Oakland Roots suffered its first loss of the season, falling 1-nil to Orange County SC at the Coliseum on Saturday night. It brings Roots’ record to 2-1-1, dropping them to fourth place in the USL Championship Western Conference.
Orange County got its game-winner right out of halftime in the 47th minute when Chris Hegardt played a long ball in behind Roots’ back line to put Mataeo Bunbury running into the box. Raphael Spiegel came to the top of the box, but had a bad angle on the dribble, allowing Bunbury to score in the process.
Although Roots struggled to create chances in the first half, perhaps their best opportunity came in the 30th minute when Wolfgang Prentice intercepted a pass and dribbled toward the net. However, Prentice couldn’t get a shot off before OCSC goalkeeper Alex Rando rushed out to knock the ball away.
Rando also made a stellar diving save on a well-placed free kick by Faysal Bettache from about six yards outside of the box in the 65th minute.
Here are our talking points from Saturday.
Raphael Spiegel goes viral
I’ve said it time and again, there is never a dull day covering Oakland Roots. And, boy oh boy, was tonight a doozy.
At the end of the match, Spiegel was shown a straight red card in the third minute of second-half stoppage time shortly after a free kick. After Tommy McCabe’s cross led to a defensive header, Spiegel attempted to delay the game by running to grab a ball behind the goal, and subsequently launching it into the field of play while Ousmane Sylla tried to score into the empty net.
Players halting the action is pretty typical, but it usually occurs in a dead-ball situation, making Spiegel’s action a straight-red by deliberately trying to stop a live-game situation.
Per Q Williams of Hooligan Soccer, who is an experiened referee, Spiegel could very-well be the first goalkeeper in professional soccer to be red carded for attempting to stop a game by kicking a ball into the field of play.
With his straight red card, Spiegel will be forced to miss the next two matches
Never a dull day, right?
The goal allowed
In addition to the red card, it certainly was not an illustrious night for Spiegel.
The Roots’ goalkeeper was left in no-mans-land on the eventual game-winner in the 47th minute, standing awkwardly at the top of the box while Bunbury dribbled by him to fire home a shot into the empty net. But even past Spiegel, the situation was a litany of errors by Oakland.
“The goal was a mistake, you can’t shoot yourself in the foot and claw out of the hole in this league. It’s a hard league to do when they are sitting so deep. We created a number of good chances and looks, but we shot ourselves in the foot. We just need to be better really, I’ll reflect on myself on how we can be better and make sure we’re more prepared to go into a game,” coach Ryan Martin said.
Roots were just second into a formation shift, switching into a 4-4-2 after Julian Bravo was subbed out at halftime for Jackson Kiil. It forced Tyler Gibson out to the left side, moved Neveal Hackshaw to the left center-back spot, David Garcia to the right, while Michael Edwards rotated to the right fullback spot.
What ensued was a ball getting played behind Gibson and Hackshaw about 25 seconds into the change. Martin broke down what happened, saying he thinks Spiegel should’ve stayed on his line.
“We knew the right winger had pace, they tried to get at Bravo particularly in the first half. We heard their coach yelling it the whole game to be direct and get in behind on the left side,” Martin said. “Rafa should’ve stayed where he was in the goal and let his defenders handle the situation. There was enough pressure on the ball, we didn’t think he had to go for it. When you don’t communicate effectively and leave things to interpretation, it opens the door for mistakes. That’s a hole we can’t put ourselves in. The good news is we can learn from it and keep pushing them forward.”
Martin also mentioned that Bravo was pulled at halftime as a “precautionary” choice because he’s dealing with injuries.
“Bravo’s dealing with some injuries as well and just fatigue, so that was a big reason for pulling him at the half. It’s more precautionary because we need him over these next games,” Martin said.
Slow first half, better second still not enough
It was a poor showing in the first half, finishing with just two shot attempts, one on target, and four touches in the box. Those numbers improved to 13 shots with five on target and 25 touches inside the box by game’s end, but it still just wasn’t quite enough to find the net.
Martin thinks the team was being “reactive” in the first half.
