The Oakland Roots’ home woes continued in their 1-0 loss to FC Tulsa at Pioneer Stadium on Saturday night. The Roots were unable to win any of their six home matches against Eastern Conference teams this season, with two losses and four draws.
Philip Goodrum’s 10th minute goal was all the visitors needed. Goodrum started his run to the back post just as Marcus Epps delivered a perfectly placed cross. Neveal Hackshaw lost track of Goodrum and Danny Barbir wasn’t able to get over quickly enough to prevent an unmarked Goodrum from heading the ball into the back of the net.
“Epps got the ball on the left, tucked in. Goodrum made a run to the back post and got free,” Roots’ Head Coach Noah Delgado said after the match. “I’ll need to watch a little more film to see what exactly happened. But it was a good service and a good run. We’ve just got to defend the box.”
Oakland goalkeeper Paul Blanchette made a pair of crucial saves in the 29th minute to keep the Roots within striking distance. Eric Bird’s through ball sprung Milo Yosef on a breakaway, but Blanchette deflected his shot attempt away. Yosef grabbed the rebound and passed it to Goodrum, who was closely pursued by Barbir. Blanchette went to ground to swat away Goodrum’s attempt from close range.
Johnny Rodriguez had the Roots’ first chance in the 33rd minute. Bryan Tamacas sent in a long ball from just over midfield. Rodriguez chased it down near the end line and fired a one-timer that sailed across the goal mouth and went just wide.
Oakland’s Lindo Mfeka was yellow carded in the 35th minute for taking down a Tulsa player from behind.
The Roots also had multiple chances in the 36th minute. Mfeka’s cross made its way through the goalmouth, but there were no Roots players to redirect it into the met. Jeciel Cedeño then took a shot that was deflected over to Tamacas, who headed the ball wide.
And then disaster struck, just before halftime. The Roots went a man down when Mfeka received his second yellow card, after kicking a Tulsa player in the thigh while in pursuit of a loose ball.
No Goals in the Second Half
The second half was a chippy affair, with 5 yellow cards for Oakland and 4 for the visitors. Tulsa’s Head Coach Blair Gavin even got into the act in second half stoppage time with a yellow card of his own.
When asked after the game whether he thought that the referee had lost control of the game in the second half, Delgado replied with a one-word answer:
“Yes.”
In addition to the hard fouls and flopping, the Roots were also a few offensive chances. Barbir had one in the 66th minute with a shot from the edge of the box that sailed wide.
In the 69th minute, Tamacas got his head on a corner kick, but his shot sailed over the crossbar.
Tulsa’s Epps was red carded in the 79th minute, leaving both teams to play the remainder of the match with 10 men.
Oakland substitute Ryan Her had a chance in second half stoppage time, but his header was punched away by Tulsa goalkeeper Michael Nelson.
“I wouldn’t say today was our best game but I was happy with the second half, the fight,” Delgado said “We played a man down most of the time and made some chances and didn’t give up much. It was a good reflection and we’ll build off of that.”
Injured Players Returning Soon
While Tamacas and Hackshaw returned from national team duty, the club was still missing three key players: Joseph Nane, Daniel Gomez, and Tarek Morad. Delgado says he’s hopeful for their return soon.
“Hopefully we get them all in training next week,” Delgado said. “That’s the goal. With Tarek, it depends on the concussion protocol. JoJo looks pretty good. And Gomez, he’s running so we can see if he can have him train.”
Njie Makes His First Home Debut
Baboucare Njie made his second appearance for the Roots. He was acquired on July 25th in the Darek Formella trade with Phoenix Rising. Delgado says he’s happy with Njie’s promise and potential.
“He’s in the rotation now,” Delgado said. “Yeah, I think he’s a dynamic player that can get forward. He definitely attacked at the left wing back position. He’s a good quality player and he’s still getting his feet wet. Fifteen minutes against Vegas and now a little bit longer tonight. So I’m slowly building him up but I think he could be a really forceful player.”
