The rivalry between the San Jose Earthquakes and the LA Galaxy has provided fans with its fair share of memorable moments over the years. However, Saturday’s 3-1 loss by the Quakes in Carson is a game San Jose fans will love to forget sooner rather than later.
The 61st version of the Cali Clasico was anything but classic, with a total of eight cards issued during the match including a straight red card at 45’+3’ to San Jose’s Simon Dawkins. The card came at the end of a half when four other yellows were issued and it changed the complexion of the match. The teams went into halftime at 0-0 but two Gyasi Zardes goals six minutes apart in the second half put the match out of reach for the Earthquakes with a little under 30 minutes left to play.
The loss is the first of the season for San Jose.
Zardes first scored by slotting home a Jelle Van Damme header put across the face of San Jose’s goal. Zardes crashed the back post and tapped the ball in for the 1-0 lead. Minutes later, a long Van Damme pass towards Mike Magee wasn’t cleared hard enough by Kip Colvey. Once again, an unmarked Zardes continued a run towards goal that resulted in him getting just enough of a touch to sneak it past David Bingham who was off his line to make it 2-0.
San Jose did get a goal back in the 89th minute when Chris Wondolowski cleaned up after Marvell Wynne's shot on a breakaway was initially saved by Brian Rowe. The ball trickled away and Wondolowski crashed in and scored his third goal of the season and 112th of his career.
But any San Jose momentum was short lived when Victor Bernardez fouled Robbie Keane in the penalty box two minutes later. Keane, the former Major League Soccer Most Valuable Player took the penalty kick, beating Bingham to the keeper’s left to make it 3-1.
San Jose was called for 22 fouls in the game. Andrés Imperiale got his first start for San Jose. Matías Pérez García and Innocent Emeghara saw their first action of the MLS season. Both came in as substitutions in the second half.
MAN OF THE MATCH:
Gyasi Zardes proved to be opportunistic given the man advantage for the LA Galaxy. He scored twice, capitalizing on some poor clearance work by the San Jose defense in the penalty area.
TURNING POINT:
There is no question the referee’s decision to issue a straight red card to Simon Dawkins at the end of the first half changed the complexion of the game. The match had been physical to that point, with plenty of yellow cards issued. The red card forced San Jose to play half the match a man down and with the Galaxy owning about 65 percent of the possession in the second half, the effect of the red card was felt.
BOOKED:
San Jose: Andrés Imperiale (41’, yellow), Simon Dawkins (45’+3’, red), Fatai Alashe (52’, yellow), Marvell Wynne (56’, yellow); Los Angeles Galaxy: Mike Magee (11’, yellow), Jelle Van Damme (21', yellow), Nigel de Jong (22', yellow), Alan Gordon (90’+3’, yellow).
ATTENDANCE:
Reported attendance at the StubHub Center in Carson was 25,667.
INJURY REPORT:
The Galaxy’s Steven Gerrard, an English national and Barclay’s Premier League legend, left the game three minutes in with a reported calf injury.
UP NEXT:
The FIFA open date window will keep San Jose off the pitch for two weeks. Next up is an April 2 fixture against D.C. United at Avaya Stadium. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
