The Roots didn’t particularly play well against Colorado Springs. They didn’t have to. Oakland walked away with a point in a match they needed a positive result from. Still, the result raises some difficult questions about the team as they gear up for the Coliseum finale next week.
Loved: Getting a Point
A point is a point.
It doesn’t matter how the Roots got it.
It doesn’t matter if the xG was 1.98 to 0.73 in favor of Colorado Springs. It doesn’t matter that the Roots were outshot 18-5. It doesn’t matter that I can count the number of touches the Roots got in the opposition box on my hand (5).
The Roots got a point. Their season is still alive.
Oakland stole a point from a team that they had lost to seven consecutive times.
Was it pretty? No.
Was it convincing? No.
Did it make me feel like the Roots had finally figured something out with their new play style after two consecutive victories? No.
Yet somehow, they survived. Not every point needs to be beautiful.
At this point in the season, style points don’t exist. The table doesn’t care how the point was earned. It doesn’t care what the xG was. It doesn’t care how many shots were taken. It doesn’t care how many touches the Roots got in the opposition box.
It only cares that the Roots are still alive.
Unsure: Can the Roots Become Less Risk-Averse?
In American football, the ideal interception rate for a quarterback isn’t zero percent. Big plays require big risks.
It’s why I never liked Derek Carr back when I was a Raider fan. He’d rather throw the ball out of the endzone on fourth down than risk an interception. For him, avoiding the mistake seemed more important than making the big play.
Perfect became the enemy of good.
And I see the same thing with the Roots over and over again.
In the 91st minute, fate offered the Roots a chance to steal three points in a match they had no business winning. After Wolfgang Prentice delivered a beautiful pass to Tommy McCabe, McCabe had this situation present itself to him:
He hesitates and takes a dribble, but still has Jesus de Vicente streaking down the flank:
He progresses even further up the field, but still has Wolfgang now running down the flank. McCabe turns down the pass again:
He finally delivers the pass to Wolfgang, but look how much more settled and numerous the defense is:
The attack would end in McCabe lofting a hopeful cross into the box that Colorado Springs cleared.
It’s not a horrible sequence. It’s not an egregious error by McCabe. One can see the logic. No one stepped out on McCabe. He advances the ball, keeps possession, and ultimately makes a pass.
Still, more than anything, the sequence encapsulates one of the Roots’ biggest attacking problems this season: the preference to avoid the mistake rather than make the play.
He doesn’t attack the back line. He doesn’t force defenders to commit.
He escorts the ball.
He chooses the safer option.
And it’s not just Tommy McCabe. Danny Trejo had a moment earlier in the match with Peter Wilson making a run.
Every match, a few of these opportunities present themselves to the Roots. Seldom do they take them. They value possession instead.
At this point, it may be difficult for the Roots to change who they are. But if they want to have a chance in this final stretch, they may have to find a way. Because if the Roots truly have adopted this counterattacking style that they’ve employed the last three matches, these are the moments where they need to take that risk.
No risk it, no biscuit.
Hated: Realizing After the Match that the Roots’ Final Three Opponents All Press
Prior to the match, the “Three Questions” preview discussed some of the Roots’ season-long struggles against teams that press. Against pressing teams, the Roots’ offensive output drops by a third. In those matches, the Roots only averaged ‘0.8 goals, 7.8 shots, 2.2 shots on target and 13.2 box touches per match.
We wondered how the attack would respond against one of the league’s most aggressive pressing teams.
Short answer? It disappeared.
Those numbers already represented a substantial drop from the Roots’ overall attacking output. Against Colorado Springs, they fell even further.
The team only managed five total shots and one shot on target in the match. They logged 5 touches in the opposition box to Colorado Springs’ 31. All this added up to an xG of 0.73 against Colorado Spring’s 1.98.
At the end of the day, they got a result. A point is a point. And they needed it to keep their playoff hopes alive. The fact that they managed to do it in a difficult environment makes it even more valuable.
The point was enough today. It won’t be enough next time.
The bad news? Their final three matches all involve teams in the top-third of the league in possession won in the final third.
The Roots have struggled to solve pressing all season. Unfortunately for them, the schedule isn’t giving them a choice now.
If they want to make the playoffs, they’ll have to solve it over the next three matches.