“Disappointed in the first half, the energy level wasn’t geat,” Martin said. “One of our themes of who we want to be is that we want to be proactive, I felt like we were very reactive, especially in the first half. We were a little disjointed and couldn’t find a rhythm. A lot of that was because how direct Orange County was, they made it difficult for us. When we struggled to find second balls and get stretched, we became very reactive.”
Tyler Gibson said they were planning to be on the front-foot throughout the week, but the energy level just didn’t show up in the opening 45 minutes.
“Personally, I’m very frustrated. Just not happy with is, I don’t think any of us are. The first half, it was slow. We weren’t on the front foot like we planned all week because they went more direct than we thought they would, and didn’t adjust quick enough. I don’t know if energy wasn’t there, or what, but I was disappointed in everyones performance. It was subpar to what we were capable of. It took getting scored on to turn it up,” Gibson said.
Martin mentioned that they went back to a 4-4-2 in the second half, noting that they didn’t have a “true right back” available with Mark Fisher and Keegan Tingey out with injuries. He thinks it caused Wolfgang Prentice and Julian Bravo to struggle with rotating spots, while Danny Trejo couldn’t get into dangerous positions.
“With Fisher and Tingey out, we don’t have a true right back. We went into the game thinking we’d go three in the back because it would get one of our veterans in [Neveal] Hackshaw on the field. So we started Tyler in that position, and it disjointed things a little bit with Wolfy and Bravo in their rotation. Danny couldn’t find the right seams to get in the right place to be dangerous. Even when we did get into the box, our actions after that were poor and didn’t really make the goalkeeper work. We shifted back to a 4-4-2 in the second half just to not overcomplicate things,” Martin said. “But when you concede right out of halftime, most of what you said goes up in smoke.”
Gibson added that they wanted to come out stronger in the second half after struggling to do so in the previous three weeks.
“We changed up the formation, but the formation is only so much, it was more mentality. The energy wasn’t up to standard, we’ve been working on how we come out flat some games. It just wasn’t right from the beginning,” Gibson said.
Bertin Jacquesson’s solid debut
One of the bright spots from the evening was the performance of recently signed Bertin Jacqueeson, making his Oakland Roots debut. In 18 minutes of regulation time, the French international finished with 16 total touches, four touches in the box, one blocked shot, and one chance created.
Martin thinks Jacquesson gives Roots one of their only players capable of beating defenders in 1-on-1 situations.
“It really helped when we went to four in the back. We thought he was really good in getting in behind. Him and Trejo are the only two who can really beat people 1-on-1 to get a service or shot off. I thought he did a really good job of being versatile, he can go left and he can go right,” Martin said.
Gibson added, “He was great, he had a bunch of energy running at the defenders. I think he had more crosses and entries into the box than anyone. He added the spark we were missing. I think he’s going to be a key piece for us this year.
Martin noted that Jacqueeson is still getting his fitness up after arriving to the team.
“He’s still not fit, but he made a tremendous impact. I’d be willing to bet he had more service than the previous 70 minutes combined,” he said.
Kendall McIntosh to start
With Spiegel set to miss time with his straight red card, that means we will see Kendall McIntosh returning as Roots’ starting goal keeper for at least the next two games. When asked about the goalkeeper spot, Martin indicated that the race between McIntosh and Spiegel were neck-and-neck during the preseason.
“Kendall did well in preseason, it was neck-and-neck with Spiegel. In the end, Rafa earned the spot in the preseason. In the past, I’ve gone back and forth with goalkeepers rotating, and its never gone great. With two very different goalkeepers, that would have been very challenging for the team to adjust over and over again. With two weeks to get him ready, I’m fully consent Kendall can do it. He’s more than capable and is a top quality goalkeeper. He gets his opportunity. When you’re not playing, all you want is an opportunity, and what he does with it is up to him,” Martin said.
Valot, Tingey, Fisher injury updates
Martin also provided an update on the injuries to Florian Valot, Keegan Tingey, and Mark Fisher. Valot and Tingey have missed time since the preseason, while Fisher went down with a leg issue the previous week in Phoenix.
Per Martin, Valot is closer to returning, but Tingey and Fisher are going to require more time.
“Florian is making significant progress, I think we will see him in the next little bit. Tingey and Fisher are a little ways away. They are recovering but Florian making significant progress, and we will see him very soon,” Martin said.
