Oakland Roots 0–0 Miami FC: Offense Stuck in Second Gear
Oakland Roots are enduring their worst run of form in this young season. After beating Indy Eleven 3–0 in the Midwest, the Roots lost 2–1 at home to Hartford Athletic before dropping road games in the league to Loudoun United and in the US Open Cup to Sacramento Republic. Hosting Miami FC, an Eastern Conference side on the bubble of the playoffs, the hope was that Oakland Roots in a similar position on the Western Conference table could find another gear.
Lineups
Oakland Roots (5–4–1)
Paul Blanchette; Edgardo Rito, Emrah Klimenta(82' Anuar Pelaez), Neveal Hackshaw, Danny Barbir, Memo Diaz(82' Kevin Wright); Lindo Mfeka, Bryan Tamacas, Joseph Nane(45' Irakoze Donasiyano), Dariusz Formella; Napo Matsoso
Miami FC (3–4–3)
Jake McGuire; Curtis Thorn, Paco Craig, Aedan Stanley; Mark Segbers, Dennis Dowouna, Bolu Akinyode, Ryan Telfer; Florian Valot, Caludio Repetto(55' Michael Lawrence), Christian Sorto(76' Michael Salazar)
The key dilemma for Noah Delgado was figuring out how to best get the offense going without the injured Johnny Rodriguez (though post game Delgado did hint that Rodriguez could be back for next week’s game against Birmingham Legion). Though Formella has more frequently paired with either Rodriguez or the struggling Pelaez up top, Matsoso was tasked with leading the line. Miami’s more attacking formation would force the three center backs Klimenta, Hackshaw, and Barbir to be on their toes.
First Half
Bryan Tamacas’s cleverness unlocked the Miami defense for the first time with Rito making a great run and getting the ball to Formella. Before Formella could shoot, Miami recovered forcing him to recycle possession. The first shot on target came at the 13th minute from an unlikely source: Danny Barbir taking a speculative effort from outside the box, forcing an impressive save out of Jake McGuire. On the other end, the center back trio were locked in a physical battle with Miami’s front three. One of those battles resulted in a missed Hackshaw clearance that became a bad challenge, earning him a yellow card.
Along with Tamacas pushing the tempo forward and Joseph Nane helping his defenders put out fires, Memo Diaz stood out in this first half. Segbers was able to contain one of his runs in a speedy showdown, but he caused some problems for Paco Craig when one of Diaz’s crosses forced him into an awkward clearance for a corner. The half ended with Bryan Tamacas’s shot getting blocked.
All the ingredients for a victory were on the cards, but Miami looked resolute enough to make this a frustrating night.
Second Half
Oakland Roots came out of the gate with urgency, and it showed particularly through Dariusz Formella who was more clincinal with his movements. Rito once again made a lengthy run and nearly set up Diaz for the perfect state to the second half. Even the defense looked more confident with Klimenta and Hackshaw displaying their skill turning out of tight pressure from the Miami forward line. When Miami did finally get a shot on target, it merely rolled toward Paul Blanchette. That was the calm before the storm.
Miami’s offense began clicking and in the 65th minute, a flurry of chances had to be blocked by Roots players before one final salvo needed Blanchette to make a top left corner save. As the pendulum swung in the visitors favor, the Roots goalkeeper became more involved but he lived up to his nickname “Paul the Wall”. The one time the wall was nearly breached in the 81st minute, the crossbar and the offside flag came to the rescue.
The remaining chances came through set pieces and despite Delgado subbing off one of his defenders Klimenta for an extra attacker in Pelaez, close was as close as it got for Oakland. The inability to put away their chances was a let down considering a spirited effort in the other facets of the game, but a point was the least they deserved.
Final Thoughts
“Credit to the boys for getting the shutout defensively. We are looking at different things and formations, talking about runs in the box and getting good service to produce more opportunities in transition”-Noah Delgado speaking to the press postgame.
Coming off three games in the last week and some disappointing results in the last few outings, the spirit and energy of the Oakland Roots supporters did not waiver nor did that of the players. You can see the qualities of this team to be competitive against any opponent in the USL Championship even if the wins and the goals have been rare during this stretch. Next up they take on Birmingham Legion on the road, and I look forward to seeing this group rise to the next challenge. That grit and determination is what makes Oakland sports so special to me, and the Roots are the best exemplar of those qualities and continue to make this community proud.
