CHESTER, Pa. – The San Jose Earthquakes used a goal by Designated Player Magnus Eriksson, the first of his MLS career, to capture their first road point of the season with a 1-1 draw against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night. San Jose has already earned as many points in the Eastern Time Zone in 2018 (0-0-1) as they did in six matches in 2017 (0-5-1).
Eriksson blasted a right-footed shot into the top corner of the net to give the Quakes a 1-0 lead in the 37th minute. He has now tallied a goal or assist in three consecutive matches. Forward Danny Hoesen and midfielder Anibal Godoy were each credited with an assist on the score, a first for both of them this season.
Union and U.S. National Team midfielder Alejandro Bedoya equalized for Philadelphia in the 64th minute, but Quakes goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell, who made a career-high seven saves, prevented the Union from adding a second.
The Quakes return to action on Saturday, April 14 at 7:15 p.m. PT, when they take on the Houston Dynamo at Avaya Stadium, presented by SJSU. The match will be broadcast live on NBC Sports California Plus, KNBR 1050 and 1370 KZSF.
MLS Regular Season
Philadelphia Union 1-1 San Jose Earthquakes
April 7, 2018 – Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pa.
Attendance: 14,795
Scoring Summary: SJ – Magnus Eriksson (Danny Hoesen, Anibal Godoy) 37; PHI – Alejandro Bedoya (Fafa Picault, Borek Dockal) 64.
Misconduct Summary: PHI – David Accam (caution) 23; SJ – Yeferson Quintana (caution) 56; SJ – Chris Wondolowski (caution) 82; SJ – Harold Cummings (ejection) 90+6.
PHILADELPHIA UNION: Andre Blake; Keegan Rosenberry, Austen Trusty, Matthew Real (Raymon Gaddis 71), Jack Elliott; Alejandro Bedoya, Haris Medunjanin; David Accam (Ilsinho 63), Fabrice-Jean Picault, Borek Dockal (Cory Burke 86); C.J. Sapong.
SHOTS: 22; SHOTS ON GOAL: 8; SAVES: 4; FOULS: 12; CORNER KICKS: 7, OFFSIDES: 2.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Andrew Tarbell; Joel Qwiberg (Shea Salinas 58), Harold Cummings, Yeferson Quintana, Nick Lima; Vako (Quincy Amarikwa 88), Anibal Godoy, Florian Jungwirth, Magnus Eriksson (Fatai Alashe 77); Chris Wondolowski, Danny Hoesen.
SHOTS: 9; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5; SAVES: 7; FOULS: 8; CORNER KICKS: 3, OFFSIDES: 2.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH MIKAEL STAHRE
On the match:
“We came here for three points. From that perspective, I am disappointed. I think in the first half, Philadelphia put us under pressure and created a lot of chances. We were very close to scoring a couple of times. When we handled the first pressure and beat the first pressure and played behind the lines we had a lot of more chances. We changed the shape a little in the second half when we played with a back five. I think in general the game went well, but of course Philadelphia put pressure on us at the end of the game, but still a very important point for us after two defeats in a row.”
On Magnus Eriksson’s performance:
“When we changed the shape in the second half, he ran a lot at the defense. Of course, he is an offensive player, so he helped the team a lot in the second half.”
On traveling to the East Coast and last year’s East Coast record:
“First of all, we really do not talk about it. It is a heavy trip with time change, but from my perspective the most important thing is to prepare the players tactically. That is number one and to focus on the game plan. I know time change and other factors can affect the players. We focus on the tactical things.”
On giving up a late goal:
“The players of course are disappointed, but we are here to try and win the game. Still, we were not defeated and I think that is most important and to handle the late pressure from Philadelphia. In general, decent performance but I am very pleased with a point.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES MIDFIELDER MAGNUS ERIKSSON
On his first MLS goal:
“It was a great ball from Danny [Hoesen]. I scored with my right foot; I do not do that too often. It was a nice goal. Unfortunately, we concede a goal in the second half, but if you look at the game we should be happy with one point back to California.”
On the goal-scoring play:
“I was actually planning to take one touch with my left foot. Then I saw that the defenders were running toward the goal. It was a good first touch and it gave me the opportunity to get the nice finish.”
On getting the point:
“It was important. We had two tough games recently where we did not get any points, so we wanted to win this game badly. They played well in the second half and we were a bit too low. Of course, it was a tough game especially in the second half.”
On what the team has to work on:
“I think we play better at home. You saw the last 30 minutes against New York, we created a lot of chances and I think they counted 19 shots. That is good. We need to transform those chances into goals.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES GOALKEEPER ANDREW TARBELL
Overall thoughts of 1-1 draw on the road:
“Yeah, a point on the road is always good. We wished we played a little bit better. We kind of got away from our game plan and didn’t have much control of the game so we’ll go back and work hard to try to make that better.”
On how they got away from the game plan:
“We wanted to play out a little more from the back. We just didn’t deal with their pressure well and got away from that and starting hitting some long balls which isn’t what we wanted to do.”
On how other defenders on team are coming along:
“Yeah, we’re doing well. We’re working hard every week. The whole team is trying their best to mesh with each other and it’s a great group of guys. I know the back six of us are working really hard to get to know each other as well as we can.”
On backline holding Philadelphia to only a goal:
“Yeah, they did fantastic. I mean the chances that we gave up in my mind were controlled situations. Our back four did a really good job controlling the air, controlling the long balls and by keeping guys in front of us and staying compact. The chances we did give up I think were under control.”
