The Oakland Roots looked headed for a much needed victory Saturday night, October 11, at Cashman Field in Nevada, but a late leveling goal from the Las Vegas Lights FC saw the match end in a 2-2 draw.
Photo by Oakland Roots SC.
Neither side started the match looking entirely convincing, as both keepers went without any true tests for the first 25 minutes of the game. The Roots were dominating possession though, and were keeping the ball within the attacking third for much of the first frame.
Oakland was rewarded in the 29th minute, moving the ball upfield quickly with Danny Trejo using some nifty footwork to beat a defender down the left side before working into the box and sending a cross to Peter Wilson on the far post, Wilson redirected the ball off his chest and into the back of the net for his club record sixth consecutive match with a goal, and made the score 1-0 in favor of the Roots.
But Oakland hardly had time to celebrate, as the Roots conceded a set piece in their own end that led to a 31st-minute shot from the top of the box by former Roots forward Johnny Rodriguez. The shot took a massive deflection, lofting over the head of Kendall McIntosh to draw the match level at 1-1.
Oakland nearly regained the lead in the 50th minute when Peter Wilson was fouled just on the top right corner of the box. Faysal Bettache’s direct free kick rang the right post before being cleared from danger.
Danny Trejo returned the lead to Oakland in short order, after an excellent series of passing moved the ball beautifully from box to box. Bettache had a number of options at the end of his run into the attacking third, but played a short pass to his left, finding Trejo, who finished his shot off the crossbar and in, to make it 2-1 Roots in the 56th minute.
The remainder of the match saw some excellent defending from the Roots. That looked like it would be enough to earn them the win and all three points in the Western Conference table. But in an unfortunate turn, Oakland would let a late lead slip through their fingers.
The Roots conceded a leveler in the 87th minute when a cross into the box bounced off a Las Vegas chest before winding up at the feet of Stefan Stojanovic who let one fly to find the top right corner, That goal drew the Lights even at 2-2, with only minutes remaining in the contest.
On the very last play of the match, a net-front scrum led to multiple point blank shots from the Roots, none of which found their way through traffic as the final whistle blew with the score still deadlocked.
Las Vegas’ postseason hopes ended with the result, while Oakland’s own playoff dreams remain an outside possibility with the point earned.
The Roots will remain on the road for one more away game, as the club now heads to the desert to face New Mexico United in what is now a must-win matchup next Sunday, October 19 at 2 p.m. Pacific Time.
Summary
Scoring:
OAK: Peter Wilson 29’
LV: Johnny Rodriguez 31’
OAK: Danny Trejo 56’
LV: Stefan Stojanovic 87’
Discipline:
LV: Rory O’Driscoll 42’ (yellow card)
LV: Gennaro Michael Nigro 49’ (yellow card)
OAK: Camden Riley 52’ (yellow card)
LV: Anthony Herbert 88’ (yellow card)
LV: Younes Boudadi 89’ (yellow card)
Oakland Roots SC
Lineup: Kendall McIntosh, Gagi Margvelashvili, Camden Riley (Jürgen Damm), Daniel Gomez, Peter Wilson, Panos Armenakas (Wolfgang Prentice), Tyler Gibson, Neveal Hackshaw, Ali Elmasnaouy (Kai Greene), Faysal Bettache (Morey Doner), Danny Trejo (Ilya Alekseev)
Unused subs: EJ Johnson, Raphael Spiegel
Line: Shots: 14 | Shots On Goal: 4 | Corner Kicks: 4 | Fouls: 11 | Offsides: 0
Las Vegas Lights FC
Lineup: Raiko Arozarena, Elias Gärtig, Anthony Herbert, Gennaro Michael Nigro, Younes Boudadi, Thomas McNamara, Rory O’Driscoll (Patrick Leal), Giorgio Probo, Johnny Rodriguez, Vaughn Covil (Nighte Pickering), Stefan Stojanovic
Unused subs: Nicholas Ammeter, McKinze Gaines, Christopher Pearson, Jack Singer, Turner Humphrey
Line: Shots: 13 | Shots On Goal: 4 | Corner Kicks: 2 | Fouls: 17 | Offsides: 2