Last minute goal ties up Oakland Roots

Team plays most of game one man down versus Chattanooga FC

Ulysses Smith and Christy Price

March 12, 2020

Smoke hovers over the soccer field — Chattanooga Football Club plays against Oakland Roots Soccer Club while smoke displays are set off in the stands and drift over the field during the Feb. 29 match at Laney College Football Field. (Photo by Christy Price/The Citizen)

The Oakland Roots Soccer Club (SC) squared off against Chattanooga Football Club (FC) for the opening game of the 2020 National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) season in Oakland on Feb. 29. Over 5,000 fans showed up excited–and a little cold–to Laney College Football Field for the Saturday game. The Roots came out strong from the kick-off and pressured Chattanooga immediately.

Defender Robert Hines (33) made an attempt at goal with a header in the first fifteen minutes that sailed over the crossbar.

Goalkeeper punts ball — Chattanooga goalkeeper Phil D’Amico (1) punts the ball from the goal box. (Photo by Christy Price/The Citizen)

In the 19th minute, Roots goalkeeper Taylor Bailey (47) made a huge leap to catch the ball in midair and collided with an advancing Chattanooga forward, tumbling to the ground.

Chattanooga scored in minute 33 when Kyle Carr (12) chipped a corner shot to Ian McGrath (23) over the Roots defense for an uncontested header into the net. This was the first goal for the Chattanooga FC franchise since joining NISA this season.

Oakland’s midfielder Angel Heredia (8) attempted to counter the goal from Chattanooga, sliding the ball through their defense to find Jack McInerney (9) inside the goal box. McInerney delivered a kick past the Chattanooga defender toward the left post, forcing Chattanooga goalkeeper Phil D’Amico (1) to dive left for the save.

Two soccer players push against each other for the ball in the air between them — Roots captain Benji Joya (left) and Chattanooga Jerry Saint-Vil fight for possession of the ball in the second half. (Photo by Christy Price/The Citizen)

At the 40 minute mark, Hines reacted to a high kick by Chattanooga’s McGrath, stripping the ball from McGrath’s arms. McGrath appeared to be taunting Hines, who got right in McGrath’s face, briefly touching his forehead to McGrath’s nose. Chattanooga players then shoved Hines away from McGrath, and Hines’ teammates stepped in to calm him down.

Soccer player mid-kick — Ian McGrath (left, front) of Chattanooga FC kicks the ball down field during the first half. Jack McInerny (right) runs to defensive position. (Photo by Christy Price/The Citizen)

The referees gave a yellow card to McGrath for his high kick, while Hines was sent off the field with a red card for a “headbutt.”

The Roots played the remainder of the game with one man down — ten players on the pitch.

Chattanooga continued to fight off Oakland’s advances, finishing the half with the Roots down 1-0.

Oakland struggled against Chattanooga for the majority of the second half, with a couple of close breakaways from Chattanooga.

Long-haired, beared person wearing sunglasses calls out with the crowd behind — A fan cheers for the Oakland Roots SC during the Feb. 29 match against Chattanooga FC. (Photo by Christy Price/The Citizen)

Regulation time ended with exciting chances for both teams but no further goals, but two minutes into stoppage time, Roots’ midfielder Manny Gonzalez (32) managed to chip a long ball over Chattanooga’s midfielders for Jack McInerney to edge out a small gap on the defenders and push the tying goal right through the legs of Chattanooga’s goalkeeper Phil D’Amico (1).

The Roots fans jumped to their feet, dancing to the song “Oakland” by Vell. With that last minute goal, the Roots walked away from the game with a 1-1 draw against Chattanooga.

After the game, Jack McInerny said that red cards are just part of the game: there’s still a game left to play.

“You can make something of it.”

Soccer player high-fives fans leaning over bleachers — Jack McInerney of Oakland Roots high-fives fans in the bleachers after the game. (Photo by Christy Price/The Citizen)

About the Contributors

Ulysses Smith, Staff Writer

Born and raised in Oakland, Calif. Ulysses’ father is of Scots-Irish and Danish descent and his Mother is African-American. As a child his dad would take him on bike rides to protests, concerts, sporting events and sometimes even bars across the Bay Area, which developed his fascination for culture. Ulysses’ mother is a dedicated public servant and has worked for the public library system for over twenty years. When she was still with Oakland Public Library she had access to free tickets at A’s games and his dad would take him out of school to see them play. They’d end up getting box seats but would sneak down the stands to be next to the real action and developed his lifelong fascination with sports. He played baseball and basketball off and on throughout grade school, coached in his summers and got a chance to play for state but got knocked out of the division 5 playoffs after the first round. A lifetime addicted to music and gardening as well; he’s been playing the guitar since the age of 7 and later learned the basics of music production, bass guitar, banjo and his instrument of choice the drums. He got a green thumb from his father, a horticulture major, and Ed Rosenthal, the godfather of homegrow. To this day no matter what season he has at least two plants growing. He graduated from Realm Charter High School In July 2017 and enrolled in Laney Community College by Fall 2017. His High School eventually ceased operations and was permanently closed in Fall 2019. During his time at Laney he has worked as a private English tutor, a teacher’s aide for the C.I.S. department and as a sports reporter here at the Peralta Citizen.

Christy Price, Photo Editor

Christy Price is a Photographer and Activist who was born in the Central Valley of California, raised in New York and Texas. After giving birth to her first daughter at the age of 17 in Ft. Worth, TX she moved back to California where she attended Fresno City College and wrote for the school’s newspaper, The Rampage. She married at the age of 24 and had her second daughter a couple years later. After a 14-year career as a secretary at the Internal Revenue Service, Christy switched gears and began working in the growing Cannabis industry. In her down time, she traveled cross country to document the 2016 Democratic National Convention and later that year went to Standing Rock. Her thinking about the dynamics of the way this world works changed with her experiences at Standing Rock and she vowed to do what she could to be the change she wanted to see. Christy returned to school in Spring of 2019. She decided to major in something she already enjoyed and settled on Photography. Wanting to make an impact with her photographs she decided to try her hand at Photojournalism. During that class she covered the Indigenous People’s Sunrise Ceremony on Alcatraz. The coverage was published in the Panther Times. Being published sparked a fire inside of her that helped guide her to her new position as Photo Editor of The Citizen.