climb into the top 8 in order to make the playoffs, while Sacramento remains in second place, 8 points behind FC Tulsa in the top spot.
The offensive explosion was somewhat surprising since it’s the first time the Roots have scored 3 or more goals in USL Championship play this season and Sacramento hadn’t given up a goal at home since May 10.
Oakland Looks Confident From Opening Whistle
Oakland put the pressure on early and were rewarded with a goal in the 10th minute from a cross by Morey Doner. Julian Bravo missed on his shot attempt, but the ball bounced off of Danny Gomez’s knee and into the net, taking goalkeeper Danny Vitiello completely by surprise.
But Sacramento answered in the 17th minute, on a laser-like free kick from well beyond the penalty area by Rodrigo López that made its way around the four-man wall. Goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh got his hand on the ball, but was only able to deflect it into the netting.
Oakland nearly took the lead in the 26th minute, when Neveal Hackshaw’s cross found Gagi Margvelashvili for a header from close range. Sacramento’s Lee Desmond made it difficult to Gagi get off a strong header and Vitiello was there to make the save.
López also played a key role in Sacramento’s 33rd minute goal. He sent a through ball to Blake Willey, who poked the ball into the path of Cristian Parano, who chipped the ball into the net over the sliding McIntosh.
Oakland responded in the 45th minute. Faysal Bettache’s long ball from 35 yards out was perfectly timed to meet Peter Wilson as he made his run into the box. Wilson trapped the ball with his chest and retrieved the ball in front of the goal, as Sacramento’s Frederik Kleemann came up to challenge him. Wilson turned and fired a shot from an improbable angle that ended up at the junction between the post and the crossbar.
The hosts nearly scored again in stoppage time when Khori Bennett headed home a cross from Jack Gurr, but the referee ruled that Gurr had crossed the endline.
Sacramento Tries to Run the Clock Out
Sacramento took the lead again in the 54th minute on a sudden blast by Russell Cicerone from beyond the penalty area.
For much of the second half, the ball stayed in Sacramento’s end of the field. At first, it seemed likely that they would be able to cling to their lead until they ran out of time.
But Oakland’s efforts were finally rewarded in the 87th minute on a corner kick by Panos Armenakas. Jürgen Damm scored with a downward header that trickled past Vitiello at the near post.
Trejo’s Debut
New signee Danny Trejo came into the came as a substitute in the 72nd minute. He had one shot attempt in the 85th minute that was blocked by a Sacramento defender and he had a dangerous cross in stoppage time that was gathered in by Vitiello.
Next Week
Roots will travel to Kentucky for their first-ever meeting with Lexington SC next Saturday, August 23rd before returning to the Oakland Coliseum to face Monterey Bay on the 30th.
