The Oakland Roots controlled the match on the scoreboard at 1-0 for a vast majority of the contest but Lexington SC controlled the game on the pitch as the Roots conceded two late goals and lost the match 2-1 Saturday night, August 23, at Lexington SC Stadium in Kentucky.
Oakland found the back of the net with the first real action of the contest when, in the sixth minute, Neveal Hackshaw played a long ball into the Lexington box from deep down the left side. Peter Wilson was on the end of the service and played a slight touch on the ball with the outside of his left foot, just redirecting the ball enough to beat the keeper and give the Roots an early 1-0 lead.
The goal was Wilson’s fourth score in as many games, making him just the second Roots player in club history to record goals in four straight regular season contests.
Following the goal, Oakland moved into protect mode, looking somewhat satisfied with their lone goal advantage.
But Lexington was eager throughout the match to get on the board themselves. While Oakland’s defense held strong for 80+ minutes, holding the Lexington attack to just three shots on target all night, the opportunities were plentiful for the home side, consistently finding their way into Oakland’s defensive third.
In the 82nd minute of the match, Lexington’s attack finally broke through Oakland’s defense with an excellent cross into the box from near the right corner that found a diving Cory Burke. Burke hammered a flying header into the back of the net to tie the match at 1-1.
Momentum stayed tilted in Lexington’s favor as the Roots fought to reach the final whistle with a point in hand, but in added time Lexington found a game-winner on a good counterattack that led to an easy cross from the left side. The cross found the foot of Joe Hafferty who tapped it in to give Lexington a 2-1 lead and send Oakland home empty-handed.
The Roots will now return to Oakland to host Monterey Bay FC at the Coliseum on Saturday, August 30, at 7 p.m. for a match that will now be one of the club’s most important fixtures of the season as the playoff push tightens and wins become a necessity.
Summary
Scoring:
- OAK: Peter Wilson 6’
- LEX: Cory Burke 82’
- LEX: Joe Hafferty 90’+
Discipline:
- LEX: Gael Gibert 49’ (yellow card)
- OAK: Jürgen Damm 75’ (yellow card)
Oakland Roots SC
Lineup: Kendall Mcintosh, Gagi Margvelashvili, Daniel Gomez, Wolfgang Prentice (Jürgen Damm), Peter Wilson, Panos Armenakas (Danny Trejo), Neveal Hackshaw (Camden Riley), Bobosi Byaruhanga (Ali Elmasnaouy), Morey Doner, Kai Greene, Faysal Bettache (Tyler Gibson)
Unused subs: Julian Bravo, Raphael Spiegel
Line: Shots: 2 | Shots On Goal: 1 | Corner Kicks: 1 | Fouls: 13 | Offside: 3
Lexington SC
Lineup: Brooks Thompson, Daniel Wu (Daniel Barbir), Kieran Sargeant, Gael Gibert, Blaine Ferri, Devon Williams (Braudílio Rodrigues), Marcus Epps, Joe Hafferty (Xavier Zengue), Cory Burke, Michael Adedokun (Jacob Greene), Nicolas Firmino
Unused subs: Logan Ketterer, Christopher Olney, Edrey Caceres
Line: Shots: 14 | Shots On Goal: 3 | Corner Kicks: 10 | Fouls: 12 | Offside: 0
