The San Jose Earthquakes conceded a goal in the dying moments of their game against Real Salt Lake to settle for a 2-2 draw on Saturday night at PayPal Park.
“Right now, all of us are very frustrated and sad because they scored on the last play,” noted Quakes interim head coach Alex Covelo. “Those are three points that would’ve helped us. We have to recover and recover mentally; soccer provides you with opportunities.”
Over the past six games, the Quakes have scored the first goal of the game. However, they have been equally as adept at letting the opposition score recording two wins, two draws, and two losses in the span.
The Quakes’ Cristian Espinoza scored a penalty kick in the 12th minute to take the lead but Real equalized nine minutes later.
In the second half, Jeremy Ebobisse capitalized on a nice assist from Cristian Espinoza to take the lead in the 62nd minute. It was Ebobisse’s 12th goal of the season.
San Jose looked destined to claim the full three points until Salt Lake’s Jefferson Savarino got on the end of a cross and was able to sneak his shot past Quakes keeper JT Marcinkowski with just second left in extra time.
“Clearly, we need to be a little bit more intelligent when we are winning and play with that nervousness from the other team especially when playing at home which is what all teams do in the league when they have a lead,” noted Espinoza. “We need to defend that lead on all plays no matter how little they may seem. It is always important to maintain that lead no matter what. We need to learn from that, and it needs to happen quick because there are less and less games as the season goes on. Even though things may not be going well, our mentality stays the same: to try to reach the playoffs. And as long as there is a chance to qualify, our objective stays the same.”
San Jose will have a chance to quickly rebound, hosting Inter Miami FC on Wednesday.
“We play Wednesday against Inter Miami CF, which is an important game, and we have to stand up and fight again with the mentality to win the game because we have done it before, and we can do it,” explained Covelo.
