In front of a raucous Orange County crowd, the orange and black snapped a five game winless run thanks in part to goals from Nico Benalcazar, Stephen Kelly, and a game winner from Ousmane Sylla. It was a high scoring affair which has been consistent with OC’s run of form. Was it a perfect game from Orange County? Hard no. But it finally felt as if the bounces went their way and Orange County pushed the right buttons down the stretch to close out the game.
OCSC will get a well deserved week off next week before going back out onto the road. With attendance numbers just south of 8,000 and OC knocking out Oakland for a second time this season, the Santa Ana game was a successful showcase.
FIRST HALF
It was very much expected for OC to field a more experienced lineup after last weekend’s youthful match in Phoenix. There were five changes to the lineup. Rando was back in net, protected by a back line of Doghman, Tubbs, Brewitt and Doody. The midfield about what we expected too with Hegardt, Kelly, Benalcazar and Sylla who would funnel the play up to MacKinnon and Bazini.
I believe if OC had to play a postseason game next week and had to field their strongest lineup then this is what we would see.
This was a playoff type game in regards to overall match up as well as intensity of the atmosphere. It was this electric atmosphere that would get an early jolt when in the 8th minute off a corner kick set play, Nico Benalcazar went completely unmarked near post and headed in the opening goal. That was Oakland’s first goal they had conceded off a corner all season. Chris Hegardt would be the provider and OC for the fifth straight game had scored the first goal of the game. Every goal in this game scored by OC would be doubly important with the way the game played out.
As far as I am concerned, Oakland greatly outplayed OC for long stretches of time in both the first and second half. Orange County is a defensive team at heart that is going to bend but not break. Oakland really did pepper Rando with two shots on goal and two that were inches past the post. But what OC has not really dealt with much this season is defending on counter attacks. They seemed to get caught up field a couple times this game and it would come back to burn them in the 40th minute. Oakland down the right side were able to catch OC with only 3 in back and evened out the numbers with their attackers. A low ball would skip past both Brewitt and Doody, but not Wolfgang Prentice, who easily slotted away the equalizer. In a very similar manner Oakland would nearly double up OC in first half stoppage time but Jacquesson's shot would go wide. Even more frustrating he had Peter Wilson with him for a tap in. OC would go into the half 1-1.
SECOND HALF
Neither side made any changes coming from the break but Oakland continued their pressure and this included a number of free kicks won in dangerous spots on the pitch. The second half started with one of these free kicks that would thunder off the crossbar. However for Oakland the bounces did not go in their favor at all in this match and it would be the goalkeeper Spiegel in the headlines again for the wrong reasons. Spiegel would fail to clear a bad backpass and the ball would fall right to Stephen Kelly who in one touch would slot the ball into the open net. In the 50th minute of the match OC now found themselves up 2-1. It is not how you score the goals but how many. To give credit where it is due, it was not an easy open net goal for Kelly who knew he did not have much time but was able to perfectly weight his shot back post around the Oakland centerback. Spiegel had goofed and Rando would be the next. Peter Wilson would get on the end of a great through pass and he did not have the greatest of angles but Rando decided to come out and he got caught in no man's land. So in the 56th minute, Peter Wilson would continue his goal scoring streak at four straight games. Where the ball ended up, I felt that Rando in hindsight should have stayed put and let Brewitt handle it. For the mistake being costly Rando would make up for it later in the match.
The match was now tied again 2-2 just after the hour mark. Like what we saw in the first half, Oakland was in control of the ball and really hemmed OC in their own box. Orange County did good to clear every chance available as well as force Oakland to take low risk shots but this is not exactly what OC wanted to do in a home game. The substitutes started to come on and to me Brandon Cambridge had one of his better games. At the right wing position he was able to not only bring pace to the game but also distribute the ball well almost like a midfielder. Just like that OC were now back on the offensive and it would be down Cambridge’s side where OC would finally get a chance on goal. The 84th minute saw a free kick into the box that Sylla would force Spiegel to make a great save on. He would try to draw a penalty in the ensuing chaos but to no avail.
Then in the 87th minute it would be OC’s most clutch player this season coming up once again with a big moment. A Ryan Doghman throw in the box would get cleared by the Roots centerback right to Ousmane Sylla in the middle, who volleyed past Spiegel to give OC their third lead of the game. That was now Sylla’s third goal in the last 15 minutes of a match to add to his goal at Colorado Springs and the Phoenix Open Cup game. Oakland would obviously look to respond, and they nearly did, but Rando came up big on the long shot as well as the rebound which fortuitously bounced right back to him. Orange County had outscored an opponent for a win and took this one 3-2.
OVERVIEW
When considering the context leading up to the match, the actual match itself, and just how important it could be for the regular season, it is safe to assume that this match will be remembered for a long time. There were not many, if any, hiccups with the match taking place in a special venue and the Santa Ana crowd did show up. It was the highest attended game in Orange County SC history which was the goal of the club and they got it. Was it a perfect game played by Orange County? Not really, but the good thing to take from this game is that OC were able to win a game with its offense. I made a point earlier in the season about good teams finding ways to win games via a variety of different ways and this game was a good example of that. This was a great game to go into the bye week with and they will get another mini bye with their next game being a Cup game against AV Alta FC.
Producer Andy - “Don’t miss the live show Tuesday at 8pm on YouTube! Please like, subscribe, and share with your friends!”