Oakland releases Glinton, Benny Feilhaber announced as new head coach
Just seconds away from securing their first victory in the USL Jägermeister Cup, the Oakland Roots conceded a leveling goal that sent the match to penalties, eventually falling to AV Alta FC in the group stage of the tournament on Saturday night, May 31, at Municipal Stadium in Lancaster, California.
Oakland was flying out of the gate. For the first 20 minutes of the game, the Roots were dominating the pitch, finding scoring chances one after the other, and playing a very aggressive style of soccer.
But this aggression couldn’t be sustained as AV Alta FC settled in for the remainder of the frame. Oakland keeper Raphael Spiegel played some of his best soccer of the season during the contest, thwarting AV Alta opportunities with a number of saves worthy of a highlight reel.
In the second half, the Roots returned to a more even-keeled form, moving the ball wonderfully and setting up in the attacking third frequently. AV Alta found the back of the net first, however, despite the strong play from Spiegel. In the 57th minute, Alta’s Sebastian Cruz found space behind the defense and put a shot towards the net while in close. Spiegel made the initial save, but an unlucky bounce saw the rebound deflect off of Cruz and into the twine to make it 1-0.
Looking determined to get back into the match, the Roots continued to push. This determination boiled over into the scoring column when newcomer Morey Doner, who signed with Oakland on Friday, entered the match. With one of his first touches in a Roots kit, Doner sent a shot in from what seemed like an impossible angle far to the right of the AV Alta box. Perhaps unprepared for a strike from that position, Alta keeper Carlos Avilez miscalculated his dive and wound up deflecting the ball into his own net in the 62nd minute to level the match at 1-1.
Just seconds after play restarted, Doner helped deliver Oakland a lead when he put a low cross from the end line through traffic to find Peter Wilson who buried the finish to give the Roots a 2-1 advantage in the 63rd minute.
The Roots looked comfortable protecting their lead for much of the remaining match, countering AV Alta’s desperation press by moving the ball around and killing the clock.
Just as it looked as if Oakland was sure to exit the pitch with a victory and all three points in the group table, AV Alta earned a corner kick in added time. The referee concluded that the service took a deflection off of a Roots player and over the crossbar, and gave Alta a lifeline with a second straight corner try.
The second opportunity from the corner found AV Alta’s Alassane Maboumou who finished a header just inside the right post to even the score at 2-2 with no time remaining.
Penalty kicks would be the immediate decider as per USL Jägermeister Cup rules. Making up for his earlier gaff, Alta’s keeper Carlos Avilez made saves on Baboucarr Njie and Peter Wilson, while his teammates converted all four of their tries to deliver them the victory and two points in the group standings.
Oakland will return to USL Championship regular season play at the Oakland Coliseum to face El Paso Locomotive on Saturday, June 7.
Roots release Glinton, Benny Feilhaber will take over as new head coach
Oakland Roots SC announced on June 2 that the club has relieved Head Coach Gavin Glinton and assistant coach Jesse Cormier of their duties.
“The start to the season on the field has not matched the momentum we’ve built off the field,” said Roots President Lindsay Barenz. “Our expectations for on-field performance are much higher than where we currently stand. We strongly believe in the group of players we’ve assembled and we’re confident in their ability to compete in the USL Championship. We remain committed to working tirelessly to deliver a sporting product that our fans and community can be proud of.”
The statement provided went on to thank Glinton and Cormier for their contributions to the club and wish them the best in their future endeavors.
In another statement released shortly afterward, Benny Feilhaber was announced as the new head coach.
“We are excited to have Benny Feilhaber take over through the end of the season,” said Oakland Roots President Lindsay Barenz. “We believe there is still a lot to fight for this season and we believe we have the players to make a strong run into the playoffs.”
Feilhaber takes over as Head Coach after serving at Sporting KC II in MLS Next Pro from 2022 to 2024. The longtime US Soccer veteran coached 81 games there, averaging 1.44 points per game. As a player, Feilhaber earned 44 caps with the US National Team and won a Gold Cup, an MLS Cup, and two US Open Cups.
Summary
Scoring:
- AVA: Sebastian Cruz 57’
- OAK: Carlos Avilez (OG) 62’
- OAK: Peter Wilson 63’
- AVA: Alassane Maboumou 90’+
Discipline:
- OAK: Bobosi Byaruhanga 32’ (yellow card)
- AVA: Osvaldo Lay 39’ (yellow card)
- OAK: Gagi Margvelashvili 70’ (yellow card)
Oakland Roots SC
Lineup: Gagi Margvelashvili (Camden Riley), Panos Armenakas, José Luis Sinisterra (Wolfgang Prentice), Tyler Gibson, Neveal Hackshaw, Bobosi Byaruhanga, EJ Johnson (Peter Wilson), Jürgen Damm (Morey Doner), Kai Greene, Raphael Spiegel, Ilya Alekseev (Baboucarr Njie)
Unused subs: Ali Elmasnaouy, Timothy Syrel
Line: Shots: 12 | Shots On Goal: 3 | Corner Kicks: 4 | Fouls: 10 | Offside: 1
AV Alta FC
Lineup: Carlos Avilez, Harrison Robledo (Adam Aoumaich), Kaloyan Pehlivanov, Erick Ceja, Steven Ramos (Elijah Martin), Sebastian Cruz, Eduardo Blancas, Miguel Ibarra (Jerry Desdunes), Javier Mariona (Christian Ortiz), Osvaldo Lay (Alassane Maboumou), Alexis Cerritos
Unused subs: Luca Mastrantonio, Adrian Villafranco, Aaron Huerta, Djibril Doumbia
Line: Shots: 14 | Shots On Goal: 6 | Corner Kicks: 8 | Fouls: 11 | Offside: 5
