Oakland Roots vs LA Galaxy II - Things To Watch

At 1-8-4, the Roots are still looking for its first win since May 23 when beating Galaxy II 3-2 in their first meeting. It’s been quiet the journey since then with the documented field issues thus far resulting in more matches at Livermore’s Las Positas (three) than their home at Laney, now leading to the club returning to Oakland at a different venue, Merritt College over in the Oakland hills.

The Roots are coming off a 0-0 draw with Sacramento Republic, where The Blog notes that Oakland did better to fill the center of the park, keep a solid back four, and finally find some of its attacking formula.

In our preview of today's match against Los Dos, our guy Peter Bloom takes a look at Galaxy’s recent run of form.

With the team coming back to full health and a near-complete roster formulating for head coach/technical director Jordan Ferrell, we’re now enabled to pull from his thoughts and perceived playing style to make more valid speculation. 

Ferrell’s recent comments on how Roots SC’s system progressed against Republic gave some insight on what he envisions and his preferred formation of a 4-2-3-1, which Oakland has now run three straight matches.

"I think you're seeing a relatively stable shape for us, and there's a couple piece that are slightly different depending on the personnel… We're also building relationships, like Brandon [Allen], [Jeremy] Bokila, Quincy [Amarikwa]; all players who haven't played a lot together. The good thing is we have a lot of minutes over the next couple of weeks. We'll work those relationships out as quickly as possible."

Here are some situations to keep an eye on:

Will the goals come?

The obvious elephant in the room is the Roots shaking those demons towards three points.

Ferrell has said after each of our discussions, “We’re going to get you guys a win,” and we try to reflect that optimism in our match preview on Friday.

Ferrell added that Roots feel like they are at the doorstep of an offensive breakthrough, but also stressed the importance of defensive foundation—pointing out that Oakland didn’t have a full squad in its July 25 match loss to LA.

“Yeah it does, for sure. The goose-egg on the defensive side of things is something we prioritize, I've reiterated that a lot because it gives us a platform for everything and confidence. I think it's the next step for us, the game against the Galaxy this weekend will be a big challenge for us. Last time we saw them, we didn't have our full squad. This time, I think we're starting to get closer and closer to our full squad, so it'll be a much different game than we've seen the first two outings."

Jeremy Bokila made his presence felt instantly after subbing on in the 63rd minute, knocking a shot on goal in the 64th and a near attempt blocked in the 85th.

Brandon Allen, as well, is another target man still looking for his best form after signing on June 28.

Can either score on Saturday?

Quincy Amarikwa back in the lineup?

Will Saturday be Quincy Time?

Ferrell had high praise of Amarikwa’s instant impact on Wednesday’s game, making sure to mention the veteran running down a ball from 50-yards just to knock it out of bounds.

“It's not something that a player of his caliber usually does [close down a ball from distance], but it’s something he does with his type of personality. The group sees a guy that has played more than 200 MLS games come in and chase somebody down for 50-yards just to knock a ball out of bounds. It changes the way you work, I think that was really stimulating for everyone to see,” said Ferrell of Amarikwa.

The forward helped lead one offensive opportunity in the 76th minute against Republic after receiving a pass from Danny Flores, but his pass in the direction of Bokila came up empty.

More veteran contributions?

If we’re commenting on Amarikwa, Bokila, and Allen, it’s also pertinent to mention that Wal Fall has appeared in the last four matches and scored Roots most recent goal in their 3-1 loss in Tacoma. He played well in replacement of Ariel Mbumba in Wednesday’s game.

Ferrell also believes that Fissore gives the Roots stability in the midfield and allows their attack to move with more security.  

“What we tried to do was drop Mati [Matias Fissore], that gave us a little more ball security as the ball moved side-to-side,” explained Ferrell on Wednesday.

Does the defense keep its form?

Ferrell’s defensive foundation is proving to be a building block for the club going forward, making high praise of wingbacks Akeem Ward, Soya Takahashi, and Memo Diaz, while fellow defenders Kai Greene, Emrah Klimenta, and Max Ornstil provide more versatility and skilled passing out of the back.

Tarek Morad has missed two straight games due to injury, but is another defensive stalwart.

Fall was another good defensive contributor against Sac with two successful tackles in as many attempts. Fissore, meanwhile, succeeded on five duels, three tackles, and made four recoveries of possession.