By Matthew T.F. Harrington

sjearthquakes.com photo: It’s a dog pile celebration as San Jose gets a one goal win over Toronto

SAN JOSÉ, Calif. – The San José Earthquakes faced an uphill battle Saturday night if they wanted to avoid losing two consecutive MLS matches at Avaya Stadium for the first time in club history. Despite being down two men for the final 37 minutes of play, a surprising strike in the 71^st minute from Simon Dawkins pushed the Quakes (6-6-7) to a 2-1 win.

“I was dying inside,” said Earthquakes coach Dominic Kinnear. “I just wanted that final whistle to come a little quicker than it did.”

Dawkins pushed the shorthand attack up the field, then cut back on a Toronto defender before firing a shot from dead center. Reds rookie keeper Alex Bono was frozen on the bid, meekly hopping up to try to bat it away before watching it slip over his fingertips. For Dawkins, a designated player signed in the offseason for San José it was his second goal of the year.

“That was the loudest I’ve heared this place,” said Kinnear. “It made the fans go from being mad to being really hopeful. You could feel the sense of stadium from everybody.”

The win was a tremendous all-around defensive effort for the Quakes. Visiting Toronto FC (6-7-6), led by reigning MLS Most Valuable Player Sebastian Giovinco, played more than half the game up a man following Anibal Godoy’s red card in the 42^nd minute. Another red card to Alberto Quintero in the 53^rd minute gave the Reds plenty of time to leave the Bay Area with a full three points in hand.

“The second half seemed to last six hours,” quipped Kinnear. “Especially after Alberto was sent off. You just wanted to will them to win. But they were willing themselves to win.”

Toronto held nearl a 60-40 possession edge and were able to play in the attacking half for large swaths of the contest. The Reds fired 15 second half shots on keeper David Bingham, with only two hitting their mark.

“The guys were fantastic,” said Kinnear. “David coming out on crosses, we were blocking shots.”

Despite the considerable manpower advantage, Toronto only managed to score once, with the goal coming in the waning minutes of the first half with the Reds down 1-0. A pair of former Earthquakes connected on the then game-tying tally in the 44^th minute when defender Justin Morrow tipped in San José native Steven Beitashour’s pass for his third marker of the season.

While Toronto score last in the first 45 minutes, the Quakes had their considerable share of chances. San José opened the match looking to push the pace early, scoring a goal in the 7^th minute that ultimately was stricken due to an overeager Chris Wondolowski. Simon Dawkins found Wondolowski behind the Reds backline for the easy chip-in for the Quakes striker seeking to end a six-game goal-less drought. The 100-plus goal scorer will have to keep seeking his skid buster, as the referee called back the goal on an offside.

Former Toronto FC forward Quincy Amarikwa gave the Quakes their first lead in a contest since the middle of May, connecting on a Fatai Alashe cross in the 30^th minute. Amarikwa took the cross, coming from Alashe outside the box on the left wing, and redirected it just in front of the Bono into the net for his second goal of the season.

With the win, the Earthquakes move a point behind Portland for and a win behind Vancouver for sixth and seventh place with a game in hand on both. They’ll hit the road for a pair of games against Real Salt Lake (July 22^nd) and Houston (July 31^st). The MLS All-Star game will also be held at Avaya Stadium July 28th, with the MLS’ best facing off against Arsenal.