San Antonio FC took control of the match in the first few minutes and never let go in their 2-0 win over the Oakland Roots on Saturday night.
The visitors sit atop the USL Championship’s Western Conference standings, in contention to break the league’s all-time single season points record. The Roots are in 9th place and hoping to climb back into the playoff race in the final six matches of the regular season.
Early in the first half, it looked like the Roots were in danger of being blown out. The visitors’ first scoring opportunity came in the first minute of the match, when a long ball from Victor “PC” Giro found Samuel Adeniran, whose blast from the right side of the box sailed just wide.
Adeniran also scored the first goal of the match in the 5th minute, on another direct ball from near midfield by Mohammed Abu. Adeniran trapped the ball and slipped a left footed shot past goalkeeper Paul Blanchette.
Adeniran would continue to cause problems for the Roots’ defense all evening, including another chance in the 8th minute that was stopped by Blanchette.
Santiago Patiño nearly added a second goal in the 16th minute when his shot from outside the box deflected off of Emrah Klimenta and bounced off of the crossbar.
But as the half went on, the Roots were able to get back into the game by gaining more possession. Interim Head Coach Noah Delgado said that he thought the team was pressing because of the match’s playoff implications.
“We were just trying to get ahold of it more, you know what I mean? I think we were pretty rushed. We understand it’s an important game,” Delgado said. “We were rushing to get to go forward, where I thought we could have went more side-to-side with quicker ball movements and and exploit them that way. But I think we were a bit rusty, and that’s okay.”
The Roots did have one good chance in the first half, when a long ball by Lindo Mfeka found Edgardo Rito with room to run. Rito dribbled to the edge of the six yard box, but goalkeeper Jordan Farr was able to smother his shot attempt.
As the second half began, Oakland got a boost when Óttar Magnús Karlsson came in as a substitute after missing three matches while on paternity leave.
Oakland took several shots early in the second half, including attempts by Rito in the 49th minute, Joseph Nane in the 52nd minute, Klimenta in the 57th minute, and Charlie Dennis in the 64th. But San Antonio’s offense began to reassert itself as the half went on.
Blanchette made three key saves in the second half to keep his club in the match, including two in in the 65th minute. Connor Maloney got behind the Roots defense, but Blanchette slid to deflect the ball out of danger. Adeniran grabbed the rebound and Blanchette hurried back into position to get in the way of his shot attempt at the near post.
Blanchette also got down quickly to stop a low, hard shot by Adeniran in the 80th minute.
But Adeniran finally put the match away in the 85th minute, when his shot deflected off of Klimenta and trickled into the net, past the wrong-footed Blanchette.
Delgado saw some bright spots in the team’s performance.
“It’s tough to get up and fighting back against a team of that quality. They’re a strong, organized team and we knew that coming in. It made things difficult. Especially with the early goal,” Delgado said. “But we had bits and pieces that worked together, that played well. But as an overall performance, we’ve gotta continue pushing. We won’t have the ball the whole time, but something more of complete performance.”
The Roots’ next match is at Phoenix Rising next Saturday. Former Coach Juan Guerra won’t be on the Phoenix sideline, but he will be at the stadium and on the minds of fans who question his decision to abandon the team in the middle of the season.
Delgado said his team is ready for the challenge, after surviving a tough first three games for the post-Guerra era against three strong playoff contenders: San Diego, Sacramento, and San Antonio.
When Delgado was asked what he would tell his team after the match, he kept it simple.
“We’re still in it. Put their heads up, go to sleep, recover. We’ll check out our injuries where we’re at, seems like we might’ve picked up a couple, And then keep fighting, get ready for the next one.”
