The Roots came into the season with many questions about how they would score goals after not returning several attacking players.
Those answers were not supplied against Rio Grande Valley, as Oakland fell 1-0 on Saturday evening in their USL Championship opener.
“We lost possession of the ball too many times, and we want to be a team that can keep the ball,” said new Roots head coach Juan Guerra. “Today was a good test for us.”
Despite controlling a majority of possession, Oakland was only able to manage two shots all game, with none on target.
While the Roots defense was solid, the deciding factor was one mistake in the 34th minute.
Rio Grande’s Frank Lopez found space in the box to shoot past Roots keeper Taylor Bailey.
Oakland’s best chance of the game was just before the half when On a turnover, Lindo Mfeka was fed the ball in front of goal. However, his strike went well wide.
Oakland will look to rebound on the road next weekend when they take on Memphis.
“At the end of the day, we have to move on, and there are still 33 matches left,” said Guerra. “We make sure we fix the things that didn’t go well today, and we start thinking of Memphis tonight.”
