It took six months and a winter break, but the Oakland Roots were finally able to walk off the field with a victory in a NISA league match.

Behind a penalty kick from Jack McInerney and an insurance goal from rookie Alex Garuba, the Roots secured a 2-1 win over the visiting Michigan Stars in front of 4,873 fans at Laney Stadium in Oakland.

“It’s something that we worked really hard for, and tonight I think we were deserving of this,” said head coach Jordan Ferrell after the match.

“We knew it would be big [especially] for the community and fans,” added captain Nana Attakora. They’ve been so unbelievably loyal, showing up every weekend loud, so this was a good win for them.”

From the opening whistle, the Roots dominated possession but had to be wary of a Stars team determined to take advantage of any mistake and strike quick on the counter-attack.

The Roots had a good chance in the 16th minute when Yohannes Harish broke free out on the wing, but his shot sailed above the crossbar.

Oakland continued to keep control of the ball, and late in the first half, it appeared they finally broke through the Michigan defense for a goal. In the 40th minute, a Benji Joya shot from the top of the box was blocked by Michigan’s keeper Arshia Aghababazadeh. The ball fell directly into the path of a charging Jack McInerney, who tapped it into the back of the net.

As the Oakland fans celebrated with smoke bombs, the score was waved off. Officials said McInerney was in an offside position for his tap in.

“I was told I was onside by a couple of people who saw the replay,” McInerney lamented after the game.

McInerney had one more chance right before the halftime whistle when a Joya cross found him unmarked. The Stars keeper tipped his shot onto the bar and out of play.

Roots coach Jordan Ferrell decided to shake up the match in the second half switching to a more offensive formation. He brought in Ariel Mbumba and Peter Pearson for Daniel Navarro and Yohannes Harish.

“We came out in the second half and put them under a little more pressure and got good chances to score,” said McInerney.

In the 54th minute, the Roots Manny Gonzalez was able to break free, and his shot sailed just wide of the goal.

Despite sustained possession and pressure from Oakland, the game clock continued to tick down, and the Stars looked comfortable with securing a point on the road.

But then a veteran play by striker Jack McInerney changed the whole game in the 74th minute.

A long ball was delivered over the top into the box, and McInerney got beneath it. “I got the ball at my chest and just put myself between the ball and the defender,” he said. “The defender came through me, and it was a pretty easy PK call, I think.”

McInerney calmly stepped up to the spot and faked out the Stars keeper who went left while the striker slotted the ball into the right side of the goal.

“We maintained the pressure,” added Ferrell, “and when the first goal came it was an extra lift beneath our wings.”

Seven minutes later, midfielder Benji Joya delivered a perfectly weighted ball to substitute Alex Garuba down the right side. Garuba fought off two Stars defenders and was able to chip the ball over the keeper and inside the far post.

It ended up being a vital insurance goal when Michigan’s Travis Ward unleashed an unstoppable shot in the 89th minute setting up a tense finale.

In the 90th minute, keeper Taylor Bailey came up big to preserve the lead tipping a Stars strike off the crossbar and out of bounds.

The Roots were able to clear the ensuing corner kick, and the official soon blew his whistle, securing the first Roots victory in NISA history.

“For me, soccer is all in your head. If we can be confident and believe you can win,” said Attakora after a man of the match quality performance in the central defense. “Our mentality to win is there now, and now we continue through the season and [try and] win a championship.”

The victory put the Roots at the top of the NISA League table. Oakland will now enjoy the win with a week off before returning to action on the road against Detroit City on March 21st.

__________

Douglas Zimmerman curates the Beautiful Blog, which covers the ‘beautiful game’ of soccer in the Bay Area and around the world. He recently released a photo book documenting the fans of the World Cup that he started in 2002.

Follow on Twitter: @zimpix