Shorthanded San Jose Earthquakes Top FC Dallas 2-1 at Sold Out Buck Shaw Stadium

 SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes played the entire second half down a man, but held on for a 2-1 win against FC Dallas at a sold out Buck Shaw Stadium on Saturday.

Cordell Cato gave the Earthquakes a 1-0 lead midway through the first half, but a red card to Shea Salinas in the 45th minute left the home side down a man for the final stanza. However, a gritty defensive effort and an own goal from FC Dallas’ David Texeira paved the way for three points.

Cato scored his first goal of the season in the 25th minute. Jon Busch sent a long pass downfield that Clarence Goodson flicked past the FC Dallas backline and right into the path of Cato. The flying Trinidadian collected the ball and slotted his shot past goalkeeper Raul Fernandez. The assists were milestones for both Goodson and Busch – the first for Goodson in an Earthquakes uniform and the first for Busch in his 14-year MLS career.

After Salinas was sent off at the end of the first half for a hard challenge, San Jose organized at the break and came out with a resilient shape that held up for the win.

The Earthquakes posted what turned into the game-winning goal in the 73rd minute. Sam Cronin bent a teasing free kick into the mix where FC Dallas substitute David Texeira deflected the ball into the net while trying to shield Chris Wondolowski from the play.

FC Dallas pulled one back three minutes later on a spectacular free kick from the top of the box by Brazilian left back Michel. However, the Earthquakes’ defense regrouped and kept three points with a tenacious group effort. Busch ended the night with four saves and faced a total of 20 shots, five of which were on target.

 The Earthquakes improved their home-unbeaten streak against FC Dallas to six games. They are 4-0-2 during that stretch.

San Jose returns to action on Saturday, May 17 against Seattle Sounders FC at CenturyLink Field. Kickoff is 7 p.m. PT on Comcast SportsNet California, 1590 KLIV and 1370 KZSF.
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San Jose Earthquakes (2-3-4, 10 pts.) 2:1 FC Dallas (5-5-1, 16 pts.)
May 10, 2014 – Buck Shaw Stadium
Attendance: 10,525

Scoring Summary: SJ – Cordell Cato (Clarence Goodson, Jon Busch) 25; SJ – David Texeira (own goal) 73; DAL – Michel (unassisted) 76.

Misconduct Summary: SJ – Jordan Stewart (caution) 14; SJ – Sam Cronin (caution) 29; SJ – Shea Salinas (ejection) 45; SJ – Cordell Cato (caution) 67; DAL – Michel (caution) 72; SJ – Mike Fucito (caution) 81.

San Jose Earthquakes: Jon Busch, Brandon Barklage, Victor Bernardez, Clarence Goodson, Jordan Stewart, Cordell Cato (Ty Harden 85), Khari Stephenson (Mike Fucito 60), Sam Cronin, Shea Salinas, Chris Wondolowski, Alan Gordon (JJ Koval 56).

SHOTS: 7; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; SAVES: 4; FOULS: 16; CORNER KICKS: 5;OFFSIDES: 0.

FC Dallas – Raul Fernandez, Zach Loyd (David Texeira 46), Matt Hedges, Walker Zimmerman, Michel, Tesho Akindele (Andrew Jacobson 89), Victor Ulloa, Hendry Thomas (Jair Benitez 73), Danny Garcia, Fabian Castillo, Blas Perez.

SHOTS: 20; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5; SAVES: 3; FOULS: 8; CORNER KICKS: 11;OFFSIDES: 2.

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH MARK WATSON

On the result:
“That was quite a night. I’ll use a cliché: It was the tail of two halves. I thought toward the end of the first half we played really well, got the goal and had a chance to make it two-nil. The sending off obviously changed everything. The second half was about sticking together, defending and seeing the game off. It was a long, hard-fought night and I’m really proud of our guys.”

On defensive effort:
“It was fantastic. We knew we would be under pressure. We knew they would be on top of us, putting balls into the box. It was about staying together, keeping our shape and staying committed for the entire second half. Our boys did excellent in the second half.”

On character of the team:
“It shows the character our team has. We’ve always had that, and I thought tonight was a perfect example of our character. Under extreme circumstances, all of the things that were going on, we just kept fighting and battling and I’m very proud of the guys.”

 SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES DEFENDER BRANDON BARKLAGE

On stoppage time defensive stance:
“We were obviously tired and down a man so we had to have five in the back. [FC Dallas] has some really fast guys who were taking it to us, but that’s what this team is all about – grinding it out to get the win after playing two games this week and we played with a man down. You have to commend us for that. Now we have a full week to recover before we take on Seattle [Sounders FC].”

 On playing opportunities:
“I’m always going to go out there and play my heart out. We lost [Andreas] Gorlitz last match, which was unfortunate. Guys are going to have to step up and I’m one of those guys. We have to make the most of our chances. As a unit, we’re starting to click and it started in the second half of the last game. Then tonight, we found a little bit of rhythm and built off of it to stand our ground and get three points.”


SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES MIDFIELDER SAM CRONIN

On win:
“We don’t ever make it easy. This match was a good show of character from the team. It was difficult in the second half when we were down a man, but we were resilient. Our center backs and taller guys defend the box extremely well late in the match when they had chance after chance. We’re happy to walk out of here with a win.”

On Shea Salinas suspended for Seattle match:
“Shea [Salinas] is going to be tough to replace, especially with guys going down due to injury. We had a couple of guys beat up today. Alan Gordon going out, Khari [Stephenson] having to sub out. Shea brings tons of energy and pace at the wide midfield spot for us. We have to see who’s available next week to fill that void and fortunately we get a little more time to rest this week to find his replacement.”

Fotos: Luis Alberto Torres ~ ISC