Photo: Nap -The Project FC

The Earthquakes were unable to protect their lead at home and wound up with a 1-1 tie against the Colorado Rapids. It was another disappointing result for San Jose who had hoped to win their first match since early June but they again had major problems creating goals and another good defensive effort could only secure the team a point. The Quakes started off the game a little slow and lacked the energy that the match required.  In the 11th minute Conor Casey broke loose through the center of the park and out muscled Eric Denton but luckily for the Earthquakes he could not finish and hit the ball wide as Cannon scrambled off his line to cut the angle.

The close call seemed to wake up the Quakes and they began to pick up the pace and string some passes together. The Rapids were in a 3-5-2 but the Quakes began to assert themselves in the midfield through Kelly Gray and Ramiro Corrales however they had problems creating chances in the final third.

The Quakes defense was able to catch the Rapids off sides several times but it took a nice tackle by Jason Hernandez to stop Casey at the top off the box in the 18th minute. In 26th  minute the home side had some nice possession that resulted in a shot by James Riley from outside the box that forced Bouna Coundoul to parry the ball over the bar but nothing came from the resulting corner for San Jose.

The first half continued to see-saw with neither team able to create much offensively until the 33rd minute when Terry Cooke got free down the left flank. With the Quakes defenders a step behind he badly shanked his cross. A few minutes later Colorado had another chance that resulted in a soft header by Mehdi Ballouchy was easily saved by Cannon.

The Quakes had two nice chances towards the end of the half. The first was a hard low shot from just outside the box by Ryan Johnson that just missed a foot right of the goal and sent Coundoul’s water bottle flying. In injury time Johnson sent a nice ball in the air for Ivan Guerrero who had made a great run into the box. He took an extra touch when it would have better to dink it over the onrushing Coundoul with his first. It was scoreless at the half.

In the second half the Quakes came out with a greater sense of urgency and more bite in their game. In the 53rd minute hard foul by Ronnie O’Brien on Mehdi Ballouchy set the tone and O’Brien was booked. The Quakes still had problems connecting on their attacks. On one move soon after O’Brien’s yellow Denton put a nice ball over the top for Kamara but he had held his run and the Rapids easily gained possession. Yallop decided to make some changes to increase the attack. He subbed on John Cunliffe for Ivan Guerrero and Johnson slid over to the left mid spot so Cunliffe could partner with Kamara at forward. Colorado had a shot off a free kick that went wide right but Cannon had it covered if it had been on frame. In the 58th minute Grabavoy came on for Gray, who had put in another solid effort at defensive mid. Right after a Quakes attack resulted in a blast by O’Brien from outside the area. It took a deflection but again the ensuing corner came to nothing for San Jose with no one touching the ball.

Photo: Nap -The Project FC

Finally in the 62nd minute Ramiro Corrales put in a quality free kick into the center of the Rapids penalty box that Ryan Johnson leaped up to head home past a helpless Coundoul. Finally the Quakes faithful had a goal to celebrate and a lead to cherish. San Jose looked confident and composed and came at Colorado with a counter that forced Pablo Mastroeni to take down O’Brien and earn a yellow card in the 66th. It looked as though things would continue to go the home side’s way when Colorado’s Cooke sent a long ball high in the box for Casey who buried his header past Cannon.

It appeared that Casey pushed off on a well positioned Hernandez to give himself space to finish but the referee saw nothing wrong and the goal stood. It was now 1 all. Frank Yallop uncharacteristically went ballistic on the sideline and the referee sent him off. It was the first time Yallop had been sent off in his MLS coaching career. The rest of the game was chippy with several yellows cards being shown as the Quakes pushed forward to try to grab the winner.

Photo: Nap -The Project FC

Nick Garcia had his usual solid game and he had to stop a shot by Omar Cummings who had been able to dribble into the Quakes box in the 79th minute. Two minutes Shea Salinas came on for Kamara, who had another off game, but the Quakes were unable to produce a threatening shot in the attack. In fact it was Colorado who nearly snatched the three points at the end when Casey bulled his way into the area only to have his effort deflected and then saved by Cannon from merely yards away. The match ended at 1-1 and the Rapids left the field looking content while the Quakes looked like they’d been defeated. Indeed, San Jose needs to start winning now or else their playoff dreams will remain only dreams. Help is on the way in the form of Darren Huckerby, a proven goal scorer from England’s Norwich City, and Brazilian Francisco Lima, a seasoned defensive midfielder who has spent years playing in Europe. They should be available after July 15 however nothing is official yet.

Ben Sizemore (email)

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Jason Hernandez - Part 1: Jason Hernandez - Part 2: Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado):

San Jose Line-up:

Ryan Johnson		Kei Kamara
Ivan Guerrero (John Cunliffe, 58')	Ramiro Corrales (Ned Grabavoy, 87')	Kelly Gray	Ronnie O'Brien
Eric Denton	Nick Garcia (C.)	Jason Hernandez	James Riley (Shea Salinas, 89')
Joe Cannon

 

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