A Bittersweet Homecoming: Oakland 0-1 Phoenix

 

The beautiful Laney College Field

Lots of homecomings are bittersweet. Roots’ return to Laney to take on Phoenix Rising FC, the top dog in the Pacific Division, and possibly the USL Championship as a whole, was no different. The result was obviously bitter. But there was plenty of sweet for Oakland to build on in the coming weeks. (Also sweet: the snazzy-looking new pitch.)

Roots’ return to Laney coincided with possibly their best health of the season, so Jordan Ferrell’s team selection is as close to Oakland’s best XI as we’ve seen this year: Oakland played a 4-2-3-1 with Morad and Klimenta as the CBs, Diaz as the RB, Ward as LB, Fissore and Mbumba in the double pivot, Hernandez as the #10, Weir on the left, Enriquez on the right, and Allen up top.

The teams played at a blistering tempo from the off, and the game was really stretched in the early going. Phoenix were eager to press Oakland’s back line, while Oakland showed far more desire to play over the top than we’ve seen yet this season. Roots had the upper hand in the early going. Jose Hernandez, finally playing in a #10 role, was rampant in the middle of the park. Phoenix simply could not corral him, and he was critical to Roots’ early work to retain possession of the ball.

This possession nearly paid off: Roots generated two corners within the first nine minutes. On the second, Brandon Allen got his head to the ball, and then Emrah Klimenta got to the rebound, but he skied his attempt.

Oakland would not let up. In addition to Hernandez through the middle, Memo Diaz found acres of space to run into down the right-hand side of the field. On occasion it seemed like Phoenix had simply forgotten about him. He was able to put several dangerous-looking crosses into the box, but Phoenix was always up to the task.

On defense, Oakland did what we’ve seen them do game after game: prevent the opposition from playing through the middle and force them wide. Phoenix ran most of their offense through Aodhan Quinn, playing on the left side of their midfield. He had eyes for Rising’s two wingers: Santi Moar, on the left, and Solomon Asante, on the right. But Roots did a great job of shutting down the passing lanes to Moar, leaving Quinn only the option of sending the ball over the top to Solomon Asante.

The problem, of course, is that Asante (who we highlighted in the Preview) is one of the best players in the Championship. So these normally-low-percentage plays were actually pretty dangerous.

That @Asante20Magic T O U C H

0-0 | #OAKvPHX | #RisingAsOne

ENGLISH RADIO: https://t.co/Adf0WfRMLG
SPANISH RADIO: https://t.co/wA04Y5AGeE
ESPN2: https://t.co/7qpo59FhAS pic.twitter.com/Ehzgnidh0w

— Phoenix Rising FC (@PHXRisingFC) August 5, 2021

That touch, for instance, led to a shot from the top of the box that caused Roots fans everywhere to tighten their sphincters. But Oakland was ready for this. As we described above, Akeem Ward occupied the left back role yesterday. The Blog has previously suggested that the team looks better with Ward in that role, rather than his preferred right back role, but when we made that statement we were talking more about the Roots’ attack (and more on that below). But Ward has served in the left back role in two recent games, against Rising and Los Dos, in order to shadow the opposition’s most dangerous player (Asante and Los Dos’s Axel Picazo). And in this match, with one notable exception, he did a creditable job of preventing Asante from creating anything too dangerous.

Oakland’s early rhythm was interrupted by an injury to Tarn Weir in the 21st minute, as he appeared to roll his ankle during a fairly standard looking tackle. He tried gamely to soldier on, but just a few minutes later appeared to re-roll the same ankle, and had to come off. Jordan Ferrell opted to sub on Soya Takahashi, and to play him in Weir’s place, rather than shuffling the fullbacks. Initial returns were a tad suspect: shortly after Takahashi’s introduction there was a moment where it seemed as though he and Ward had miscommunicated about their defensive responsibilities, and Asante nearly got in behind. But after that initial wobble, this substitution worked just fine.

Oakland seemed to take their foot off the gas slightly after Weir’s injury, opting for a far more passive press. In hindsight, I think Ferrell was sensitive to the fact that several of his key players are returning to match fitness, and he wanted to preserve them for the second half. The strategy did not backfire. Rising had two chances of note during the balance of the first half. In the 36th minute, a corner kick almost found Rising CB Joe Farrell at the far post, but Zeus was first to the ball. The ref called a foul on Farrell, and there were shouts for a yellow. On replay, it seemed as though Farrell put his elbow into Zeus in the battle for the ball. It was borderline but a yellow would have been justified.

In the 45th minute, Aodhan Quinn finally found a lane to pass to Santi Moar, who cut the ball inside, and uncorked a screamer from about 20 yards.

Quinn finds a passing lane

The ball was kept out of the net by a diving Zeus, who on replay appeared to be wearing a cape and have an “S” on his chest.

Super-Zeus!

Rising came out of the locker room with a purpose, and another long range shot just 58 seconds into the second half called Zeus into action, but he calmly parried the ball out of bounds. On the ensuing corner, Joe Farrell again fouled the Curacaoan keeper, and somehow got away with only a warning.

Jose Hernandez then sprung back into action, ensuring that Oakland got and kept possession. Roots worked the ball down the pitch, and enjoyed a lengthy spell of possession in and around the 18-yard box, but somehow managed not to get a shot off.

