The Oakland Roots finally caught the break they needed to earn their first win in 83 days.
Los Angeles Galaxy II midfielder Owen Lambe’s red card helped Oakland climb out of an early deficit to defeat Galaxy II 2-1 on Saturday afternoon at Merritt College.
“I think we did a really good job of pressing them early and forcing them to play the ball. I think that’s what ultimately led to that red card,” said Roots head coach Jordan Ferrell.
The game did not start auspiciously for Oakland.
LOS ANGELES TAKE EARLY LEAD
“Los Dos” earned a quick lead twelve minutes in when Los Angeles’s Jorge Hernández free-kick from outside the box bounced off the Roots defensive wall and into the net.
Shortly after, the Galaxy almost doubled their lead, but Oakland keeper Paul Blanchette saved Daniel Aguirre’s shot well.
But six minutes later, the whole game changed when Lambe took down Roots midfielder Wal Fall as he ran behind the Galaxy defensive line. Referee Sergii Demianchuk had no choice but to red card Lambe.
Down a man, Oakland quickly took advantage.
OAKLAND RESPONDS WITH TWO GOALS IN TWO MINUTES
In the 25th minute, a Roots corner kick was cleared to the top of the box. Luckily for Oakland, it lined up perfectly for Max Ornstil. He rocketed his long-range shot past Galaxy keeper Justin vom Steeg.
His teammates mobbed Ornstil while the Oakland native savored the moment kissing his Roots crest in front of the cheering crowd of 3,451.
It only took one more minute for the Roots to take the lead.
Newly acquired forward Quincy Amarikwa picked up a deep Oakland throw-in. The former MLS player danced on the goal line before slotting a perfectly weighted pass across the goalmouth that found an unmarked Yohannes Harish at the far post for the simple tap-in.
“Getting that second goal before the half makes a big difference,” explained Ferrell. ” It allowed us to make some tweaks in the second half to maintain the lead and get the win.”
SECOND HALF
Despite being down a man, the Galaxy came out looking for the tying goal in the second half.
Two minutes in Los Angeles had their best chance when Joshua Drack was able to fire off a powerful shot from inside the box that Blanchette was able to absorb and force out of bounds.
From there, the Roots were able to kill off the game and earn its first win in twelve games. Their last victory was also against LA Galaxy II on May 23.
“It’s good to get on the win column, but hopefully, LA Galaxy II isn’t the only team we are beating this season,” Ferrell joked after the game.
