A devastating loss at the hands of New York City FC which may appear to have been a one sided affair to the naked eye but in reality, the game was much closer than the score line suggests.
Going into this match, the Quakes were without both their starting fullbacks in Carlos Akapo and Victor Costa. Losing one of these players usually wouldn’t be a huge loss as next man up, Paul Marie has a lot of experience in either position but unfortunately Luchi Gonzalez had to resort to using backup center back, Tanner The fullback situation was so dire in fact that youngster Oscar Verhoeven received his first MLS call up to the first team on his birthday in order to provide cover in that position should anything happen to Paul Marie or Tanner Beason.
New York drew first blood early in the second half from a well executed cut back which Hannes Wolf calmly slotted past William Yarbrough who was not able to keep it from crossing the line.
Less than five minutes later, San Jose showed their first signs of life with a goal of their own from Amahl Pellegrino. A daintily lifted ball from Hernan Lopez found the path of Pellegrino who was just barely held onside by the NYCFC fullback. Pellegrino ran onto the ball and finished first time past the on-rushing NYCFC goalkeeper bringing the Quakes back level in the 53rd minute.
In the 60th minute, the Quakes continued to bare their teeth and show that they’re still an attacking threat. A pinpoint early cross from Cristian Espinoza found the feet of Jeremy Ebobisse at the edge of the box. Ebobisse expertly delayed the defense while timing the run of Niko Tsakiris. Ebobisse laid the ball off to Tsakiris, rewarding his run but unfortunately Niko failed to find the back of the net as his powerful shot at the near post smacked off the crossbar and went out for a throw-in.
Going into the 80th minute one could reasonably assume that the game would conclude as a 1-1 draw but this could not be further from the truth as this is the point where New York decided to come to life. After knocking on the door for a large portion of this match, Santi Rodriguez found his goal following a botched clearance that fell to him just outside the box where he was able to find his angle and place it just out of reach of the keeper in the bottom left corner of the goal.
Shortly after, a well played throw in routine earned NYCFC another in the 85th minute. A throw over the top to Alonso Martinez lured out the San Jose defense, leaving Maxi Moralez with ample space to perfectly pick out Alonso Martinez who continued his run into the box and was able to coolly finish by hitting the inside of the post and finding the back of the net.
The bloodbath would continue in the 92nd minute with Alonso Martinez finding yet another goal after winning the ball off of a misplaced back-pass from Cristian Espinoza. The Costa Rican striker had the pace and composure to push the ball past Tanner Beason and beat Yarbrough while he rushed out of his goal, making the score 4-1.
NYCFC were not finished however. In the 95th minute New York once again punished San Jose for their high line by playing a ball behind to their pacy wingers. A low cross played across the box found the run of Alonso Martinez who inevitably finished to complete his hattrick on the day.
Although the game finished 5-1 in the end, San Jose were decent defensively for the majority of the match. An injury to star center back Bruno Wilson greatly weakened the back line and the ramifications were felt in the later stages of the match. The goal to put NYCFC likely inspired Luchi González to try an attacking approach to try and salvage a point which further weakened the defensive solidity and NYCFC was keen to take advantage of that vulnerability.
As the weeks go on, a playoff spot looks further and further away which will come as a major disappointment to San Jose Earthquakes fans who did not envision this outcome for their 50th anniversary season.
Cover Photo: San Jose Earthquakes
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