Ebrahim Homran’s 2nd goal off a long set piece and an earlier offsides call against their opponent helped Oakland Tech secure the 2-2 draw in Wednesday night’s non-league matchup against San Leandro High School in Oakland.
“We should have lost that game, that was not offside over there” , said Oakland Tech Head Coach Joel Higgins.
Tech controlled much of the first half, but only managed one goal in the 20th minute. Homran scored his first with a left footed 22-yard free kick, guiding it over the outstretched hands of San Leandro’s goalkeeper.
Tech had another opportunity at a free kick from a similar distance in the 24th minute after Milan Hsu had a 1-on-1 moment against the San Leandro goalie but had his shot blocked near the penalty marker, ultimately getting the ref to whistle for advantage. Homran’s subsequent free kick went just over the crossbar.
San Leandro started off slow in the first half, ceding much of the possession to Oakland Tech and the opening goal but fully took the reins in the second half.
“Sometimes we start off slow. We just got to put it all together, the communication obviously needs to get better and once we figure out where the pieces need to be we can put it all together” , said San Leandro Head Coach Mike Chicas.
“We have players that don’t give up after the ball. I tell them they need to crash the net, to clean up the loose garbage. Fight for the ball and I think that’s what they did. They overcome and catch the defense off guard and it pays off and today it did for us. “
In the 48th minute, San Leandro forward Raul Rodriguez brought down a ball out of the air just inside the 18-yard box with a defender on his back spun and slotted a right footed shot past the keeper to tie the game.
San Leandro’s second goal came in the 66th minute after a free kick taken by Andrew Buenrostro rattled around just to the left of the goal and found its way back to his feet. Buenrostro received the pass, touched it to his right and finished past the goalie’s diving attempt.
Just a minute later, San Leandro looked to have taken a 3-1 lead but the goal scored by Rodriguez after a long free kick was ruled offside.
Tech took advantage of their good fortune 6 minutes before the final whistle and equalized on their own long free kick opportunity. Homran found himself free at the back post to tap in a cross from the left side of the box to secure the 2-2 scoreline.