Martin added that they want to be smart with Jacquesson and avoid playing him too much before his fitness is 100 percent.
“You could see what a difference Bertin made when he came in. He was on a flight Thursday, trainged Friday, and played Saturday. We’re being cautious with him because he’s a fast-twitch athletic guy, didn’t want to jeopardize his health because we need him for the long haul,” Martin said.
Postgame Press Conference
Starting Lineups
- Oakland Roots
It’s a formation change with Wilson and Mark Fisher out. It’s Trejo and Wolfy leading the attack, while Oakland pivots to three center-backs with Michael Edwards, David Garcia, and Neveal Hackshaw. Making up the wingback spots is Julian Bravo on the left and Tyler Gibson kicking out to the right. No changes to the midfield with Faysal Bettache in the CAM role, along with Tommy McCabe and Bobosi Byaruhanga in the CM spots.
- Orange County
OC missing Ethan Zubak, good news for Roots.
Timeline
Trejo with a shot on target from atop the box – 3′
OC long free kick – 5′
Ball falls in the box, leads to a shot on target that goes right at Spiegel.
OC shot in the box – 11′
Goes straight at Spiegel, once again. Holds onto it.
Roots free kick – 13′
Nicely drawn by Trejo. About 8 yards outside the box on the right side.
Ball in goes through the box, Hackshaw retrieves. Leads to nothing.
OC shotdeflected wide – 21′
OC corner – 21′
Punches away by Spiegel.
Bravo shot deflected out for a corner – 25′
Roots corner – 26′
Cross by Gibson headed away.
Wolf steals a possession near the box, OC keeper slides tackles the ball away – 31′
Would’ve liked him to pull the trigger earlier, could’ve been a big chance.
Roots corner – 31′
Leads to nothing.
Nice long ball from Bettache to Wolfy in the box, but he can’t get a handle of it – 33′
OC corner – 34′
Poor to give that one away, long pass back to Spiegel misses the mark.
Counterattack for Roots stops before the midway mark.
OC shot blocked in the box – 37′
They’ve definitely had the better chances.
OC another play on the counter, ball goes through the box and leads to nothing – 38′
OC long free kick – 41′
Leads to a counter. Faysal great long ball to Trejo, but reinforcements don’t come in time.
First Half Notes:
Roots and OC go in tied 0-0, with the visitors having the better of chances. Oakland had just 2 shots, 1 on target, 51% possession, while OC was credited with 6 shots, 1 on target. Roots finding its bearings moving in transition and created open looks. Have had some nice long balls into space, but couldn’t take advantage. Wolfy probably with the best look when stealing a ball outside the box, but he couldn’t pull off a shot.
Kiil on for Bravo – 46′
OC scores in a bad mistakes by Spiegel – 47″
Long ball into the box, Spiegel has a bad angle and tries to run it down. Bunbury slots it into the empty net
Hackshaw sends a long shot – 51′
forces a diving save, good attempt from 30 yards
Wolfy good ball to Edwards at far post. Edwards takes a shot on the volley but its blocked away, likely going wide anyways – 58′
Kiil header wide – 58′
good cross by Gibson
Bobosi draws free kick in good area – 65′
About 6 yards above the box.
Bettache curls a shot on target to force a diving save. Draws a corner
Roors corner – 66′
leads to nothing
De Vicente on for Hackshaw – 72′
Jacquesson makes his debut as well. Trejo off
OC lofts a shot toward goal, goes over- 73′
Jacquesson shot blocked for a corner- 75′
Ensuing corner – 76′
Leads to nothing. Ball goes through the box
Jaquesson good ball to far post targeting Wolfy. It bounces and goes too high to handle. Heads it back toward center of box, but GK there – 77′
Wolfy chance in the box – 80′
Roots corner – 81′
Bobosi shot blocked – 85′
Roberson and Maldonado on for Gibson and Wolfy – 86′
Free kick good area – 87′
About 10 yards out on left side. Ball by De Vicente headed out by Garcia
free kick from distance- 89′
cleared away
Free kick good area – 90+1′
Jacquesson drew it about 6 yards outside. Spiegel up.
McCabe clear off the line – 90+3′
one last free kick – 90+3′
Spiegel gets red carded, straight red.
Longball to Garcia jusssst misses