Entering the month of August, Roots fans were just looking for their team to win a game. But after four wins and two ties, Roots fans can now set their sights even higher: a possible spot in the USL Championship playoffs.
Oakland controlled a Tacoma team that easily dispatched them three weeks ago, with a commanding 3-1 victory in front of 4118 fans at the friendly confines of Laney Stadium.
“What I would say is it’s been a long time coming,” explained Roots head coach Jordan Ferrell.
Roots defender Kai Greene scored the first goal for the home side in the 13th minute off a play straight from the training ground.
On a corner kick, Jose Hernandez made a quick short pass to winger Ariel Mbumba. He then crossed the ball to the near post to center back Emrah Klimenta, who flicked it back to the far post. His defensive partner Greene was unmarked to slam the ball into the net from close range past Tacoma goalie Christian Herrera.
Oakland then looked to keep the Defiance off the scoreboard but made a mistake on the first half’s final play.
Tacoma’s Samuel Adeniran corner kick found an unmarked Tom Brewitt, who flicked his header across the mouth of the goal and into the net to tie the game at 1-1.
During the break, Ferrell made sure his team didn’t lose focus.
“The reality is, you’re going to concede a goal at some point, but a big difference is we’re scoring first,” explained Ferrell. “I think that’s a really important thing psychologically because it’s just a new game at the start of the second half. That experience knowing that at 1-1, we know what mistakes not to make in the second half and to just follow the game plan.”
Oakland followed their game plan to perfection in the second half to seize back the lead and then finish off the visitors.
Three minutes in the second half, substitute Jeremy Bokila almost put the Roots ahead, but Herrera wonderfully saved his point black shot on goal. The Tacoma keeper also stopped a Wal Fall penalty kick six minutes later.
Still, neither setback deterred the Roots, who played for only the second time all season in front of their adoring fans at Laney College.
Three minutes later, Roots midfielder Hernandez intercepted a Tacoma pass in the middle of the field and quickly flicked it up to Ariel Mbumba. The 19-year-old successfully held off Defiance defender Taylor Meuller, then turned around him to poke the ball past the onrushing Herrera and into the goal.
Finally, Oakland put the game to bed in the 82nd minute when super-subs Johnny Rodriguez and Bokila linked up to give the team the cushion they needed to claim their third win in a row.
August was quite the month for the Roots. They entered with one win, three draws, and six losses, for six points total. They left the month with five wins, five draws, and eight losses, for twenty points total.
“There were a lot of things early in the season keeping us from finding a rhythm. You can point your finger at a bunch of things, but I think now we’re in a stretch where we’ve played games consistently and have had some consistency in the lineup,” explained Ferrell. “Tonight was the first night of the season where I didn’t have to make a sub in the midfield. Having the heart of our team game to game, and the core of our team game to game, now we’re at that stage.”
With the victory, Oakland only sits seven points behind Tacoma for the fourth and final playoff position. They are ten points behind third-place San Diego Loyal but have three games in hand. They also play three more games against the Southern California team, including Oakland’s next home game at Laney on September 11.
After a brutal stretch of eight games in one month, the Roots have almost a week off before traveling across the country to face the Eastern Conference-leading Tampa Bay Rowdies in Florida next Friday.
