Match Recap: Roots beat LA Galaxy 2-1; Oakland's Ornstil & Harish score

Photo by Jonathan Comeaux. Yohannes Harish surrounded after his goal.

The Oakland Roots got their first win since May 23 while under the sun at Merritt College, a 2-1 victory over LA Galaxy II. Town-raised players Max Ornstil and Yohannes Harish scored in quick succession at 25 and 26 minutes. 

Oakland trailed 1-0 at 12 minutes after Jorge Hernández banged in a free-kick a foot above the penalty area, but Roots stormed back with some help of a red card against LA's Owen Lamb at 22 minutes.

"Good overall performance from the team. We had to dig deep on our bench; a fortunate red card changed the game, I don't know if it was or not, but whatever.... It’s good to get on the win column, but hopefully LA Galaxy II isn’t the only team we are beating this year," said head coach and technical director Jordan Ferrell. 

Ferrell believes we're starting to see the Roots roster come together and his favorite starting 11 formulating. 

"A little tweak with Quincy [Amarikwa] coming in, we're going to see different bits and pieces in the lineup in the way we feel is our best 11 and we saw a little bit more of that today. 

"We rested Matias Fissore, but brought him in for the second half to give us a little more security. I think we did a really good job of pressing them early and making them have to decide whether to kick or play out of our press, and that led to the red card. I think that gave us some good momentum and we capitalized on it; that's the big thing. Getting that second goal before the half makes a big difference," said Ferrell. 

Roots' first goal came moments after Wal Fall's free-kick resulting from Lamb's red, leading to a corner. Jose Hernandez's cross into the box was headed out of the box but fell perfectly right to the feet of Ornstil standing five yards above the penalty area--uncorking a laser left of the keeper.

Ferrell commented that Ornstil has been yearning to take more shots in order to get in a rhythm.

"Max's hit after the corner was incredible. Just a couple of weeks ago, he was talking about how he needs to do more shooting to be comfortable," said Ferrell. "You saw when Max scored and the emotion in his celebration. He feels the club differently than others... Max certainly showed that energy and fight"

Oakland's next goal was a beautifully worked play from newly signed Quincy Amarikwa to Harish at 26'.

It started with Memo Diaz intercepting a lazy pass, leading to Roots gaining possession on a throw-in. Diaz, eyes on his forwards, tossed in a ball to Amarikwa by the end-line. The veteran forward was able to keep the ball inbounds while holding off an aggressive defender, then sent a slick pass across new to Harish on the doorstep for the tap-in. 

It has certainly been "Quincy Time" since Amarikwa signed with Roots SC earlier this week. He was impactful as a sub against Sac Republic on Wednesday and brought a clear vocal presence to Oakland's front line, often giving feedback to his new teammates. 

"His presence is huge for us. We got a great group, I think the addition of his personality can really be a catalyst for us for the rest of the season. That's what we expect from him, that's why we signed him. It was good to see him create some big moments," said Ferrell of Amarikwa. 

For Harish, he's one of the longest signed Roots players on the roster. The 28-year old Eritrean moved to Oakland at 14, is a graduate of Oakland International High School and Holy Names University, and is currently in his third year at the club after playing across the Bay on SF Glens. 

"Yohannes has been with us for quite some time. He's spent a lot of time here training and playing at Merritt. To get him on the score sheet in what's only our second home game in Oakland is really special," said Ferrell. 

The Roots were unable to get another goal to kill the game but had their chances in the second half. Harish had a slow shot on target in the 50th minute and another attempt blocked in the 75th. Ornstil had a chance to bag a brace with header that went narrowly wide in the 53rd, while Memo had a smooth cross to Chuy Enriquez, whose low diving header was saved in the 78th. 

"I think the one thing that concerns me is the opportunities we didn’t take. We had plenty of three versus twos, simple positions that we needed to finish in, but we made the game harder for ourselves," explained Ferrell.

The match wasn't without its defensive stops either; goalie Paul Blanchette appears to be locking down a starting role for Roots. He recorded three saves, two of which were diving, and one high claim. 

Despite a sudden move from Laney College to Merritt in the Oakland Hills, the near 3,500 people in attendance brought the Oakland energy to its temporary home.

"It was great, the energy from the fans was big for us. Like I said, we have to do our part to seal the game at 3-1. But I think the guys were excited to play with a lead after shooting ourselves in the foot in our last couple of games. Huge result today," said Ferrell of the crowd. 

Harish finishes as FotMob's Man of the Match with an 8.0 rating. Ornstil was credited with a 7.9 overall, Amarikwa earned a 7.7, Blanchette a 7.4, and Kai Greene at 7.3 rounds out Oakland's top-five rated players. 

Return for more analysis from our guy Peter Bloom tomorrow.