Category: MLS

Photo courtesy of San Jose Earthquakes.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- The Earthquakes welcomed the Timbers to their home and played a tight match leading to a 0-0 tie.

In between the pipes for San Jose was Daniel de Sousa Brito and for Portland David Bingham was the starting goaltender. The Earthquakes came out in a 4-3-3 formation while Portland started in a 4-4-2 formation.

Early on in the match the blue-and-black got close to getting a goal as Tanner Beason just missed a header from in close that went wide left.

Just four minutes after that attempt Judson Silva Tavares got a right footed shot off from outside the box that went just high.

At the 18th minute mark of the first half a yellow card was handed out to Portland as Santiago Moreno was called for a bad foul.

Just a couple minutes after the card Daniel had to make a save as Franck Boli got a shot on goal from the centre of the box.

Christian Espinoza responded with a shot of his own from the right side of the box that Bingham saved. Boli also got another shot on goal but that one was saved as well by Daniel.

At the 36th minute of the first half San Jose was awarded a free kick on a foul by Dairon Asprilla. The free kick was right at the top of the box and looked to be a great chance for the Earthquakes. Jeremy Ebobisse took the kick and dinged it off the bar and out keeping the score at 0-0.

Right before the end of the first half Dario Zuparic was given a yellow card for a bad foul bringing Portland’s total cards in the first half to two.

The second half was kicked off by a fantastic save by Daniel off a header by Evander da Silva Ferreira that came from extremely close range.

Later in the second half San Jose got their first yellow as Cade Cowell was given on for a bad foul. Then only three minutes later Paul Marie got a yellow card as well.

After a couple attempts on both sides the Earthquakes made a sub brining in Tommy Thompson for Judson. A minute after the sub Portland got another yellow as Eric Miller this time was given on for a bad foul.

Then at the 67th minute of the second half San Jose hit another post as Thompson hit the right post from the centre of the box.

There would be seven minutes of added time in this match and Portland did not let it go to waste. As at the 93rd minute Asprilla also hit the right post with a right footed shot from outside of the box.

Even with three posts being hit during the match that did not matter as the game ended in a tie 0-0.

At the end of the match possession favored San Jose at 54.8% to 45.2% while shots favored Portland 16-12.

San Jose’s next match will be on Wednesday on the road against Houston at 5:30 p.m.

Photo courtesy of San Jose Earthquakes Twitter. The Earthquakes celebrate their victory after their win over LAFC at Levi’s Stadium.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme) and Marko Ukalovic

SANTA CLARA- The battle for the bay between the Earthquakes and LAFC was an exciting one that went down to the wire with San Jose ending up on top 2-1.

San Jose went into this match with a 4-3-3 record while LAFC came in with a 5-0-3 record.

The attendance at Levi’s Stadium was a solid 45,112 while the weather was slightly overcast with no rain during the game.

Both teams started in a 4-3-3 formation as JT Marcinkowski faced off against John McCarthy in goal.

The match got off to a great start for San Jose as just eight minutes in Cristian Espinoza received a beautiful pass from Jamiro Monteiro which Espinoza struck from the centre of the box into the net. The goal sent all 45,000 plus fans into a frenzy with the goal being Espinoza’s eighth of the season.

The goal gave the Earthquakes a solid spark of momentum as right after Espinoza had an attempt on net and Paul Marie had an attempt go wide.

At the 29th minute mark of the match Mateusz Bogusz was given a yellow card on a bad foul. Despite the foul Bogusz put a shot on target that Marcinkowski saved however Dénis Bouanga picked up the rebound and scored tying the game at one.

The rest of the first half saw LAFC put the heat on the Earthquakes with Marcinkowski having to make two big saves one off of Bouanag and the other off of a strike from Denil Maldonado.

Despite the pressure San Jose held on to the tie at half 1-1. At the end of the first half the total shots favored LAFC 10-6 as well as possession at 57.7%-42.3%

The beginning of the second half saw LA continuing their pressure with a couple missed attempts.

At around the 76th minute mark as there was a delay in the match because of an injury to both Paul Marie and Aaron Long though thankfully both were able to continue to play.

Not long after the delay Jeremy Ebobisse drew a foul in the penalty area brining the fans at Levi’s Stadium to their feet. Taking the penalty of course was Espinoza who converted on the penalty hitting the bottom right of the net.

A little after the goal Maldonado was given a yellow card on a bad foul continuing their foul trouble.

For LA it was crunch time as they pushed hard for a goal throwing everything at San Jose. The most threatening moment being when Timothy Tillman missed a header over the net. San Jose was able to hold on and win the match over LA by a final of 2-1 at Levi’s Stadium.

“I think we can always be dangerous at any point it’s almost a little unpredictable and I love that because I think it’s one of our strengths,” head coach Luchi Gonzalez said after the match.

San Jose plays LA Galaxy next this time on the road on 5/14 at 6:30 p.m.

Photo courtesy of San Jose Earthquakes. The Earthquakes ready themselves before the start of the second half.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- In what was an interesting match to watch the Earthquakes scored two penalties against the Dynamo to win by a final of 2-1.

For San Jose JT Marcinkowski got the start while for Houston Steve Clark was in between the pipes.

The match got off to a quick start for San Jose as they played with strong pace and lead to Teenage Hadebe getting called for a handball in the penalty area.

Cristian Espinoza took the penalty shot and scored at the 7′ mark of the first half striking the bottom left part of the net.

A little later in the first Jonathan Mensa was issued a yellow card on a bad foul and at the 33′ mark Carlos Akapo was given one as well.

At the 40′ mark Michael Baldisimo was issued a foul in the penalty area though it was under questionable circumstances.

Despite that Amine Bassi took the penalty shot and scored hitting the centre of the net tying the game back up. Not

Not long after the penalty Artur for the Houston Dynamo was issued a yellow card.

The end of the half showed how few shots there were as collectively there was only two shots on target between the two teams which were the two penalties.

The Earthquakes did maintain the possession in the first half at 51.3% to Houston’s 48.7%

The second half started out quite opposite to the first as early on Corey Baird got a good shot on goal that Marcinkowski fought off.

In response Espinoza also got a great shot on target that leaked through Clark’s legs but stayed out as he scrambled back and covered it.

Just two minutes after the shot Jamiro Monteiro was issued a yellow card on a bad foul.

San Jose continued the pace and Cade Cowell lead a good charge into the box but lost possession of the ball.

A little after that play the refs looked back and saw that Cowell was fouled in the penalty area and thus San Jose was awarded another penalty.

Espinoza took the penalty and scored once again this time hitting the bottom right part of the net making it 2-1.

Houston later in the half made a couple substitutions including putting out on the field Sebastián Ferreira who last year scored multiple goals against San Jose.

In stoppage time Houston was given one last chance as they were awarded a free kick on a foul by Paul Marie.

The free kick was from a dangerous position but Marcinkowski came up with an easy save as the Earthquakes held on to win 2-1.

The Earthquakes next match will be on 4/8 against New York on the road at 4:30 p.m.