Oakland Roots Surprise Orange County SC, Win 2-1 in Added Time

With just seconds remaining in added time of the second half, Oakland Roots SC scored a miraculous goal to earn a 2-1 victory in their USL contest versus Orange County SC Saturday night at Pioneer Stadium in Hayward.

Both sides started the contest looking strong. Oakland and Orange County both earned quality scoring chances, including a three-on-two attacking advantage for the Roots in the 15th minute of the match, which was cleaned up well by OC.

Orange County SC opened the scoring in the 21st minute when a cross into the box from the left side courtesy of OC defender Ryan Doghman found a leaping Thomas Amang, who put a quality header into the back of the net to give his side a 1-0 advantage.

The Roots countered just a short time later, after a hard foul in the Orange County penalty area earned Oakland a penalty kick in the 31st minute. Trayvone Reid made no mistake from the spot, firing the ball towards the right side and past the outstretched hands of the Orange County keeper to level the match at 1-1.

Both teams continued to trade scoring opportunities, with the Roots earning the lion’s share of them, but despite the attacking pressure it seemed that the match was headed towards a 1-1 draw as the game entered extra time.

In a desperation attempt as the final whistle seemed imminent, Roots’ Jeciel Cedeño received a throw-in near midfield and immediately sent a deep lob towards the box. Waiting at the end of the high arc was Gagi Margvelashvili, who managed to stay onside, corral the long ball, and boot it past the Orange County keeper to send the home crowd into a frenzy.

The Roots will now head out on the road for matches against FC Tulsa and Loudon United FC before returning to the East Bay on June 8 at 7 p.m. to face the Tampa Bay Rowdies on a double-header night with the Oakland Soul.

Talking with the head coach

After the victory, interim Head Coach Gavin Glinton how he wanted the team to operate and how well they executed.

“I thought we executed fantastically,” Glinton said. “We wanted to be able to stretch them out. We talked about being able to build up in some versatile ways and being able to move them around a lot. We wanted to be very, very aggressive in the final third and force them to have to defend that. I thought the guys did an excellent job—so happy for them tonight.”

Asked what the message was from the 21st minute forward, and how the end game plans changed, Glinton said, “I don’t think it changed much. The goal against us was a big deflator for a minute, but the guys took a deep breath and got right back to it. I was really happy with that pause—that moment—to just kind of regroup and then get back on with the job. I thought they did a good job of not letting it affect them and continuing to impose themselves on the opposition. It would have been nice to go in with a lead at the half, but they did excellent job coming back out and continuing to push and fight in the second half, win second balls, and not stop until the end. I’m proud of the group.”

Summary

• OC: Thomas Amang 21’
• OAK: Trayvone Reid 31’
• OAK: Gagi Margvelashvili 90’+

• OAK: Trayvone Reid 43’ (yellow card)
• OC: Kyle Scott 56’ (yellow card)
• OC: Ethan Zubak 67’ (yellow card)
• OC: Marcus Lee 88’ (yellow card)

Lineup : Paul Blanchette, Niall Logue, Neveal Hackshaw, Gagi Margvelashvili, Justin Rasmussen, Daniel Gomez ( Napo Matsoso ), Camden Riley ( Irakoze Donasiyano ), Memo Diaz, Baboucarr Njie ( Jeciel Cedeño ), Trayvone Reid ( Lindo Mfeka ), Johnny Rodriguez ( Miche-Naider Chéry )

Unused subs : Dominic Dwyer, Ilya Alekseev, Thomas Camier, Timothy Syrel

Line : Shots: 18 | Shots On Goal: 5 | Corner Kicks: 4 | Fouls: 13 | Offside: 1

Lineup : Colin Shutler, Owen Lambe, Ryan Doghman ( Ashish Chattha ), Markus Nakkim, Ashton Miles, Sofiane Djeffal, Cameron Dunbar ( Marcus Lee ), Brian Iloski ( Bryce Jamison ), Kyle Scott, Christian Sorto, Thomas Amang ( Ethan Zubak )

Unused subs : Duran Ferree, Ryan Ayoub, Ben Barjolo

Line : Shots: 5 | Shots On Goal: 2 | Corner Kicks: 0 | Fouls: 17 | Offside: 2

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