Atlanta United 2 fell 3-1 to Oakland Roots SC at Laney College Football Stadium on Saturday night.
Oakland created the bulk of the chances in the first half and were close to opening the scoring in the 11th minute. Mikael Tørset Johnsen was put through with an incisive pass and rolled a shot past Atlanta goalkeeper Justin Garces. Grant Howard chased after the ball and slid to clear the ball off the goal line.
Atlanta would be unable to keep Johnsen off the scoresheet however, as the Norwegian opened the scoring in the 49th minute. Guillermo Diaz received the ball on the right side of Atlanta’s penalty area as Roots SC piled on the pressure to begin the second half. The midfielder sent a cross into Johnsen, who converted with a close-range header.
Tristan Trager scored his first professional goal for Atlanta’s 60th-minute equalizer. After receiving a throw-in, Darwin Matheus played a one-two with Jackson Conway and drove through the Oakland midfield. The Venezuelan forward sent an over-the-top ball to Trager, who touched down the pass with his right foot before finding the back of the net with his left to get off the mark for ATL UTD 2 in his home state of California.
The hosts restored their advantage with a penalty kick in the 75th minute. Referee Corbyn May pointed to the penalty spot, adjudicating that Howard brought down Johnsen in the box. The USL Championship’s leading goal scorer, Óttar Magnús Karlsson picked out the bottom corner to Garces’ left for his 11th goal of the season.
Jonathan Rodriguez scored Oakland’s third and final goal of the match in the 87th minute, capitalizing on a loose touch in the Atlanta backline before firing a shot past Garces.
ATL UTD 2 (3-12-1, 10 points) travels to MUSC Health Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina on Wednesday, June 29 to take on Charleston Battery (7 p.m., ESPN+).
MATCH INFO
Atlanta 1, Oakland 3
Laney College Football Stadium
Oakland, California
STATS
Shots: 29-5 Oakland
Shots on Target: 8-2 Oakland
Corner kicks: 4-1 Oakland
Fouls committed: 19-13 Oakland
Offsides: 1-1
Possession: 53.9-46.1 Oakland
Passing Accuracy: 79-70.5 Oakland
SCORING SUMMARY
OAK - Mikael Tørset Johnson 49’ (Guillermo Diaz)
ATL – Tristan Trager 60’ (Darwin Matheus)
OAK - Óttar Magnús Karlsson 74’ (penalty)
OAK - Jonathan Rodriguez 87’ (unassisted)
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
ATL – Erik Centeno 54’ (yellow)
ATL – Nelson Orji 67’ (yellow)
ATL – Grant Howard 73’ (yellow)
ATL – Ajani Fortune 80’ (yellow)
ATL UTD 2 STARTING LINEUP
Justin Garces; Grant Howard, Noah Cobb, Nelson Orji; Erik Centeno (Toni Tiente – 89’), Ajani Fortune (Nick Firmino – 82’), Robbie Mertz ©, Tristan Trager, David Mejía; Darwin Matheus, Jackson Conway (Andy Sullins – 70’).
Substitutes not used: Vicente Reyes, Emenike Nwogu, Efrain Morales, Brendan Lambe.
OAKLAND ROOTS STARTING LINEUP
Paul Blanchette; Emrah Klimenta ©, Alejandro Fuenmayor, Tarek Morad; Matias Fissore, Mikael Tørset Johnson (Ariel Mbumba – 90+2’), Joseph Nane, Guillermo Diaz; Charlie Dennis (Jesús Enríquez – 77’), Óttar Magnús Karlsson (Jonathan Rodriguez – 83’), Dariusz Formella (Akeem Ward – 90+2’).
Substitutes not used: Taylor Bailey, Daniel Barbir, Wolfgang Prentice.
OFFICIALS
Corbyn May (referee), Christian Clerc (assistant), Justin Fillmore (assistant), Alberto Azpeitia-Palomino (fourth official)
TEAM NOTES
- Tristan Trager scored his first professional goal
- Toni Tiente made his professional debut
ATTENDANCE
3,622
