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Oakland Roots fall short in 1-nil fight to Sacramento Republic

Jonathan Comeaux

Oakland Roots fell short in a 1-nil loss to Sacramento Republic, conceding a penalty just one minute after halftime to propel the Republic to the victory. The result brings Oakland down to 11th place in the USL Championship Western Conference and moves Sacramento up to eighth place.

Aside from getting in position for the penalty, Sacramento didn’t do much to dominate the game. They finished seven shots and two on target, including the PK. Oakland had its chances, like Peter Wilson getting turned away by Danny Vitiello in the eighth minute and Panos Armenakas steering one wide 73rd.

“Obviously, the penalty to start the second half was a gut punch. They were able to sit back and protect. We had a couple of moments that made the game difficult, but I thought we did a good job give up too much trying to stretch ourselves going forward. When they are sitting deep, it gets difficult to pull them out,” coach Gavin Glinton said.

Oakland looks ahead to matches on the road against San Antonio (May 10) and North Carolina (May 16) before returning home against New Mexico United on May 24.

Here are our talking points from the match.

Talking Points

Oakland didn’t look terrible. In fact, there’s an arguement that they were the better side for all 90 minutes. They finished with 10 shots, three on target, and possessed 59 percent of the ball including 66 percent in the second half. But, a 0-1 scoreline ultimately shows how Roots, once again, couldn’t finish its chances.

“I thought the guys made a helluvan effort. In terms of our ability to circulate the ball, re-press, and stay in Sacramento’s end. Unfortunately we weren’t be able to reward that with a goal,” coach Gavin Glinton said.

“I’m really proud of the effort tonight and its just tough to walk out of here when you have shots, passes in the attacking half and possession–all the numbers everyone talks about outside of the results.”

Peter Wilson had Roots’ first chance in the eighth minute when Jose Luis Sinisterra played him a ball in behind, but Republic goal keeper Danny Vitiello did well to rush off his line and stop a shot. The ball fell to Wolfgang Prentice, but his shot didn’t have much heat on it.

Prentice was also played a dangerous pass in front of the net in the 37th, but his attempt looped out for a goal kick. Wilson also found Prentice in the box right before halftime, but Wolfy couldn’t pull off a shot.

In the second half, Panos Armenakas missed a big chance in the 73rd when Wilson laid off a nice pass for him in the box–but Panos scuffed his shot a few feet wide.

With proper finishing, Oakland could’ve easily had three goals, but the clutch gene has been missing for Roots in 2025. It’s a subject often talked about in coaching circles; can you teach clutch?

“It’s football. To your point, I don’t think you necessarily teach the clutch gene, you just keep doing the right things and then they start to fall your way. I think we continue getting ourselves in the right spots. It’s a Derby, so there’s not going to be a lot of clear chances,” Glinton said.

“I thought we did enough to at least get out with a point, but sometimes it doesn’t happen, especially when things are going tough. But I think our guys are resilient and they’ll take good things out of this performance.”

Aside from the Jagermeister Cup downturn, Oakland has been putting together its most encouraging performances of the season. The win over FC Tulsa featured a strong opening 45 minutes, while Roots’ second-half and overtime performance versus Tacoma Defiance were its best of the season thus far before a bad mistake ruined an otherwise positive day. Roots’ 2-nil win over Orange County looked like the most complete game the team has played all season.

Although they lost to Sacramento via a penalty kick, there were a lot of good signs with 19 touches in the box and 10 shots. It begs the question, how close are Roots to turning the corner?

“Every week in this league, it’s going to be tough, there’s no walkover. Our ability to fight, win second balls and impose ourself is something we are getting better at. Results are going to turn our way. There’s matches where you lose and you’re unhappy with the performance. This one is a tough one beecause I was happy with how we played and how we’ve done in the league recently,” Glinton said.

Gibson was asked if the team is close, responding everyone around the organization is frustrated with how things are going, but can see signs of life.

“It’s a fair question because it’s been a rough start. Everyone is frustrated, but there were a lot of positives against a good team and a Derby match. I think we’re close; we created chances, but we have to put them away. Things are coming together and we’re getting an identity,” Gibson said.

You can’t win the league in the first few months, but you sure can put yourself in position to lose it. Two games before hitting the 1/3 mark of the season, Roots sit in 11th place with seven points, equal with Lexington, Phoenix, and Colorado Springs.

With heat building amongst the fanbase to turn things around, Glinton said they are aware they need to get results, but remains confident in the progress he’s seen.

“We know we need to get results. Being able to pick up six points in the last two matches helps, but every week if going to be a street fight in the West. We’ve taken the right strides to make sure we’re ready and prepared when the little bounces start to turn our way,” Glinton said. “When you look at the last three losses we’ve had, the numbers show we’ve outplayed our opponents and created more chances. Over time, you expect to win more of those games. I think the guys see the progress and the process despite not getting the right results.”

Suffering a NorCal Derby loss ended Oakland’s two-game league winning streak, but Gibson can also see the signs and feels Sunday’s loss had different characteristics than previous defeats.

“We’re very frustrated about the result, but this was a different type of performance from the team. I’ve told the guys I’m very proud of how they fought. We didn’t feel like Sacramento created much of anything. In my mind, that wasn’t a penalty, but it happens. We feel like we’re moving forward in the right direction. There’s been other losses where we didn’t have this feeling and the effort wasn’t there. That wasn’t the case today,” Gibson said.

After Oakland’s 3-nil loss to Rhode Island a month ago on April 5, Neveal Hackshaw gave a spirited interview where he commented on demanding more out of the locker room. Gibson elaborated on how mentality has begun to shift since that April afternoon.

“There’s been a lot of internal talks, meetings, and fighting in training. It’s been a lot of ups and downs this year. Knowing players and hearing about things from previous years, you get a won against a top team and then play a lower-league team and lose. Those are things we have to sort out and its a culture thing. You have to understand you have to show up to every game. We’ve been working on building that culture, knowing that every game and every day in training matters,” Gibson said.

Press Conference

Starting Lineups

One change is Camden Riley back at the right back spot without Jurgen Damm on the squad list. Aside from that, no changes from the Orange County match. Looks like Njie at LB, CBs from left to right are Julian Bravo, Neveal Hackshaw and Kai Greene, and Riley at RB. Gibson and Bobosi start again in the midfield with Sinisterra in the #10. Prentice and Wilson look to keep their chemistry.

Timeline

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