Magnus Eriksson’s first-half strike was enough for the San Jose Earthquakes to salvage a valuable away point against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night. The match had the markings of a smash-and-grab road performance for the Quakes but Alejandro Bedoya capitalized on Philly’s second-half dominance to draw the home side level.
The Quakes stumbled out of the starting gates and were nearly made to pay when Borek Dockal fired at Andrew Tarbell. San Jose were overrun in the middle and stretched too thin to play out of the back, a nerve-wracking combination.
Coach Mikael Stahre replaced Shea Salinas with Joel Qwiberg in the starting lineup but the left-back was too often a step behind winger Fafa Picault. The forward flashed a header wide after beating Qwiberg at the far post in the twenty-fifth minute and forced a fantastic reaction save from Tarbell later in the first period.
However, San Jose’s high press began to create opportunities on the break and should have secured the lead on the half-hour mark as Vako’s delicate footwork created a glorious two-versus-one opportunity with Chris Wondolowski. Although Wondo was wide open in front of goal, the Georgian selected the more selfish route and couldn’t beat the keeper at the near post.
Wondolowski was short of service all night because San Jose fielded two inverted wingers in Vako and Eriksson but, on this occasion, their goalscoring threat through the middle was just enough to compensate. In the thirty-seventh minute, San Jose launched Danny Hoesen on the break and the Dutchman cut back for Eriksson to curl his first MLS goal into the top corner.
Philly nearly leveled immediately but Tarbell came up big again to deny David Accam. Stahre, sensing San Jose’s vulnerability, made a defensive shift at the half to protect the lead. Florian Jungwirth dropped into a back-five and the wingers tucked into the middle to plug the gap, creating a 5-3-2. Wondolowski also dropped deeper, ending the match as a defensive midfielder.
Lacking width, San Jose attempted to launch Hoesen long on the break but his chances were few and far between. Although the 5-3-2 gave San Jose stability at the back, it invited Philly to pile forward. Tarbell was kept busy, denying Dockal’s blistering effort and handling cross after cross.
Stahre replaced Qwiberg with Salinas on the hour mark but the move was ill-fated as Philly equalized shortly thereafter. Picault crossed to the far post after dancing down the left and Bedoya ran in late with ample space to convert as Salinas was dragged out of position.
Stahre stuck with the 5-3-2, though, and was clearly playing for the draw as he subbed on Fatai Alashe for Magnus Eriksson. It wasn’t pretty but, ultimately, it was enough to salvage a point.