Around ten minutes into the second half, Tarek Morad went down, appearing to clutch his left quad or hip flexor. Again, the injury seemed to disrupt Oakland’s rhythm. I think as well that the high pace of the match was starting to get to some of the players who aren’t yet at full match fitness. One-touch football turned into two-touch football, and Oakland stopped closing down passing lanes as aggressively as they had been.

This plainly did not escape the notice of Jordan Ferrell who readied a line change, but Phoenix Rising are the best team in the USL for a reason. They saw an opening and took it. The goal that turned out to be Oakland’s undoing began, as many Phoenix attacks did, with a long ball over the top to Solomon Asante. Akeem Ward tried to intercept, but mistimed his header, and Asante was through. He centered the ball to David Egbo, Rising’s center forward, who found Aodhan Quinn making an unmarked run from deep. Oakland had enough personnel in the box, but Memo Diaz was caught on an island. He made a step to close down a possible move from Egbo, and that was all the space Quinn needed. The reaction from Zeus was not great, but Quinn’s one-timer would have been difficult to stop anyway.

Hernandez, Allen, and Fissore were subbed off immediately afterwards in favor of, in order, Flores, Bokila, and Wal Fall. All subs were like-for-like. Wal Fall’s first touch was poor, inadvertently sending a Rising player in alone on goal, but Zeus activated his inner sweeper keeper, and made a sexy tackle on the edge of the box to preserve the scoreline.

After that, Oakland got their feet underneath them, and really put some pressure on Phoenix. Let’s return to our earlier discussion of Akeem Ward. As I said, I think this team looks better with Ward on the left. Now, you might counter, “But Blog, didn’t they play Ward on the left against LA Galaxy II to no discernible benefit?” And I would be forced to agree. My quibble with how the fullbacks were used against Los Dos is that they were too deep to really contribute to the buildup. Much earlier in the season, for instance in the first match against Sacramento Republic, Ward was making buccaneering runs into the midfield from deep, frequently unbalancing the opponent and creating space for Roots’ forwards.

Well, in the second half especially, Ward started making those runs again. What made them dangerous in this game was that he was supported by Takahashi, who arguably has the best left-footed cross on the team. So Ward had the option of cutting inside, which he did on a few occasions, or to hit Takahashi on an overlapping run. He did the latter in the 77th minute, and Takahashi’s cross forced Rising into some desperate defending. This is a potentially lethal combo on the left side, though I doubt we’ll see much of it, because Oakland will likely need to rotate their fullbacks. (Using Ward on the left also means he is generally opposite guys like Flores and Enriquez, and Oakland’s attack is, as a result, much more balanced.)

Oakland would generate three more chances. In the 80th minute, a goal kick found Bokila, who went super-saiyan to hold off dozens of Rising defenders, only to hit his shot roughly 50 feet over the crossbar. In the 83rd minute, Rising were forced to clear a Danny Flores cross from the box. (I swear Flores is involved in 80-90% of Oakland’s big chances this year.) And in the 86th minute, Wal Fall headed a free kick just over the bar.

Tempo. Oakland has several players returning from injury, and are entering a two-month stretch where they play practically every third day. So they will need to focus on preserving themselves to some extent. But my word, if they can come close to replicating the tempo they showed in the early and late parts of this match they will win one sooner rather than later. Phoenix, the best team in the league, were stressed. Others are likely to crack under the pressure.

Injuries. The potential multi-match losses of Tarn Weir and Tarek Morad could not come at a worse time. Even if these injuries are minor, both players could miss 3 or 4 games simply because of how often Roots are playing this month. Oakland should have the depth to compensate for the loss of Weir on the wing, although he has been a bright spot in the past few matches. Losing Morad while Max Ornstil is serving a suspension is something else altogether. I imagine the CB pairing going forward will be Klimenta and Greene. I don’t think this is a huge drop-off or anything, but Morad was wearing the captain’s armband yesterday before his injury, and you never want to lose a guy like that.

The last piece of the puzzle on offense. Oakland would appear to have solved about 90% of their offensive issues. We wrote after the last match that this is no longer the offense we saw against Austin Bold. Chances are being created, even if they’re not being finished. Roots are back to making threatening runs, finding space in between the lines, and they’ve even started to send in crosses. But there is not enough consistent service to the forwards.

If Oakland play in their next match like they did against Phoenix, I don’t think this will be a problem much longer. Between Fissore, Mbumba, and Wall, Oakland have a midfield trio capable of protecting the backline. We suggested after the last game that Hernandez would probably be very dangerous in a more advanced role, and it turns out we were right. (It was not a huge leap, to be fair.) Hopefully Blackwood returns soon and Weir’s injury is minor, because this team with a full array of attacking options, playing at the tempo we just saw, will be a force to be reckoned with. Future matches might even see multiple goals in a single match. Wal Fall’s return to health also provides Oakland with another much-needed aerial threat, both during open play, but, more importantly, on set pieces. A set piece goal might be just what this team needs to crack open opposing defenses.

(Also, after the last match, the Blog posited that Oakland may try and utilize a false 9 to take advantage of some of the pace the squad has on the wings. Today, Leo Messi became a free agent. I don’t want to say that we manifested this, but I do see an opportunity here for Roots.)

I have never seen an on-field official so concerned about where throw-ins were taken. That is all.