To earn their first three points on the road this season, the San Jose Earthquakes had to hold on for dear life against their rivals, the Los Angeles Galaxy.
“I think we played two different games today, one first half where we played amazing, one of the best halves that we have played during this season,” noted Earthquakes interim coach Alex Covello. “Then, in the second half, I believed it was important to break that barrier physiologically. It’s our first win [on the road].”
San Jose jumped out to a three-goal lead in the first half on Wednesday night.
Cristian Espinoza opened up the score for the Quakes, converting a penalty kick in the thirteenth minute. A giveaway in the LA defense a minute later allowed Jeremy Ebobisse to double the lead, his 11th goal of the season for San Jose. Marcos Lopez slotted the ball into the net in the 40th minute after a nice buildup to give what looked like a commanding lead.
The Galaxy’s Dejan Joveljic converted three minutes into the second half and added another in the 88th minute to set up a frantic few minutes to hold onto the victory. San Jose keeper JT Marcinkowski had a season-high eight saves during the game.
“In the second half, they [LA Galaxy] pushed us, and we had JT come up with those amazing saves again today,” noted Covello. “He is growing a lot and is also us defending crosses into the box. Tonight was phycological; it was important to get this victory.”
After the game, Ebobisse concurred that the win could have a big impact on the Earthquakes’ season.
“It’s one step along the way, hopefully, an energizing one, one that leads to more wins on the road and more security at home, and then we’ll see where we can go from there,” said Ebobisse. “It’s one step at a time for myself, for the team, for us as individuals. We can’t get caught up in the success of tonight. We have work to do.”
