VANCOUVER, BC — Valeri Qazaishvili starred as the San Jose Earthquakes rallied to come from behind and beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 in front of an announced crowd of 17,558 at BC Place. The Whitecaps have now been without a win in nine games across all competitions.
“I thought that in the locker room, before the game, we looked very motivated to play the game,” head coach Marc Dos Santos said after the game. “And I felt that in the first 15 minutes we came out and we were aggressive; we got the first and I felt good about the start.”
The Whitecaps took the lead in the eighth minute. A free kick by Yordy Reyna found defender Doneil Henry with plenty of space inside the box and the striker easily scored from just eight yards out.
The lead, however, lasted less than 10 minutes. In the 16th minute, goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau failed to control a low cross from the right. The ball fell to Qazaishvili and with four Whitecaps defenders ball watching the Georgian scored the equalizer.
The Earthquakes started to take control of the match. Cristian Espinoza on the right and Qazaishvili on the left enjoyed the room given to them by the ‘Caps defense to create more chances.
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That room led to the Quakes’ second goal of the game. A shot by Qazaishvili hit the post, bounced off Crépeau’s back and drifted toward the goal line. The ‘Caps keeper managed to keep the ball out of the net, but it bounced to Chris Wondolowski, and the striker hammered it across the line.
“When they got the second goal, we weren’t really able to react,” Dos Santos said. “We had a tough time to find opportunities.”
San Jose then easily controlled the second interval. Wondolowski could have sealed it in the 64th minute, but missed a header. By the time the 70th minute rolled around, San Jose had 25 shots of which seven were on target. The Caps, in the meantime, had only one shot on target and three overall.
“I think sometimes we [defend] a bit low,” Crépeau said. “We need to step up [our defensive line] and do a bit better,” he added.
In the 79th minute, it was Magnus Eriksson producing the goods for San Jose with his low shot inside the box, beating Crépeau at the near post.
Many Whitecaps fans started leaving at that point; others voiced their discontent with negative chants directed at President Bob Lenarduzzi. Boos rang out once again with the sound of the final whistle.
“We’re not hiding,” Crépeau said. “Everyone deserves better from this club. We need to do better that is the bottom-line.”
Vancouver Whitecaps (4-3-3)
Crépeau – Adnan, Henry, Godoy, Nerwinski – Teibert (Felipe, 71′), Erice, Inbeom – Reyna, Montero (Bair, 76′), Bangoura (Ardaiz, 62′)
San Jose Earthquakes (4-2-3-1)
Vega – Lima, Jungwirth, Cummings, Thompson – Yueill, Judson – Qazaishvili (Marie, 83′), Eriksson, Espinoza – Wondolowski (Hoesen, 75′)