The Oakland Roots delivered one of their finest performances to date, defeating their NorCal rivals, the Sacramento Republic, 2-1, at Laney College on Wednesday night.
After a back and forth first half, the Roots got their winning strike from center back Emrah Klimenta in the 63rd minute to claim the season series against Sacramento.
The game had enormous implications for the USL postseason race. With the victory, Oakland clawed their way back into the fourth and final playoff position in the Pacific Division, two points ahead of the Republic and LA Galaxy II, and now hold the playoff tiebreaker advantage over the Republic.
“The players knew what was at stake,” said Roots head coach Jordan Ferrell after the game.
First half
Thanks to a Wal Fall lob pass, Quincy Amarikwa opened the scoring for the Roots in the 10th minute. Fall’s pass found the former MLS striker rushing in alone on goal against Sacramento keeper Carlos Saldaña.
Amarikawa showed the poise of a veteran while he calmly slotted his shot past Saldaña and into the far post.
From there, Sacramento upped the pressure on the Roots backline, and it finally failed in the 31st minute. Republic midfielder Jaime Villarreal picked out his teammate Dariusz Formella with a pinpoint pass in the box. The winger held off his Roots defender and was able to push the ball past onrushing Oakland keeper Paul Blanchette and into the net.
Second half
The game continued at a furious and intense rate, with both sides complimenting physical challenges with emotional outbursts, outlining the importance of the game to both sides.
However, the Roots held their composure better and finally capitalized in the 63rd minute.
Sacramento cleared an Oakland corner kick. However, the Roots were able to keep control of the ball, and it found its way to defensive midfielder Matias Fissore out wide. He was able to pick out Klimenta, who had stayed upfield in the box, and delivered a perfect cross to the defender. Klimenta’s header flicked the ball over the hands of Saldaña and into the net.
“I always tell myself put yourself in a good spot and good things happen, and Fissore played an unbelievable ball in, and I got my head to it, and it was my first goal of the season,” explained Klimenta. It was, in fact, the defender’s first goal in league play since 2017 when he starred for the Republic.
From that point forward, Oakland played a tactically intelligent game to hold off their derby rivals. Roots head coach Jordan Ferrell supplemented the defensive line subbing in Soya Takahashi, Tarek Morad, Max Ornstil, and Travian Sousa to preserve the lead and earn the three valuable points.
“The objective was to get a win, nothing less,” added Klimenta. “When we went up 2-1, everybody was pointing to their heads saying ‘Mentality. Let’s go.’ Were not giving up anymore, and that’s exactly what happened.”
Phoenix next for Oakland on Saturday
Next up for the Roots is a game on the road against the league-leading Phoenix Rising.
“Our focus now is on what we need to do to be ready to go at Phoenix,” said Ferrell. “We can’t look at the table and think we’ve arrived because there are games on Saturday that can completely flip the table.”
Oakland will look for a positive result before returning home for another vital home game on Oct. 16 against Orange County.
