SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Earthquakes and Columbus Crew fought hard for 90-plus minutes, but neither side could separate from the other and they settled for a 1-1 draw in front of an announced 17,088 at Avaya Stadium.
Magnus Eriksson scored the lone goal for San Jose, slotting home a penalty kick in what was a dominant first half for the hosts. Gyasi Zardes found the equalizer in the second half for Columbus on a well-taken header, preventing the Quakes from earning their fifth straight victory.
“They were really good tonight, and it was a good game and a good commercial for the league,” Quakes defender Florian Jungwirth said. “We conceded the equalizer, but then it was us trying to get a second goal. They had a good plan, but we knew what to do, and all in all, this won’t drop us down.”
The Crew, who themselves kept their unbeaten streak alive with the draw, made it tough for San Jose, especially in the second half comeback. Columbus often looked the better team in that half and came close to finishing ahead.
“I love our resiliency, our ability to find that goal,” Crew head coach Caleb Porter said, “and I thought we were a pass away a couple times from finding the winner.”
Inside the Quakes locker room, the mood was mixed, with most players keeping the result in perspective. They’ve been able to impose their will on teams of late, but the Crew simply were not going to let that happen.”
“They didn’t give up after we went up,” midfielder Tommy Thompson said, “but it could have gone either way. I think we could have had a couple of goals to put them away earlier on, but things don’t always go your way.”
With the result, the Earthquakes improved to 11-7-5 on the season and moved into a tie for second place in the Western Conference with the Seattle Sounders. In their last 10 home games, the Quakes are now 8-0-2, the first time since 2013 they’ve put together a double-digit unbeaten streak in the Bay Area.
“Often times when you have this positive wave, with the draw we had today against a very difficult team, it seems like it wasn’t as good as other times,” Quakes head coach Matias Almeyda said. “Today I value how great they played, and we know we have to keep going on this path.”
Even though San Jose was coming off a pair of dominant 3-1 victories, Almeyda elected to make some changes to his starting eleven. Chris Wondolowski, who featured in Wednesday’s MLS All-Star game in Orlando and missed most of the week’s training, was replaced in the lineup by Danny Hoesen. Almeyda made one other change, swapping Harold Cumming for Guram Kashia at centerback. Kashia had missed the past two games while in his native Georgia securing his U.S. Green Card.
The Quakes were the aggressors from the opening whistle, keeping the Crew off the ball and enjoying a 78.2% to 21.8% possession advantage. All the effort finally culminated in their first shot in the 9th minute, when Valeri “Vako” Qazaishvili sent the ball destined for the target before it was deflected into the side netting.
By the 16th minute, the hosts had found their grove, and in a flurry of opportunities in the Crew area, nearly found the back of the net. Another superb effort by Vako was cleared from the box, and Cristian Espinoza tried a volley on the ensuing corner kick that went tantalizingly wide. A turnover on the goal kick had San Jose back into attack, and two more crossing attempts went wanting.
Hoesen should have done better in the 19th minute, but he was unable to poke in a low cross just in front of goal. The Dutch forward hadn’t started for San Jose in over two months, last included in the starting eleven on June 1 against DC United. He’s scored two goals since then coming off the bench.
Columbus bent but did not break, and in the 26th minute nearly found the first goal of the game. After gaining possession deep in Quakes territory, Luis Argudo glided across the top of the area before unleashing a low shot that went just the wrong side of the post. San Jose goalkeeper Daniel Vega, who had yet to make a save in the match, was beaten on the shot.
The Quakes break came in the 40th minute, when Espinoza rocketed a shot from distance that Crew defender Harrison Afful handled in the box. Referee Alex Chilowicz immediately pointed to the spot, awarding San Jose its first penalty kick of the season. With Wondolowski on the bench, Eriksson stepped to the spot and calmly wrongfooted goalkeeper Eloy Room with a low shot to the left. The players on the field and the entire coaching staff off the bench celebrated the breakthrough.
San Jose entered halftime leading 1-0, holding the edge in virtually every other offensive statistical category. Porter’s plan was to sit back and absorb pressure, all the while looking for a counterattack opportunity. They did well on the first count, but on the break they were too inconsistent to trouble the Quakes defense.
That all changed to start the second half, as the Crew spread the Quakes out more in their own side of the center line before advancing possession through a loosely defended midfield. The tactics lead to a significant shift in the possession numbers, with Columbus consistently ahead of San Jose.
The ascendant Crew, nonetheless, almost fell behind another goal. In the 59th minute, some clever interplay by Espinoza and Thompson on the right wing freed the defender to pick out Hoesen with a cross in the box. The forward sent a clear header on target, but Room parried the ball away to deny the Earthquakes their second goal of the evening.
The Crew, buoyed by Room’s timely save, finally found a deserved equalizer, striking back in the 65th minute. Luis Diaz, who had been quiet prior to intermission, was a key factor for the Crew in the second half. His perfect cross into the area from the right side found the head of Zardes, who had lost his marker in Kashia, and the U.S. international easily beat Vega from close distance to make it a 1-1 game.
San Jose was stunned, but quickly regrouped to nearly go back ahead. Espinoza dazzled on the dribble in the 69th minute to find space at the endline before sending a hard cross into the mixer. Hoesen was there to meet the ball first, but his chested effort bounded off target.
The game turned more physical in the last 20 minutes, as neither side was interested in yielding ground to the other. A hard foul on Espinoza forced the Argentine winger from the game in the 79th minute, replaced by Wondolowski, who received the loudest cheers of the evening from the Avaya Stadium crowd.
The Quakes continued to push for the game winner, as Almeyda instructed his players to take more chances in possession and on turnovers. Shea Salinas, a substitute for Thompson, brought energy to the right side of the formation, as he found opportunities to get involved in the offense from his fullback position.
But the Crew remained resolute in the face of the increased pressure. A Wondolowski header in the 93rd minute tested Room, but the keeper’ knocked the ball over the crossbar to save a sure Earthquakes goal.
And when the final whistle sounded a few moments later, it was a point earned by the Quakes, but it was also an opportunity lost to keep their winning streak alive. The Earthquakes had another productive night shooting, creating 19 shots on the night to the Crew’s nine, but they only had a lone goal to show for it.
“It wasn’t a bad game at all, and except for LAFC, that was the best team we’ve played this season,” Jungwirth said. “They had a good plan, they defended really good and had some nice counterattacks. We can’t expect to win every game at home.”
The praise was well deserved, and in the visitors’ locker room, the result was met with a mixture of satisfaction and relief. The Crew had suffered through a 10-game winless streak before winning their last two games, so at this point in the season, they are taking nothing for granted, even looking at making a late move up the Eastern Conference table.
“You look at this team, and you look what we’ve been through, we’ve taken a lot of bullets all year and we’ve dealt with a lot of adversity, but I couldn’t be more proud of how resilient they are,” Porter said. “We’re not quitting. We’re going to keep fighting and putting pressure on the teams ahead of us, so don’t count us out yet.”
For the Earthquakes, it was a lesson learned on how a well disciplined team can take them out of their game at times. And while it may not be a blueprint other MLS opponents can follow, what the Crew did on Saturday cannot be ignored. The Quakes remain confident that the results will continue to go their way, and they are even more motivated to continue their own climb up the standings.
“We don’t focus too much on the other team,” Thompson said. “We have a style that has been working really well for us, and so we have to focus on our game week to week and putting the effort we’ve been putting in, and the results will come.”
The Quakes return to action next weekend when they visit Colorado to face the Rapids. San Jose beat the conference cellar dwellers two weeks ago and will be looking to complete a season sweep.