On Saturday, the Roots left Phoenix with a point, but the match told a more complicated story. Here is one thing I loved, remain unsure about, and hated about the match:
Loved: Bobosi Byaruhanga
Through three matches, one thing is becoming clear: Bobosi Byaruhanga is Roots’ best player. He showed exactly why on Saturday.
Wolfgang Prentice put together a Man of the Match-type performance Saturday: a goal, an assist, and three created chances in only 66 minutes. Wolfgang’s performance was difficult to top, but Bobosi did it.
Against New Mexico, Bobosi earned FotMob’s Man of the Match through his presence everywhere on the pitch. Below is Bobosi’s heat map for the match against New Mexico:
Like the home opener against New Mexico United, Bobosi was everywhere. His heat map against Phoenix paints that picture:
On Saturday, Bobosi was far more involved in the final third than in the previous two weeks. His heat map in the opponent’s box reflects that; his stat sheet does as well. He touched the ball three times in the box, created two big chances, logged a shot on target, and delivered the assist on Roots’ first score after a persistent run and beautiful cutback.
However, his defensive impact didn’t drop off. He won 4/6 ground duels. He led all Roots’ outfield players with six defensive recoveries. He trailed only center back David Garcia with seven defensive contributions.
With all the off-season arrivals and a Golden Boot winner, it was fair to expect Florian Valot, Tommy McCabe, or Peter Wilson to be the Roots’ most important players. Bobosi’s performance is changing that assumption extremely quickly.
Unsure About: Any lineup without Wolfgang Prentice, Faysal Bettache, or Danny Trejo in it
The match’s momentum shifted when Wolfgang Prentice and Danny Trejo exited the match in the 66th minute. Phoenix turned into a tidal wave when Faysal Bettache left the field 12 minutes later.
The trio served as the link between the defensive backline and Peter Wilson. After their exits, Roots could not connect the various levels of their attack. As a result, they resorted to too many hopeful long balls launched towards Wilson and Jackson Kiil.
The stats bear this out. In the first half, the Roots completed 90% of their passes. The number dropped to 69% in the second half. Their accurate long balls dropped from 48% to 33%. The possession battle flipped from 63%-37% in favor of the Roots to 64%-36% in favor of Phoenix, and the match flipped with it.
After the departure of the trio, Wilson only touched the ball in the opponent’s half twice in the remaining 22 minutes of the game. Before that, Wilson accrued 21 touches in the opponent’s half and only had seven thereafter.
Without the trio, Wilson lacked a partner to deliver him the ball, making it nearly impossible to relieve the pressure on the defense. Below is Wilson’s touchmap when the last of the three, Bettache, left the field in the 78th minute:
Below is the touchmap of Wilson for the remainder of the match:
Wilson’s inability to get the ball was emblematic of Roots’ inability to possess the ball for extended periods of time after the trio departed.
Their struggles to string together passes and the increased reliance on the long ball, put the backline under consistent pressure after Wolfgang, Trejo, and Bettache departed. The backline could not withstand the sustained pressure Phoenix placed on them, especially as the match wound down.
Fans clamored for the trio of Wilson, Wolfgang, and Trejo to play together. On Saturday, fans finally got that. It looked great while it lasted. Going forward, who ends the match will be just as critical as who starts it.
Hated: Phoenix’s continued dominance over the Roots
Last season, Roots played Phoenix on September 27, and similarly stormed out to a lead, scoring three goals in the first 22 minutes. Danny Trejo opened the scoring, and Wilson nabbed a pair of goals. In the second half, Phoenix rose from the ashes, sound familiar?
Old friend Charlie Dennis scored two goals, and Remi Cabral tied the match with a penalty in the seventh minute of stoppage time.
That was the last time the Roots played Phoenix and, in many ways, Saturday’s match closely paralleled that one. The small details changed, but the outcome remained the same: the Roots could not beat Phoenix.
You have to go back to September 10, 2022 for the last time Oakland defeated Phoenix. Lindo Mfeka led them to victory by scoring twice.
Since then, the Roots have lost three times and drawn three with Phoenix. Coach Ryan Martin has already brought so much change to the team and the organization. He has brought high levels of optimism to the fan base. Hopefully, he will change the one-sided nature of this match-up.
He’ll get his next chance on June 20 at the Coliseum.