SAN JOSE, Calif. -
In an odd game, the Earthquakes and FC Dallas wound up even on a warm Sunday afternoon at Avaya Stadium.
The Earthquakes salvaged a 0-0 draw despite playing down a man not once but twice.
After a slow start, the Quakes appeared to be building toward a climactic goal and three precious points against a Western Conference rival, but the game kind of turned on the home side.
“I really felt like we had a goal or two in us, and it just didn’t happen,” midfielder Shea Salinas said. “So we end up with nine guys on the field. It’s tough to score goals with nine guys on the field. All in all a point is frustrating for me, because I felt like we could have gotten three.”
San Jose, and its fans, kept seeing red on a warm afternoon.
In the 53rd minute, target forward Mark Sherrod, who gave a hearty effort in his first start with the Quakes, received the first of three red cards in the match. Thus, the visitors played with a man-advantage for 22 minutes before FC Dallas’ Je-Vaughn Watson was sent off after a slide-tackle on Quakes sparkplug Cordell Cato.
Finally, JJ Koval, who subbed in for the hobbled Cato in the 82nd minute, got a red card in the 87th minute, which forced the Quakes to finish nine against 10.
“It’s unfortunate that the game played out that way,” said keeper David Bingham, who worked his fourth shutout of the season. “It’s disappointing for all the players on the field. It’s disappointing for the coaching staff, and it’s definitely disappointing for the fans.”
The good news was Victor Bernardez and Clarence Goodson successfully anchored a resilient defense and routinely won first balls. Cato and rookie holding midfielder Fatai Alashe, back after competing in France with the U-23 USMNT, also gave credible efforts.
Moreover, Matias Perez Garcia, who sat out a 3-1 loss at Toronto FC with an injury, added a touch of class to the attack.
Sherrod’s teammates thought he deserved a better fate in his Avaya Stadium debut.
He appeared to be trying to avoid FC Dallas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy when the keeper rolled up into him, and Sherrod’s cleats made contact with Kennedy’s head. It looked incidental.
“It’s unbelievable,” Bingham said. “I think everyone saw the replay, and he clearly jumps out of the way. His leg’s not coming down; his leg’s out of the way, and then Kennedy doesn’t see him. He brings his head up to Mark’s leg, and Mark got a red for that. I think that’s absolutely disappointing.”
With all the cards in the match – there were also four yellow cards -- you might think the teams were going at it like MMA fighters. But that wasn’t really the case.
“It was a clean game for three red cards,” Goodson said calmly. “I think both of us are capable of playing dirty games if it comes to that, but that wasn’t today. I don’t think it was a dirty game.”
Salinas speculated that the referee may have reacted to the emotional reaction of FC Dallas’ players after Sherrod and Kennedy came together.
“It’s tough not to get caught up in emotions when you’re refereeing in a game or even playing in a game,” Salinas said. “I think that kind of happened for everyone today.”
The Quakes started to find their attacking rhythm as the first half unfolded, creating four chances over the final 15 minutes.
First, though, Bingham made a strong save to deny Michael Barrios from close range in the 20th minute, after he cut back to his right foot.
In the 30th minute, Cato whipped a ball across the face of the goal, and the fast-closing Goodson and Sherrod just missed getting the final touch for the goal.
“Me and (Clarence) both used every muscle on our body to try and get something it,” Sherrod said. “We would have used our tongue if we could have, but there was nothing.”
Garcia made a nice touch pass to Chris Wondolowski in the box in the 33rd minute, but Kennedy abruptly cut off the angle and blocked the attempt.
In the 44th minute, a pushed-up Bernardez found a seam on a Garcia corner kick, but his header hit the ground and bounced over the crossbar.
The Quakes cleaned up their play in the defensive third as the game went along.
“They looked dangerous early on with set pieces,” Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear said. “I thought we were fouling a little bit too much around their area, and to have a guy like Michel swinging in balls and the guys they have attacking it create second balls. They came out a little bit better in the second half. And then we started playing well. Matias was playing real well for us. And then, unfortunately, the red card really changes things up in a negative fashion, probably for everybody except for Dallas.”
Kinnear said he thought Sherrod did OK overall and worked hard. Kinnear thought the team was better in the attacking third than it was against Toronto FC the previous week.
The Quakes will take the point, but they don’t feel like celebrating.
“We were knocking on the door,” Kinnear said. “Even 10 vs. 11, we were doing some pretty good things. I’m not going to sit back in my chair and smile, but I told the guys, ‘Really happy with the way you handled yourselves today. As far as being down a man, you never got rattled, and you did OK.’”
Alashe, who produced a typically assured effort, took the difficult circumstances over the final 27 minutes in stride.
“It was hard to have two of our guys go out of the match,” he said. “We were tired and it was tough just because you're forced to sit back a little. You don't have anybody to put too much pressure on their defenders. It makes it a lot harder for you to keep possession. I think we played well down that stretch. We showed some character with the team.
“We were willing to fight, and we know you have to get points any way you can, no matter what the circumstances are.”
San Jose will return to action against Sacramento Republic FC on June 16 in the fourth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. at Avaya Stadium.
