The Colorado Rapids struck with two minutes left to defeat the Earthquakes and end San Jose’s unbeaten streak at ten games, in a 1-0 defeat at PayPal Park.
Mere seconds after being substituted into the game in the 88th minute, Rapids forward Dominique Badji received the ball on a quick counter-attack and put the visitors ahead.
“The game itself was even, and we played it well,” said Earthquakes head coach Matias Almeyda. “It’s clear that you win football matches by scoring goals.”
San Jose nearly tied the game up four minutes later when Paul Marie’s shot was pared away by the Rapids keeper.
Quakes forward Jeremy Ebobisse had to be subbed out of the game in the first half after a collision with Colorado defender Lalas Abubakar.
“Yeah, it’s tough,” noted Quakes midfielder Shea Salinas after the game. “The game changes a ton when Jeremy [Ebobisse] goes out. He’s a very different player than Cade [Cowell], and so the game plan changes. Jeremy’s a hold-up player, lays it off, and then wide guys can get up the field and get in behind. Cade’s more of a runner, more of the type to run in behind.”
“The game plan changes when Cade comes in,” Salinas continued. “We had a difficult time holding the ball up, which would allow us to transition and get into their final third. So, it ended up becoming more of a back-and-forth game, and unfortunately, they got us on the counter there at the end.”
San Jose’s unbeaten streak was the team’s longest since 2005. The loss dropped the team into 10th in the Western Conference.
Next up for the Quakes is a road trip to FC Dallas next Saturday where the team will need three points to jump back into a playoff position.
“All games are must-wins,” explained Almeyda. “Today, we played to win. It was reflected in the subs we made that we wanted to win. We didn’t want to tie.”
