An early goal and a tough defense powered the Oakland Roots to a 1-0 win over the Colorado Springs Switchbacks on Friday night.
The two clubs entered the match headed in opposite directions, with Colorado Springs having lost 4 consecutive matches and Oakland having won 3 of their last 4. But the Roots were playing shorthanded with Edgardo Rito unavailable for personal reasons, so Anuar Peláez returned to the starting lineup in the number 9 position, alongside Johnny Rodriguez and Darek Formella.
The Switchbacks came out firing, taking 5 shots in the first 10 minutes of the match, with 3 shots blocked and 2 that went wide. Their best effort came in the 7th minute, when Patrick Seagrist made a run down the left side to the edge of the penalty area, but his left-footed shot kicked off the turf and went wide right.
But while Colorado Springs dominated the possession early on, Rodriguez got the Roots on the board with Oakland’s first shot of the match in the 12th minute. Four Oakland players touched the ball as they made their way up the field. Napo Matsoso fed the ball to Rodriguez who was well outside the penalty arc. Rodriguez took a couple of steps and fired a shot that slipped between a pair of Colorado Springs defenders, skipped twice off the turf, and kissed off of the inside of the post and into the net, just out of the reach of Rodriguez’s former Roots teammate, goalkeeper Christian Herrera.
But the home side nearly answered in the 14th minute, when Deshane Beckford got behind the Oakland backline, switched the ball back to his left, and fired a low, hard shot that went just wide.
Oakland’s Danny Gomez had to leave the game with an apparent leg injury, after Colorado Springs’ Devon Williams was yellow carded for a hard tackle in the 17th minute. Joseph Nane replaced Gomez.
The Roots had a chance on a counterattack in the 18th minute, when Bryan Tamacas found Peláez in front of goal; Peláez got a foot on the ball but it sailed over the bar.
Goalkeeper Paul Blanchette’s first save of the match came in the second minute of first half stoppage time, when he jumped up to catch Jairo Henríquez’s lob from close range.
The Roots Take Over in the Second Half
The Switchbacks’ offensive onslaught faded in the second half, and the Roots were able to create the better chances.
Oakland should have added a second goal in the 58th minute. A one-timer by Formella beat Herrera, but bounced off the right post. The rebound came back to Rodriguez, whose shot grazed the left post. Memo Diaz fed Rodriguez for one final attempt, but Herrera got a hand on the ball and deflected it over the endline.
Herrera made a trio of good saves to keep his team in the match. In the 63rd minute, he pushed away a one-timer from Diaz. In the 71st minute, Formella had a breakaway, but Herrera stuck out his right foot to deflect the ball to safety.
Lindo Mfeka had the last chance of the match in the fifth minute of second half stoppage time, but Herrera made the diving stop.
Coming Up
Next Saturday, the Roots take their second trip to the desert since former Roots coach Juan Guerra left to take over as the coach of Phoenix Rising. Oakland won the previous meeting last season by a score of 2-0.
The Roots return home to take on the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Saturday, June 17th.
