Magic in the East Bay, Oakland Roots Win 1-0 in Home Opener

April 2, 2023 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Oakland Roots News Release

Oakland Roots on game day
(Oakland Roots)

Johnny Rodriguez found the back of the net for his second goal of the season only moments after substituting into the game, giving Oakland Roots a 1-0 lead they would never relinquish in a win over New Mexico United at Pioneer Field on the CSU, East Bay Campus Saturday Night.

Oakland Roots started strong with a flurry of scoring chances early in the match, and while Oakland was unable to capitalize in the first half, they continued to apply pressure leading to the goal in the 63rd minute.

Despite holding the lead and playing up a man after a red card was issued to United’s Justin Portillo in the 71st minute, Oakland looked determined to keep their foot on the gas to close out a game they controlled from the outset, nearly scoring again on multiple chances towards the end of the match.

Oakland Roots return to CSU, East Bay on Tuesday, April 4th at 7:00 PM PT to play El Farolito in Round Two of the U.S. Open Cup.

Interview with Head Coach Noah Delgado

Alright Noah, big win, first win of the season, just give me your initial takeaways, what you thought worked well, and what was effective.

The group in general grinding the game out, you know, just worked hard on and off the ball. We had some good moments and we created some good chances, but also moments where we didn’t have the ball we had to defend and had to defend our box, but just proud of the effort. We can definitely improve on some things, but it’s nice to get a win at home.

Obviously a great result after a stressful week. What was your message to the team throughout the week?

Throughout the week, I would say just go to work and then really focus on the game today. They were very professional all week. There wasn’t a lot of talk about it, they wanted to just see the field and train here, and it just goes to credit the trainers and coaches and the culture to deal with adversity and come out and play for the team.

Oakland Roots SC vs New Mexico United

USL Championship | April 1, 2023

Venue: Cal State University, East Bay, Hayward, California

Kickoff: 7:00 PM PT

Weather: 52° degrees, clear

SCORELINE:

OAK: 1

NM: 0

SCORING SUMMARY:

OAK: 63′ Johnny Rodriguez

DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:

NM: 14′ Santi Moar (yellow card)

NM: 22′ Sam Hamilton (yellow card)

NM: 51′ Justin Portillo (yellow card)

OAK: 53′ Napo Matsoso (yellow card)

NM: 71′ Justin Portillo (2nd yellow card)

OAK: 86′ Memo Diaz (yellow card)

NM: 89’…