Oakland Roots brought home three points in the season opener at Monterey, thanks to a Mark Fisher debut goal in the 85th minute. It doubles as new coach Ryan Martin’s first win in charge in his opening game as the club’s manager.
Monterey actually outshot Roots 10-9 with four shots on target to Oakland’s three, but the match noticeably opened up in the second half. Roots had the better of chances in the opening 45 minutes when Michael Edwards rolled a slow shot on target right before halftime.
Monterey’s best chance came in the 67th when an initial save by Roots goalkeeper Raphael Spiegel rebounded back into play, leading to a second attempt that was cleared off the line by newly signed center-back Michael Edwards. Roots nearly took the lead in the 78th minute when a cross by Faysal Bettache targeted Danny Trejo for a potential header goal, but Trejo was called offside.
Oakland stayed on the front foot, leading to Fisher’s winner in the 85th. It came when a corner deflected to the top of the box, leading to the scorer taking a touch to the inside, freeing himself from his defender in the process. With a curling left-footed shot, Fisher buried his shot to the top-right bin.
Here are our talking points from Saturday and our RootsBlog Player of the Match.
Ryan Martin, take a bow
As Oakland’s players and coaching staff approached friends and family along the sidelines after the match, Roots’ fans in section S5 chanted out to the new man at the helm, converting “Let’s go Oakland” into “Ry-an, Mar-tin.” Martin, lifting his head from his conversation to notice the fans, touched his heart in appreciation of his new supporters.
It may not have been the most elegant match, but it sure was a great start for Martin and company. There were glimpses of the blueprint he’s looking to install, finishing with 61 percent possession and 524 total passes with 438 completed to MBFC’s 250. In fact, Oakland held 77 percent of the ball through the first 20 minutes of the match, while that number decreased to 65 percent by halftime.
Martin’s system, inherently, will require a lot of building its offense out of the back. Oakland did just that with its back line and central midfielders on the night; Tommy McCabe completed 93 total passes with 14 going into the final third, David Garcia completed 76 passes with eight into the final third, Michael Edwards had 59 and five, Bobosi Byaruhanga had 44 and seven, Julian Bravo had 35 and seven, while Fisher finished with 26 and six.
Those six players finished with 333 completed passes on the night, 83 more than Monterey combined.
Bobosi & McCabe
Tommy McCabe and Bobosi Byaruhanga proved they could be the solidifying presence Oakland Roots needs in the midfield to help facilitate defense and turn it into attacks.
Although McCabe was credited with just a 7.3 rating by FotMob, his 14 passes into the final third led the team. He was also important on the defensive side with seven recoveries. His heatmap shows that he consistently hung around the midfield line.
As for Bobosi, he finished with a 7.8 rating, recording two blocked shots, seven passes into the final third, and one successful dribble. Defensively, he had 12 recoveries, won 4/5 ground duels, and won two tackles.
Bobosi’s heatmap was a bit similar to McCabe’s, but a little higher up the field.
Danny Trejo’s immediate impact
Danny Trejo entered in the 71st minute, and the game noticeably changed despite not being credited with any shots.
In 29 minutes, Trejo finished with 12 touches, including three in the box, one successful dribble, and one successful ground duel. He put himself in a great position to absolutely bury a header on a well-placed pass from Faysal Bettache, but the goal was wiped.
Although it was a small sample size, Trejo’s productivity in a short amount of time certainly sparks optimism about how things could look in a full match.
RootsBlog Player of the Match: Mark Fisher
Mark Fisher earns RootsBlog’s Player of the Match award for bagging the game-winning goal in his Oakland debut. It was a big moment for Fisher, presumably filling in for Keegan Tingey at the right back spot with the former Loudoun fullback missing in action. His goal required a touch of class, corralling a loose ball from a corner, centering the ball to himself, and wrapping his left foot around it to place his shot into the top-right bin.
Fisher received an 8.1 rating by FotMob. He took 58 touches with three of them in the box, completed six passes into the final third, four long balls, two tackles, two interceptions, and won two ground duels.
Starting Lineups
- Oakland Roots
Florian Valot and Keegan Tingey have been ruled out, meaning Faysal Bettache starts in the #10 role and Julian Bravo kicks out to left back over Jesus De Vicente. With Danny Trejo on the subs list, Wolfgang Prentice gets the nod while Tyler Gibson makes a surprising appearance on the wing. It’s worth mentioning that Gibson appeared as a winger in Roots’ preseason game that was open to supporters. In goal is Raphael Spiegel over Kendall McIntosh, which should be a battle to keep an eye on throughout the year. Starting in the back line is Mark Fisher at right back, along with CB combination of Michael Edwards and David Garcia. Neveal Hackshaw is on the subs list, and will likely appear in the second half.
- Monterey Bay FC
Timeline
Roots free kick goes right to keeper
Roots corner, headed out for another
Roots corner leads to nothing – 9 ‘
MBFC shot blocked in the box – 18′
Bobosi shot blocked- 32′
play in the box by Wolfy, squared a pass that deflects to the top of the box for Bobosi.
very boring first half. Not sure if Bobosi gets credit for the shot
MB sails a shot – 44′
probably their best chance
Edwards shot on target in box – 45+2′
big chance missed
First half notes:
Not much action for either side with Oakland Roots having 3 shots and 1 on target to Monterey’s 2 attempts off target. Oakland dominating possession with over 70% for much of the 45 minutes, finishing with 65%. Edwards a bit chance at the end, definitely the best look of the match.
Wolf nice dribble into box but goes out the back – 46′
Bobosi shot blocked from distance – 49′
MB long free kick – 51′
cleared away
Roots free kick – 57′
In a good area, about 30 yards above box.
Roots free kick – 60′
Won by Wilson along right side about 20 yards outside the box.
Bettache shot goes into side netting – 66′
not quick enough decisions, had some options in the box
Big save by Spiegel, leads to a clear off the line – 67
MB ends with a shot that sailed high
Roots free kick good area – 69′
Along left side of box, just 5 yards out.
Ball bounced in the box but leads to nothing
Trejo and Hackshaw coming in – 71′
Gibson and Wolfy off
Peter longshot on target – 77′
Trejo goal wiped – 79′
Nice pass by Bettache, Trejo was a couple feet offside
Roots corner – 84′
Ball falls to Mark Fosher atop the box, takes one touch to the inside and wraps his foot around it for the goal!
Trejo shot blocked – 90′
MB shot on target not a challenge. 90+1′
MB shot blocked in the box – 90+3′
MB corner – 90+4′