The Oakland Roots’ debut at the historic Oakland Coliseum was a huge success, an all-day party with a sellout crowd of more than 26,000 fans making a defiant statement of the value of their community, even after three major professional sports franchises have recently abandoned it.
There was just one thing wrong: the final score. Oakland lost their third consecutive match to open the season, with San Antonio FC emerging triumphant by a score of 2-1.
San Antonio’s Luke Haakenson scored the game-winner in the 69th minute. Jimmy Medranda stole the ball near midfield and sent the ball into the box. It was nodded forward by Jorge Hernández and Haakenson gently redirected it into the net.
“What an amazing atmosphere,” Head Coach Gavin Glinton said after the match. “I think it exceeded expectations. Tonight they came out and really showed it, you know. They gave their energy, they gave their love. Amazing, and you know we’re gutted that we couldn’t give them three points.”
San Antonio and Oakland Trade Early First Half Goals
The crowd’s energy was dimmed somewhat when the Roots gave up the first goal of the match in the 5th minute. A long ball out of the back by San Antonio’s Mitchell Taintor took the Oakland backline by surprise, and Jake LaCava laid the ball off for Alex Greive for the finish from close range.
Oakland responded two minutes later with a bit of magic for their first goal in their new home. A corner kick by Panos Armenakas was partially cleared by a San Antonio defender and the Roots’ Justin Rasmussen did the rest, with a bicycle kick that took San Antonio goalkeeper Richard Sánchez completely by surprise.
“It all happened pretty quick,” Rasmussen said after the match. “My instincts kind of took over. The cross came in, and when the ball popped up I took a quick scan with my peripherals and saw no one in my vicinity or in my space. Like I said, the instinct just kind of took over. All I saw once I hit it, I was on the ground, and when I turned, I was able to catch the last bit of the ball ripple in the net.”
There were only a few other chances in the remainder of the first half.
In the 22nd minute, San Antonio’s Dominick Hernandez dribbled into the box and blasted a shot from close range, but Oakland goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh was able to bat the ball away.
McIntosh also made saves on shot attempts by Greive (29th minute) and Diogo Pacheco (45th minute).
Second Half Adjustments for Oakland
San Antonio dominated the possession in the first half, but Oakland made changes at halftime that helped bridge the gap.
“We wanted to make sure that we were extending a little bit more with an extra player or two when they started to to go back,” Glifford said. “In the second half, we started to force a lot of turnovers and mistakes. And you know, they started kicking the ball out of bounds a little bit as we started to apply pressure.”
But even with the adjustments, San Antonio still looked more likely to score, with a shot from Medranda that was smothered by the Oakland defense in the 53rd minute and an off-target blast from Almir Soto in the 57th minute.
Oakland’s sole response was a shot by second half substitute Jürgen Damm that went straight into the arms of Sanchez in the 64th minute.
And after Haakenson’s goal, Oakland had only one more shot, Panos Armenakas’s blast from just outside the box that sailed over the crossbar in the 87th minute.
As the match neared its end, some fans’ showed their frustration with the club’s impending defeat by shouting a homophobic chant. The public address announcer read a message saying that the chant was not allowed at Roots games and fans who used it would be ejected and not allowed to attend future matches. Eventually the referee stopped the match briefly before allowing it to continue.
“Our fans bring a rugged and exciting energy,” Glifford said. “We’ve got to make sure that that we don’t cross the line, though. Obviously, we need to to make sure that we respect the game, and we respect everybody. And so, you know, some of that, obviously, is not what we want to see. And hopefully we can bring the best of ourselves without adding some of that negative over and understanding that line.”
0-3 But Still Plenty to Hope For
“I think tonight we showed an ability to really to really fight and deal with a good team who plays long and picks up second balls,” Glifford said. “And you know, they’re scrappy, and they’re tough. So there was some real progress in those moments, really making sure that we eliminate some of the soft holes that have just continued out a little bit for the first three matches as well as getting on the ball a little more and imposing ourselves.”
Glifford also said he was happy with the ongoing improvements in his club’s defensive performance.
“It’s a group effort, right? And we’ve talked a little bit about some moments that have let us down, and then some individual moments where we haven’t been good enough. There’s been a real focus on making sure that our lines are tight, more compact. We’re tougher to play against, especially in the low block, so I thought, other than a few moments, obviously, that hurt us, I thought we were. We were better there today.”
