The San Jose Earthquakes picked up a crucial point on the road Saturday night at Crew Stadium with a 0-0 draw against the Columbus Crew. Jon Busch came up with two big saves in the second half to preserve the shutout. He now has five clean sheets on the season and the Quakes have earned 11 as a team, one shy of the team record set in 2005.
With four games remaining, the Quakes hold a seven-point lead over the Kansas City Wizards for the final playoff spot. San Jose travels to Washington, D.C. next weekend to take on D.C. United at RFK Stadium.
PHOTO GALLERY
READ: QUAKES PASS ROAD TEST
San Jose Earthquakes (11-8-7) vs. Columbus Crew (13-7-7)
October 4, 2010 – Crew Stadium
Attendance: 10,867
Scoring Summary: None
Misconduct Summary: SJ – Ryan Johnson (caution) 38.
San Jose Earthquakes – Jon Busch, Tim Ward, Jason Hernandez, Brandon McDonald, Bobby Convey, Chris Wondolowski, Brad Ring, Khari Stephenson, Ryan Johnson, Scott Sealy (Sam Cronin 87), Eduardo (Geovanni 69).
Statistics: Shots: 10; Shots on Goal: 3; Saves: 4; Fouls: 5; Offsides: 1; Corners: 3.
Columbus Crew – William Hesmer, Frankie Hejduk, Chad Marshall, Andy Iro, Shaun Francis, Emmanuel Ekpo (Emilio Renteria 66), Brian Carroll, Kevin Burns, Eddie Gaven (Robbie Rogers 81), Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Steven Lenhart (Andres Mendoza 84).
Statistics: Shots: 17; Shots on Goal: 4; Saves: 3; Fouls: 15; Offsides: 3; Corners: 7.
QUOTES
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH FRANK YALLOP
On the game:
“Tonight was a good road performance by the team and I think that a draw was a fair result. They had some good chances and (Jon) Busch made some excellent saves. But I think that created a number of chances that we could have finished. I am proud of the effort tonight.”
On rebounding from loss on Wednesday:
“It was great to put that result against Chicago behind us right away. Columbus is a good team and we played well here. This result gives us confidence going into next week against D.C. United. We have been a good road team all year and tonight was another example of that.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES FORWARD CHRIS WONDOLOWSKI
On the game:
“We are all happy with the point tonight. When you lose a game like Wednesday against Chicago, you want to play again as soon as possible to get that taste out of your mouth. We had a good attitude tonight and we ground out a good result in a tough place to play.”
On play of Jon Busch:
“Jon has been playing outstanding for us. I remember two his saves that were just unbelievable. How quick he is and how he reads the game is just amazing. Not to mention his leadership skills back there. We are glad to have him on our side.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES GOALKEEPER JON BUSCH
On two saves in second half:
“(Steven) Lenhart posted up on BMac (Brandon McDonald) and he was able to get around him. Luckily I kicked my left foot out there and got my skate blade on it and just kicked it wide. The second one was on Chad (Marshall) and I don’t know how I got that over because it was actually behind me. It was past me, but I was able to get it over the crossbar.”
On facing the Crew:
“It is just another game now when I play here. Will (Hesmer) has done a great job for a number of years here and they have a good team. They might be a bit tired because of all the games that they have played. It is fun to play against them and I am glad we got a good result here.”
