RootsBlog

Saturday's postgame discussions featured The Blog's first with an Oakland Roots player, Quincy Amarikwa, and our usual meeting with technical director and interim head coach Jordan Ferrell.  It was good energy throughout Laney Football Stadium after the team's third consecutive 3-1 win, this time over Tacoma Defiance. The atmosphere was raucous, and on the postgame field were players and coaches feeling the love.  Ferrell marched along the Mosiac section with his son in tow and daughter along his shoulders; Matias Fissore brought his daughter onto the track for a photo; Jeremy Bokila handed off a jersey to a little girl, and Amarikwa's son cartwheeled his dad toward our interview, while his younger boy begged to get pushed higher up in his arms.   It truly brought emphasis to Roots SC's mission of uniting these players to the passionate community of the Town.  Here's a full transcript of Saturday's interviews:  Photo courtesy of Oakland Roots SC How the Oak...

We have heard on several occasions this year that Oakland Roots want to play possession-based football and control the middle of the pitch. So I was shocked when Oakland had between 29 and 32% possession (depending on whose stats you looked at) in the first half Saturday at Laney College Stadium. Oakland pressed high early. Tacoma’s keeper (Christian Herrera--nemesis of the Blog’s Jon Comeaux) demonstrated some shakiness using his feet, and it's difficult to break a press with a keeper whose passes you cannot trust. The first goal was (sorta) the result of this press: Oakland’s front line turned Tacoma over, and, after recycling possession all the way back, Oakland got a corner because Tacoma’s wingbacks had dropped momentarily into a back 5, giving Soya Takahashi some space between Tacoma’s front and back lines to receive a ball from Klimenta over the top. The goal itself was gorgeous, although I think Klimenta’s assist was accidental: Cobra Kai Greene puts Oakland up early! #OAKv...

The Oakland Roots are on fire with a three-match win streak, handling Tacoma Defiance 3-1 on Saturday with goals from Kai Greene in the 13th minute, Ariel Mbumba at 57' and Jeremy Bokila to kill the game in the 82nd.  Oakland now improves its record to 5-5-8, now 4-2 in its last six appearances, and third straight 3-goal performance.  "What I would say is it’s been a long time coming. There were a lot of things early in the season keeping us from finding a rhythm. You can point your finger at a bunch of things, but I think now we’re in a stretch where we’ve played games consistently and have had some consistency in the lineup. Tonight was the first night of the season where I didn’t have to make a sub in the midfield. Having the heart of our team game to game, and the core of our team game to game, now we’re at that stage," said technical director and interim head coach Jordan Ferrell.  Veteran forward Quincy Amarikwa also senses how the team is coming along. He's bee...

The Roots are on fire riding a two-match winning streak, five-match unbeaten run, and have won three of the last four matches. Oakland hosts Tacoma Defiance, which holds a 7-6-4 overall record (we put draws ahead of losses, apologies USL and MLS officials who aren't reading)  Here's our shameless plug of tonight's match preview . Oakland's last loss came at Tacoma, 3-1 on August 8, where sloppy mistakes and horrid officiating plagued the match. But since then, Roots SC has been on a roll despite it being the heaviest portion of the schedule. "The schedule is very challenging, for sure. But at the beginning of the season, we were struggling in not being able to establish a rhythm by not even playing one game a week. The benefit of the schedule and the way it's worked out is having a rhythm of playing games.  That's what players want to do, what coaches want, and fans as well," said Ferrell after their recent victory.  "With the 15 games that we hav...

Oakland Roots host Tacoma Defiance at Laney College on August 28 at 5:10 p.m. We anticipate the game being broadcast on ESPN+ and KOFY TV. Anyone reading this may have figured this out already, but the KOFY TV broadcast may not actually be listed on the TV Guide--it was not on Wednesday--but the game was still broadcast on KOFY TV. New Signing Alert [Source: Oakland Roots SC] Roots have acquired 28-year-old Jamaican forward Brian Brown on loan from New Mexico United, in an apparent swap deal for centerback/fullback Saalih Muhammad. I feel somewhat responsible for this, having posted this gif of Muhammad to show off New Mexico’s absurd kit sponsor: Let’s take a look at Brown’s numbers: [Source: FBRef] Brown has two goals in thirteen matches, which is pretty low, although he has only played seven Full 90s in those thirteen matches. Two goals and an assist in seven Full 90s is not terrible, and would put him near the top for the Roots so far this season. Brown has netted everywhere th...

