By Matthew T.F. Harrington

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Tuesday night’s friendly at Avaya Stadium turned not-so-friendly between the San Jose Earthquakes and Club America in the opening contest of the 2015 Guinness International Champions Cup. In a heated contest that saw a combined 8 yellows and 3 red cards issued, the Quakes fell to their Central American foes 2-1 behind a pair of goals in the final 30 minutes.

“With America, there’s no such thing as friendlies,” said Club America assistant coach Carlos Turrubiates through a translator. “Today was an example of two teams with the will to win. I don’t think there were bad intentions from either of these teams. It was the desire to win and play with the ball.”

The crowd was largely partisan towards the visiting club, with cheering sections donning Las Aguilas’ cream and blue scattered throughout Avaya. Fireworks were lit in celebration of each goal while drums banged throughout the contest. It was a home away from home for the most successful team in Liga MX history.

“These are people are working, fighting,” said Turrubiates of Las Aguilas supporters. They’re working to spend their money. That’s another reason to take this game seriously.”

“Whether it’s one fan, two fans or more, it makes us play harder,” added Turrubiates.

The Quakes capitalized first in the 23rd minute despite being on the wrong end of the run of play for most of the first half. Matias Perez Garcia flicked a corner kick into the penalty box that Quincy Amarikwa pounced on. His header attempt was deflected by Las Aguilas keeper Hugo Gonzalez but popped to the advancing Clarence Goodson. Goodson gave the ball a nod right into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.

“It would have been nice to win,” said Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear. “We put ourselves in a good position up 1-0, possibly more. In the end we didn’t.”

With a showdown with the Los Angeles Galaxy and a debuting Steven Gerrard looming on Friday, Kinnear opted to make mass substitutions to a team already absent its leading scorer with Chris Wondolowski on international duty. 8 of the 10 Quakes remaining on the pitch were subbed out for fresh legs, many of whom were getting their first taste of play against an international foe.

“We do have a game on Friday,” said Kinnear. “It does make us worry about the health of our squad. So it gives some players who haven’t been in international play a taste of what it’s like. It was a hostile environment, the game was very competitive.”

Following the player turnover, America’s fast-paced offense took over. Las Aguilas launched another five shots on goal in the second half after a nine-goal barrage, beating Quakes netminder Bryan Meredith for the first time in the 76^th minute. Andres Andrade launched a shot from the semicircle that slid to Meredith’s right into the back of the net.

In the 83^rd minute, America’s Francisco Rivera scored a near-identical goal, firing the ball into the back of the net from the half-circle to Meredith’s right again to cap the Aguilas comeback.

The hostilities came to a head in the 15^th minute when Clarence Goodson horsecollared Dario Benedetto to the pitch. Both teams gathered in a mob, but after a heated exchange cooler heads prevailed.

“The challenge led to some pushing and shoving,” said Kinnear of the collision between Goodson and Benedetto. “It didn’t stop. That was the point that led to the intensity rising.”

Three more yellows would be issued in a physical half before a blowup in stoppage time between both teams.

Just seconds away from completing the first 45 minutes, San Jose’s Sanna Nyassi was taken down on a slidetackle. While on the pitch, America’s Paolo Goltz stood over the downed midfielder. Nyassi took a few swipes at Goltz with his cleats before igniting another shoving match. The two were issued red cards, forcing both teams to play down a man for the remainder of play.

The two teams played a more civil second half, though four yellow cards were issued. The only red card coming to Kinnear in the 85^th minute.

“I was going to get sent to the locker room by the referee so I beat him to the punch,” said a laughing Kinnear of his premature departure before officially being shown the red.

With the dust-ups completed, the game drew to a close. The Quakes ICC experience is far from over. They’ll welcome Premier League standard Manchester United to Avaya next Tuesday for another high-profile match-up.

“Against Manchester United the odds are probably against us,” said Kinnear. “But it’s an honor to be involved in this tournament. It’s prestigious. We’re thrilled to be a part of it.”