The Oakland Roots kept their playoff hopes alive in a 1-1 draw vs. Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on Saturday night.
But they still sit two points shy of the final playoff berth, in a crowd of five teams vying for the final three playoff spots. To make the postseason, Oakland may need to win their final three matches of the regular season, all against Eastern Conference foes.
Colorado Springs is in third place in the Western Conference and is hoping to secure a home match in the first round of the playoffs.
Saturday’s match was largely a defensive struggle, with few clear chances on either side. Colorado Springs had 3 shots on goal over the 90 minutes, while Oakland had only 2.
The Roots survived a disastrous start, giving up a goal 23 seconds into the match. Dennis Erdmann sent a long ball from the Colorado Springs half toward the penalty area and Aaron Wheeler headed it down into the path of Elvis Amoh, whose one-timer from the penalty arc was unstoppable.
The Switchbacks came close to scoring a second in the 13th minute, when Cameron Lindley’s shot off of a through-ball from Wheeler went wide.
Juan Carlos Azócar had Oakland’s first decent look in the 19th minute, when he made a run along the left side and took a shot that beat goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell, but sailed wide.
Lindo Mfeka continued his recent run of excellent play with a dipping shot from beyond the penalty area in the 40th minute that ended up just over the crossbar and landed in the roof of the net.
Roots Even the Match in the Second Half
The turning point of the match came in the 55th minute, when the Roots earned a free kick from 25 yards out. Amoh raised his right hand to block Óttar Magnus Karlsson’s kick, resulting in a penalty kick for Oakland. It was also Amoh’s second yellow of the match, forcing the hosts to play with 10 men for the remainder of the match.
On the subsequent penalty kick, Caldwell guessed correctly and was able to deflect the ball slightly with his foot, but Karlsson’s shot was perfectly placed inside the right post. (Caldwell had saved a penalty from Karlsson in the clubs’ first meeting this season, on May 30 in Oakland.)
Both clubs had one more good chance in the final 20 minutes to earn the victory.
Mfeka may have saved the Roots season with his defensive play in the 70th minute. Cameron Lindley’s corner kick found Matthew Mahoney for a header from close range, but Mfeka headed the ball off the goal line.
Karlsson nearly snatched the three points for Oakland in the 83rd minute. Azocar led him with a short pass into the penalty area, but Caldwell rushed out to smother his shot attempt.
In stoppage time, the hosts took their time setting up plays, seemingly happy with a single point in their final regular season home match of the season.