Photo courtesy of USLChampionship.com The Oakland Roots announced that they have loaned Saalih Muhammad to New Mexico United for the remainder of the season, and in return receive forward Brian Brown on loan for the rest of 2021.  Both players have an additional year remaining on their contracts and will return for the 2022 season.  Muhammad returns to NMU, where he's made 34 appearances from 2019-2020 and scored once. The club welcomed him back on its socials.  REUNITED ⚫️🟡. Saalih Muhammad returns to New Mexico on loan from @oaklandrootssc for the remainder of the season! pic.twitter.com/Uwkm6BSTTV — New Mexico United (@NewMexicoUTD) August 27, 2021 Muhammad, 26, was the first signing by the Roots prior to its entry into the USL Championship, but the defensive midfielder hasn't been able to carve out a consistent role with just six appearances, usually rotating between center back and central midfield.   “We are thrilled to welcome Saalih back to New Mexico ...

Credit: Oakland Roots SC You have the league’s attention now, Oakland Roots. The quality of Oakland’s recent 2-2-0 stretch was in the eye of the beholder. Were they showing signs of improvement, or were they merely winning games against lower-table sides? The quality of Oakland’s win over Phoenix is not nearly as contestable. Phoenix are the runaway Pacific Division winners, and Oakland ran them off the windy Las Positas pitch on Wednesday night. https://t.co/k5suWmWCkA pic.twitter.com/G37r73Gofb — Seriously Loco (@SeriouslyLoco) August 26, 2021 This is basically unimportant because OAKLAND BEAT PHOENIX HOLY CRAP YOU GUYS, but we (or at least I) got an answer to a question the last couple of games have raised: Is Oakland playing a straight up 4-1-4-1, or are they playing a 4-2-3-1 with a #6 and a #8 instead of two holding mids? And the answer is the latter. The box-to-box to begin this game was Ariel Mbumba. In light of Phoenix’s well-known attacking prowess, it looked like Oakland’s ...

Photo courtesy of Oakland Roots SC It is coming together; the talent is coming through, and boy does winning feel sweet.  Oakland Roots SC is now on its first win streak in the USL and on a five-match unbeaten run after defeating the defending champions, Phoenix Rising, 3-1. "They’re the leaders in the conference and a really strong team. Maybe they took us a little lightly with the starting lineup they rolled out against us, but good for us right? We wanted to keep everything rolling returning home. This was one of the rescheduled games from earlier in the season so it’s good to take three points," said technical director and interim head coach Jordan Ferrell.  Oakland is officially out of last place with a 4-5-8 record, now ahead of Las Vegas Lights by goal differential. With three matches in hand on San Diego Loyal in fourth with 27 points, the Roots are playing their best and in clear striking distance of a playoff spot with continued results during a busy stretch in th...

Oakland Roots host Phoenix Rising at the second of three Oakland Roots home venues--Las Positas College--at 7:00 p.m. on August 25, 2021. The game will be broadcast, per usual, on ESPN+ and KOFYTV. Roots History Against Phoenix Rising : 0-0-2 Prior Match-Ups This Season The Roots started their season with a 3-0 loss to Phoenix Rising in Phoenix(ish) on May 8. That was before RootsBlog existed, so we don’t have a recap to link you to, but it was garbage that you’re happier if you’re forgetting. The Roots also played Phoenix on August 4, falling 1-0 . We were not optimistic going into that match. The Roots came into this match on the back of the terrible stretch of games we have highlighted ad nauseum over the last few weeks. The Rising game was the first sign things were getting better. The team was well organized, and threatened Rising several times. My colleague predicted, before the last match: “The Blog has said before that anyone could beat anyone else in the Pacific Division. ...

The squad is in form on a four-match unbeaten run after its 3-1 victory over Las Vegas Lights. The squad is past COVID woes and only Tarek Morad and Tarn Weir are apparently unavailable due to injury. Ferrell has mentioned 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1 as his choice methods, while we’ve been able to discern a 4-1-4-1 formation where a CDM plays behind the attack. Saturday, August 21's  lineup versus Las Vegas included: Soya Takahashi, Max Ornstil, Lindo Mfeka (subbed by Johnny Rodriguez, 66’), Jesus Enriquez (subbed by Akeem Ward, 81’), Jose Hernandez (subbed by Jeremy Bokila, 66’), Paul Blanchette, Emrah Klimenta, Memo Diaz, Quincy Amarikwa (subbed by Matias Fissore, 72’), Kai Greene, Yohannes Harish (subbed by Wal Fall 45’) Unused subs: Ariel Mbumba, Taylor Bailey. Ferrell’s variability in mixing midfielders to the attack, like Yohannes Harish, can leave a lot open to interpretation. So without further ado, the Blog takes its crack at at our predicted (or preferred) lineup choices. L...