Real Salt Lake and San Jose, 1 and 2 in the West respectively, met in San Jose last night to duke it out for top spot in the West. Coming into the match the Quakes had been unbeaten in 4 games and Real Salt Lake had won 5 of 7. The previous 2 meetings between these two teams in San Jose went Real Salt’s way, with a 3-0 drumming in 2010 and a rain soaked 1-0 win in 2011. The last time San Jose defeated RSL was May 30, 2009, so some redemption was in order last night.
First off, the Quakes were missing Marvin Chavez after getting a 1 game suspension for a dangerous tackle in the New York game last week. Victor Bernardez and Shea Salinas were out due to injuries suffered in the New York game as well. As such the Quakes were playing with a backline consisting of Justin Morrow, Hernandez, Ike Opara and Steven Beitashour. The midfield was Simon Dawkins, Sam Cronin, Tressor Moreno and Rafa Baca. Up top with Chris Wondolowski was Khari Stephenson.
There was some concern that without Chavez and Salinas on the wings, there wouldn’t be enough speed to stretch RSL’s backline. Conversely, without Bernardez in the back, could the defense keep Alvaro Saborio and Fabian Espindola under wraps? While Dawkins and Baca did well on the wings, the backline proved that they’ve made significant strides since last season. Last year’s defense was pretty much the same lineup, with Ramiro Corrales in place of Morrow at left back, but with the addition of Bernardez, the Quakes have had more bite and vigor than last year. It’s good to see that that mentality hasn’t dissipated with the loss of Bernardez.
San Jose’s first real chance at goal came in the 20th minute. Dawkins intercepted a poor clearance from RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando and the ball fell to Stephenson who’s shot glanced off Jamison Olave and bounced off the near post. The rebound found its way to Baca who’s left footed shot from the top of the 18 was parried away by Rimando. Tensions were wound up in the 29th minute as Espindola and Cronin dove for a 50/50 ball in the center circle. The referee ejected Espindola with a red card for a reckless tackle, coming in on Cronin with both studs up. Quakes TV color commentator and club ambassador Kelly Gray had this to say about the play:
Sam Cronin is a very nice guy, even on the field, a nice guy. For him to jump up like that, and get into somebody’s face, it takes a lot.
The fireworks weren’t over in the first half, as Stephenson found the end of a Beitashour cross for the Quakes’ first goal of the night. Stephenson put the ball into the ground and as it bounced up Rimando got a hand to it but couldn’t keep it from going into the net.
Yallop stated after the game that the team wanted to come out firing in order to find a second goal which always gives teams a comfortable cushion to get a win. Unfortunately RSL had their own ideas and Kyle Beckerman moved into the attacking end of the midfield in order to try to spark a response. And respond he did, with a precise shot past a contorted Busch. The fact that Beckerman eluded both Beitashour and Hernandez prior to the shot proves Beckerman’s prowess with the ball at his feet. The Quakes looked to respond by bringing on Steven Lenhart who missed the New York game due to a slight injury. While Lenhart didn’t provide immediate goal scoring relief, he did give the Quakes another boost in their efforts. Sent clear up the middle, RSL defender Jamison Olave and Lenhart tangled at the top of the 18 and the referee judged Olave to have hindered a clear goal scoring opportunity for the Quakes and Lenhart and sent him to the lockers with RSL’s second red card of the match.
Stephenson put the ensuing free kick over the bar, but the Quakes weren’t done putting on pressure, especially with 11 on 9 for the remaining 21 minutes. RSL made some defensive subs to try to ride out the storm for a 1-1 draw while the Quakes attacked and attacked. Yallop eventually pulled out Opara for Alan Gordon and switched to a 3-4-3 looking for the go ahead goal. With time ticking away and still no goal Yallop pulled Baca for Sam Garza’s MLS and Quakes debut. With a bevy of attacking players mainly pushing down the right wing, RSL was holding on for dear life. After 90 minutes the score was still 1-1 but the referee decreed 6 minutes of stoppage time.
Finally, in the 2nd minute of stoppage time, Beitashour found Dawkins near the penalty spot and Dawkins put a diving header into the far corner for the eventual game winning goal. Not to be outdone, Wondo bagged his 8th of the campaign off a cheeky Stephenson chip from inside the penalty area. The Quakes ended a 5 match winless streak against RSL and managed to nab top spot in the super-competitive West, along with 2nd place overall.
Also of note in last night’s game, Jason Hernandez made his 100th career start with San Jose and head coach Frank Yallop was looking to earn his 100th MLS victory, which he secured. Yallop now joins an elite club comprised of Seattle Sounders coach Sigi Schmid (160), Los Angeles Galaxy coach Bruce Arena (131), former Chicago Fire, Chivas USA & New York MetroStars coach Bob Bradley (124), former New England Revolution coach Steve Nicol (112) and Houston Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear (102).
GO QUAKES!
