Las Vegas Lights FC spent Wednesday night digging out of a hole at the Oakland Coliseum. The Lights finally found a spark off the bench and climbed within one, but Oakland Roots SC slammed the door late, handing Las Vegas a 4-2 loss in a match that swung wildly after halftime.
Oakland improved to 3-3-1 with 12 points. Las Vegas dropped to 1-2-4 with 5 points.
Oakland lands two quick blows
The Roots set the tone early with direct, vertical play out wide, and the goals followed fast. Peter Wilson opened the scoring in the 18th minute, and Faysal Bettache doubled it in the 22nd to put Las Vegas in immediate trouble.
Oakland carried a 2-0 lead into halftime, and it had the game in the kind of control that does not always show up on the ball. The Roots finished with 55% possession, and they owned the set-piece battle, winning corners 7-0.
Wilson makes it three, and it looks done
Las Vegas needed a clean start after the break and did not get it. Wilson struck again in the 58th minute to make it 3-0, and the match looked ready to slip away.
Oakland also stayed sharper in front of goal, finishing with a 12-7 edge in shots and a 6-2 advantage in shots on target. Las Vegas goalkeeper Jared Mazzola recorded two saves, but the Lights spent too many minutes defending in uncomfortable spots.
The bench flips the tempo
Then the match changed. Las Vegas made a triple substitution in the 67th minute, and the game finally tilted into open space. Oalex Anderson came on and scored two minutes later in the 69th, finishing a breakaway move to cut it to 3-1 with Ben Mines credited with the assist.
The comeback felt real after that. Nighte Pickering entered in the 76th minute, and he delivered an immediate impact, setting up Johnny Rodriguez’s 78th-minute finish that pulled Las Vegas within 3-2.
Penalty ends the chase
Las Vegas pushed for an equalizer, and the match opened even more. However, Oakland found the decisive moment in the 87th minute when Wilson converted a penalty to complete his hat trick and lock in the 4-2 final.
Both teams finished with two yellow cards and no reds. Abraham Okyere was booked in the 37th minute, and Kyle Scott saw yellow in the 86th for Las Vegas, while Thomas McCabe and Michael Edwards were booked for Oakland.
Attendance was 2,496 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
Up next
The Lights switch competitions and open USL Cup group play at home, hosting Athletic Club Boise at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 25.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
