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USL Oakland Roots

Roots Secure Season Series Winning Victory over Sacramento

October 7, 2021 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Oakland Roots News Release


It was a chilly Wednesday night in Oakland but the USL Norcal rivalry brought plenty of heat as the Roots took down Sac Republic 2-1 in a thrilling match at Laney College. The Roots struck first in the 10th minute when midfield sentinel Wal Fall played a superbly disguised through ball down the middle of the park to Quincy Amarikwa who neatly tucked the ball away. It was the Bakersfield, Calif. native's second goal in just as many games.

Oakland pushed to double their lead but it took last ditch tackles from Montenegrin center back Emrah Klimenta and right back Memo Diaz to keep the Republic at bay. Just past the half hour mark, Sacramento capitalized on a scrum in the box and Dariusz Formella stabbed the ball home to tie the game one apiece.

The second half started with a frenetic energy as the fouls flew in and the referee struggled to maintain his control on the match. Momentum shifted back and forth until the 63rd minute when Roots holding midfielder Matias Fissore received the ball outside the right corner of Sac Republic's box and swung in a beautiful cross that found the head of Klimenta, who angled his header into the upper corner. Roots up, 2-1. Both squads continued to battle but Oakland held on, leapfrogging Sacramento in the standings and getting closer to the much-coveted fourth playoff spot in the process.

With five games left in the regular season, Roots continue their playoff quest against Phoenix Rising on Saturday night in Arizona.

Head Coach Jordan Ferrell

Your thoughts after a win?

It's good to wrap up the series against them. It's been a battle obviously, but for the first time we had everyone on our squad healthy and available and it makes a big difference. We also showed a much better mentality today than we did on Saturday and that's the progress we want from game to game.

On Saturday everything felt a little flat. But tonight everyone was ready and focused: the team and the fans. How did you get the guys ready for tonight?

Yeah I don't know if it was because everyone knew we were playing Sac but the crowd was amazing. We have one of the best Wednesday night crowds in the league. It's easy to get up for them - maybe it's tougher against Vegas. But tonight we were 2-1 up at the end of the game, but the conversation between the guys on the field was very different [than the last two matches when the Roots conceded late].

What was the message at halftime?

I felt like we came out a little flat, so maybe my message needs to change [laughs]. The players knew what was at stake. We did a better job at not rushing into wide positions and letting them trap us there. As long as we controlled the ball centrally it wasn't a problem, and we did that for a lot of the game. In the latter stages Sacramento started pushing numbers, they were direct, but we were able to sub on Tarek [Morad] to deal with that directly.

Oakland Roots SC vs Sacramento Republic FC

USL Championship | October 6, 2021

Venue: Laney College, Oakland, California

Kickoff: 7:00 PM PST

Weather: 65, overcast

SCORELINE: 2-1 FT

OAK: 2

SAC: 1

SCORING SUMMARY:

OAK: Quincy Amarikwa 10'

SAC: Dariusz Formella 31'

OAK: Emrah Klimenta 63'

DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:

OAK: Guillermo Diaz (Yellow, 28')

SAC: Dariusz Formella (Yellow, 28')

OAK: Wal Fall (Yellow, 49')

SAC: Emil Cuello (Yellow, 56')

SAC: Jordan McCrary (Yellow, 60')

SAC: Petteri Pennanen (Yellow, 90'+2)

OAKLAND ROOTS LINEUP: Wal Fall, Matias Fissore, Lindo Mfeka (Max Ornstil), Akeem Ward, Jose Hernandez, Paul Blanchette, Emrah Klimenta, Memo Diaz (Soya Takahashi), Quincy Amarikwa (Tarek Morad), Kai Greene, Johnny Rodriguez (Travian Sousa)

Unused subs: Ariel Mbumba, Jesus Enriquez, Taylor Bailey

Shots: 10 | Shots On Goal: 5 | Corner Kicks: 1 | Fouls: 14 | Offside: 3 |

SACRAMENTO REPUBLIC FC: Carlos Saldana, Jordan McCrary, Harden Sargis, Dan Casey, Markhus Lacroix (C), Jaime Villareal (Petteri Pennanen), Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu (Jerome Kiesewetter), Dariusz, Emil Cuello (Patrick Weah), Cam Iwasa, Maalique Foster (Kharlton Belmar)

Unused subs: Rafael Diaz, Shannon Gomez, Nabi Kibunguchy

Shots: 12 | Shots On Goal: 4 | Corner Kicks: 1 | Fouls: 24 | Offside: 1 |

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from October 7, 2021


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