Despite Second Half Improvement, Roots Fall 0-1 to Monterey Bay FC

April 7, 2024 – United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Oakland Roots News Release

Oakland Roots on Game Day
(Oakland Roots)

Oakland struggled through the first half of Saturday’s match in the East Bay, and despite bouncing back in the second, could not find the back of the net for the third straight match, eventually conceding a late goal and falling to visiting Monterey Bay FC 0-1.

Roots struggled to move the ball up the field from the outset, as Monterey Bay smothered any attempts from Oakland to form an attack. While Monterey Bay had a few decent chances of their own, Roots were able to do enough to keep the sheet clean heading into the halftime break.

Oakland looked much stronger to begin the second half of play, pushing the ball up the pitch faster, pressing the opposition, and adopting a shoot first mentality that earned them multiple top-tier scoring chances throughout the second forty-five. Despite the effective adjustments Oakland could not convert any of their chances.

Against the run of play, and to the dismay of the boisterous crowd, Monterey Bay were able to take the lead in the 86th minute when Paul Blanchette couldn’t quite get his hands on a centering pass in the box, which left Monterey Bay’s Chase Boone all alone for the tap in to give his team a late 1-0 lead.

Roots continued to apply pressure and nearly equalized multiple times during the waning moments of play, but the visitors were able to weather the storm and reach the final whistle still holding the lead.

Oakland will now head on the road for their next USL Championship matchup to face El Paso Locomotive on Saturday April, 13th. Roots will return to the East Bay to face NPSL squad El Farolito in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Saturday April, 16th. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 PM.

Talking with Head Coach Noah Delgado

Tough result there. It looked like the team started putting things together there late in the first half – started carrying into the second, but just fell apart there. What do you think went wrong?

I thought we didn’t start well in the first half. I think we were giving away too many balls, making the game a real transition game that goes to their style and what they can do. I just thought our decision making – we were struggling in the first half. Once we started to find pockets in between, finding players, and making good decisions we had some really great chances.

The second half I thought we did alright. We created some chances – I think we were solid….