COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – The San Jose Earthquakes earned a point on the road against the Colorado Rapids Saturday night with a scoreless draw at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Earthquakes goalkeeper David Bingham earned his seventh shutout of the season.
Both teams saw chances in the first half. In the 24th minute, Dominique Badji was on a break away for the Rapids and found himself up against Bingham who pushed the ball away, forcing Badji to make a wide shot.
Defender Victor Bernardez was close to scoring his second goal of the season 35th minute when he shot from outside the 18-yard box, but the ball sailed just over the crossbar.
The Earthquakes’ best chance in the first half came in the 41st minute after Ceren’s long cross found Chris Wondolowski’s head, which the forward used to pass the ball to Fatai Alashe. The midfielder shot at Colorado’s goal, causing keeper Tim Howard make a diving save.
With the game scoreless at the half, both teams looked to capitalize in the second. Bingham made a vital save in the 68th minute to deny Badji’s right-footed shot from the center of the box.
With the final whistle, the game ended scoreless and both teams left with a point.
The Quakes return home to take on Sporting Kansas City at Avaya Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 24. The match will kick off at 7:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on CSN California, 1590 KLIV and 1370 KZSF.
Notes:
- San Jose is now 7-8-13 on the season and 1-6-7 on the road.
- San Jose now has a 28-18-15 all-time record against Colorado, including a 13-10-8 record on the road.
- With the scoreless draw the Earthquakes extended their unbeaten streak against Colorado to 14 games.
- The Quakes have not suffered a defeat at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park since Aug. 7, 2010 when they fell 1-0 to the Rapids.
- David Bingham earned his seventh shutout of the season and 19th in his MLS career, all with the Earthquakes.
- Fatai Alashe made his 50th MLS career start, all with the Quakes.
MLS Regular Season
Colorado Rapids 0 – San Jose Earthquakes 0
Sept. 17, 2016 – Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, CO.
Attendance: 17,645
Scoring Summary: None.
Misconduct Summary: COL – Sam Cronin (caution) 35; COL – Dillon Powers (caution) 38; COL – Axel Sjoberg (caution) 38.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: David Bingham; Jordan Stewart, Andres Imperiale, Victor Bernardez, Marvell Wynne; Alberto Quintero (Shea Salinas 58), Darwin Ceren, Fatai Alashe, Cordell Cato (Quincy Amarikwa 73); Simon Dawkins (Tommy Thompson 84), Chris Wondolowski.
SHOTS: 11, SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; SAVES: 2; FOULS: 4; CORNER KICKS: 6; OFFSIDES: 2.
COLORADO RAPIDS: Tim Howard; Eric Miller, Jared Watts, Axel Sjoberg, Marc Burch; Marlon Hairston (Marco Pappa 90), Micheal Azira, Dillon Powers, Sam Cronin (Caleb Calvert 83), Sebastien Le Toux (Shkelzen Gashi 63); Dominique Badji.
SHOTS: 13; SHOTS ON GOAL: 2; SAVES: 4; FOULS: 8; CORNER KICKS: 1; OFFSIDES: 4.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH DOMINIC KINNEAR
On the game:
“Would have loved to have a win, seeing what else is going on around us tonight. Guys tried hard – no quit in the guys – so I will give them 100 percent credit for that. We had a couple of good looks at goal, Tim Howard made a couple of good saves and David Bingham made a couple of good saves. The chances were out there. It is surprising the game was 0-0, but that is the way the game ended and we walk away with a tie. It was a tough place to play; they have been playing well all year. For us, in our position, we need to start winning some games.”
On the playoff push:
“We are still in it. If we look at the standings we have got some games in hand on some people, but games in hand are only good if you win them. I do not care where we are at in the standings, I want to win the game no matter what. It would have been a great lift for us if we did. We have to move onto the next one and get ready.”
On the flow as the game progressed:
“We started passing the ball better and most of our passes were getting forward rather than side to side or backwards. We were maintaining pressure on ourselves that way. I thought in the second half we did a better job too of finding Simon [Dawkins] and Chris [Wondolowski] earlier. I thought in the second half we played better, obviously Badji has a real good chance, but I thought for the most part we carried the second half and were unlucky to not have one of those balls fall right for us.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES GOALKEEPER DAVID BINGHAM
On the result:
“It was a typical San Jose vs. Colorado game to be honest. We knew that the two best defenses were going up against each other. They had a couple of chances and we had a couple of chances. Nothing too crazy but our defense played great again. The guys in front of me are top-notch and make my job a lot easier.”
On the save against Badji:
“I saw him breaking through and did not have time to think. I just came out, got in a good spot and if he puts it in the side netting, then he puts it in the side netting. I do not want to guess or sell myself out. I just kind of played true and I was able to do enough to push him away.”
On Badji’s second chance on goal:
“It was kind of the same as the first one he took. He took a touch and I knew it was going to wind up in the net so I tried to get as close to him as I could. I knew once I covered the ground that he was not going to beat me once I was that close so I got big and it went off my shin-pad and out.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES FORWARD TOMMY THOMPSON
On the game:
“It is frustrating not to get the three points but we showed some bright moments and another game we are putting away one or two goals.”
On the last push:
“I think the game opened up towards the last 10 minutes. Gave us an opportunity to win the game and it is frustrating not to get the three points. We have more games to look forward to and we need to focus on getting the win.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES FORWARD CHRIS WONDOLOWSKI
On the last 10-minute push:
“We are at the point in the season where we need as many points as we can get. We know that Colorado is a very good team and they are close to the top of the standings for a reason. Especially as the game got later and later, it was still tied and we needed to push a little bit further and try to get that goal.”
On the team’s performance:
“I thought as a whole we played well at times. We could have been a bit more clinical in breaking them down, especially in the final third, but there are some things we can consider went well.”
