May 18, 2024 – United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Oakland Roots News Release
Oakland Roots on game day
(Oakland Roots)
With just seconds remaining in added time of the second half, Roots scored a miracle goal to earn all three points in their contest versus Orange County SC by a final score of 2-1 on Saturday night in the East Bay.
Both sides started the contest looking strong, with Oakland and Orange County both earning quality scoring chances including a three-on-two attacking advantage for the Roots in the 15th minute of the match which was cleaned up well by OC.
Orange County opened the scoring in the 21st minute when a cross into the box from the left side courtesy of OC defender Ryan Doghman found a leaping Thomas Amang who put a quality header into the back of the net to give his side a 1-0 advantage.
Roots would counter only a short time later, after a hard foul in the Orange County penalty area earned Oakland a penalty kick in the 31st minute. Trayvone Reid made no mistake from the spot, firing the ball towards the right side and past the outstretched hands of the Orange County keeper to level the match at 1-1.
Both teams continued to trade scoring opportunities with Roots earning the lion’s share of them, but despite the attacking pressure it seemed that the match was headed towards a 1-1 draw as the game entered extra time.
In a desperation attempt as the final whistle seemed imminent, Roots’ Jeciel Cedeño received a throw in near midfield and immediately sent a deep lob towards the box. Waiting at the end of the high arc was Gagi Margvelashvili who managed to stay onside, corral the long ball, and boot it past the Orange County keeper sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
Roots will now head on the road for matches against FC Tulsa and Loudon United FC before returning to the East Bay on June 8th at 7 p.m. to face Tampa Bay Rowdies on double-header night with Oakland Soul.
Talking with Interim Head Coach Gavin Glinton
Okay Gavin, big result. Eighteen shots is a big season high. Just talk about how you wanted the system to operate and how they executed.
I thought we executed fantastically. We wanted to be able to stretch them out. We talked about a lot of being able to build up in some versatile ways, and being able to move them around a lot. We wanted to be very, very aggressive in the final third and force them to have to defend that. I thought the guys did an excellent job – so happy for them tonight.
Guys go down in the 21st minute…