USL Oakland Roots

Oakland Roots Drop Season Opener at Rio Grande Valley.

Published on March 12, 2022 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Oakland Roots News Release


In the first game of the season Oakland Roots lost 1-0 on the road to Rio Grande Valley FC. The hosts took the lead in the 35th minute via Frank Lopez who found time on the ball to calmly slot it home. The striker was dangerous all night as the South Texas side controlled much of the first half. The best chance of the night for Oakland came just before the break when Lindo Mfeka fired his shot wide from close range. Oakland Roots battled hard after a formation change in the second half but were unable to create the chances they needed to level the match.

Oakland Roots now head to Memphis next Saturday before returning home for the home opener against Monterey on March 26th.

Head Coach Juan Guerra:

First Game of the Season: what did you learn from tonight?

What hurts is that I didn't think we were us. We were working on certain things for five and half weeks and it took us too long to become who we are to become our identity, so that's what hurts the most. Not everything was negative. I saw some positives. At the end of the day we have to move on and there are still 33 matches left. We make sure we fix the things that didn't go well today and we start thinking of Memphis, tonight.

What is the first thing you would want to work on in training this week?

We have to make sure that we are brave, that we have courage, that we keep the ball in the opponent's half. At times we were too eager to go forward and be vertical and it was at times not necessary. We lost possession of the ball too many times and we want to be a team that can keep the ball. Today was a good test for us. We start thinking of memphis, and we move on.

You mentioned some positives: what were those positives you'd like to highlight?

It was good for us to transform for example. We changed the shape because we wanted to exploit other spaces that were available and the guys did it. So that was good. The team has the ability to tactically adapt, during games and that is important. I said to the guys it's just one game. I hate to lose and the boys hate to lose too and I'm sure we will be able to come back next week.

Oakland Roots SC at Rio Grande Valley FC

USL Championship | March 12, 2022

Venue: H-E-B Park, Edinburg, Texas

Kickoff: 5:30 PM

Weather: 52 degrees, clear skies

SCORELINE: 1-0 FT [RGV Win]

SCORING SUMMARY:

RGV: 35' F. López

DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:

OAK: 21' C. Dennis (Yellow)

RGV: 30' J. Vázquez (Yellow)

RGV: 53' L. Malesevic (Yellow)

RGV: 59' I. Martinez (Yellow)

OAK: 65' L. Mfeka (Yellow)

OAK: 82' A. Fuenmayor (Yellow)

OAKLAND ROOTS LINEUP: Taylor Bailey, Memo Diaz, Alejandro Fuenmayor, Emrah Klimenta (Danny Barbir), Akeem Ward, Jose Hernandez, Joseph Nane, Charlie Dennis (Johnny Rodriguez), Juan Azocar, Lindo Mfeka (Jesus Enriquez), Darek Formella.

Unused subs: Ariel Mbumba, Tarek Morad, Wolfgang Prentice, Paul Blanchette

Shots: 2 | Shots On Goal: 0 | Corner Kicks: 4 | Fouls: 13 | Offside: 2 |

RIO GRANDE VALLEY LINEUP: T. Deric, L. Malesevic (J. Ricketts), J. Vázquez, W. Ackwei, R. Coronado (S. Mueller), R. Ruiz, I. Martinez, E. Ycaza, J. Torres, F. López (D. Herrera), D. Borczak (D. Saez)

Unused subs: J. Garcia, C. Miller,

Shots: 13 | Shots On Goal: 1 | Corner Kicks: 6 | Fouls: 17 | Offside: 2 |

Check out the Oakland Roots Statistics

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from March 12, 2022


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