Finally: Oakland 2-1 Los Angeles

 

Football is a game of moments. Tactics, talent, and training can set you up for success, but in every build-up or counter-attack, there is a moment when you need the ball to bounce right, when your first touch needs to be perfect, when you need to make just the right pass, or when you need to time your tackle just right.

We have been banging on for a while now about how the Roots look like they’re right on the cusp. But these special moments have eluded them. Even in the last match against Los Dos, although the final scoreline was lopsided, Roots had several golden opportunities to get on the board, but simply could not take advantage. Eventually they lost steam, as Galaxy’s development side put the game away in the final quarter-hour.

In the last two matches worth talking about (not you, match against Tacoma), Oakland’s gameplan has been on point. They went punch-for-punch with the class of the USL, and then clearly outplayed Sacramento. Roots have been just a bit of luck/magic/quality away from returning to the win column. Frankly, Roots were due.

Still, I can’t have been the only one who tensed up a little after LA Galaxy II opened the scoring on Saturday at Merritt College with a 12th minute free kick. Roots had an early opportunity, in the 5th minute, after some beautiful interplay between Akeem Ward and Wal Fall, but Ward’s cross was just out of the reach of Quincy Amarikwa. And between that, and Los Angeles blasting home their first set piece opportunity, I had a sinking “here we go again” feeling.

But this story had a different ending. In the 22nd minute, as Los Dos were attempting to play out of the back, Owen Lambe took a bad first touch right on the edge of the Galaxy box and Wal Fall was there to pounce. Lambe did what he had to do, but taking an opponent down when you are all that stands between them and the goal is a red every time. Roots were not going to let this opportunity pass them by. The ensuing free kick was deflected out for a corner. Galaxy had the first head to Hernandez’s in-swinger, but down a man they had no one free to follow up and get the ball clear. Instead, the ball bounced right to Max Ornstil who put his foot right through the ball and sent it screaming into the corner of the net. The cathartic effect was obvious: Ornstil let out a roar and then leapt for joy, getting a truly impressive amount of air for a guy named “Max.” And you know what? This one did feel different.

BANG BANG!! @Sir_Maximus_ #OAKvLA pic.twitter.com/ZaWXoaKGaB

— Oakland Roots (@oaklandrootssc) August 14, 2021

Just a minute later, Oakland made sure to cement this narrative. Off a throw-in, Quincy Amarikwa held off two Galaxy defenders, gathered the ball along the byline, and sent the ball through the five hole to Yohannes Harish at the far post.

Roots took a bit of a risk at that point, electing essentially to take the air out of the ball with over an hour of game time left. Even up a man, I don’t know if there’s a “safe” one-goal lead anywhere in the USL, and maybe especially not against one of the league’s most potent offenses. But given the volume of football Roots have on the schedule right now, I think it was the right move.

Apart from the goals and the win, I thought there were a couple notable aspects to Roots’ performance on Saturday. First, I think the formation was new. Given the personnel, both I and the TV announcers expected a 4-2-3-1, but to my eyes Roots played in more of a 4-1-4-1, with Wal Fall occupying a more offensive role, leaving Max Ornstil as the lone defensive mid. I think this is a great development. We’ve seen Jordan Ferrell employ a 4-4-2 on several occasions but Roots don’t really have 2 strikers that have shown they can play together up top, and at the moment they’re down to two fully fit strikers anyway, neither of whom have played a full 90 yet this season. This formation also pushes the wingers out wide, giving Oakland plenty of width without relying on the fullbacks, though the fullbacks still have lots of license to get forward. A 4-1-4-1 does tend to require some 1-v-1 defending at the back, but Akeem Ward and Kai Greene did excellent work preventing Axel Picazo and Preston Judd, Los Angeles’s two most dangerous offensive weapons, from finding much room to operate.

The addition of Quincy Amarikwa also has added a new dimension to Oakland’s attack. His physicality has been on real display in his first two matches with the squad. Against Sacramento, his defensive work was outstanding. His most notable moment against Los Dos was obviously his work boxing out to Galaxy players to set up the second goal. Oakland’s attack has been lacking in this department, and it’s clear they benefit from Amarikwa’s presence on the wing. Going forward, one thing I’m interested to see is how (or if) Jordan Ferrell uses Amarikwa and Danny Flores together. Amarikwa lined up on Saturday where Ferrell has used Flores in the past, so Farrell will probably need to get creative to get the best out of both of these guys.