A month into the 2019 season, the San Jose Earthquakes still haven’t won a single point. With today’s 5-0 drubbing at the hands of league-leaders LAFC, the Quakes lost their fourth consecutive match to start the year in an ignominious fashion.
LAFC talisman Carlos Vela highlighted the day’s scorecard with a hat-trick, while Steven Beitashour and Diego Rossi joined the frenzy with a goal apiece.
Given LAFC’s attacking talent, the result was hardly a surprise— but the manner of San Jose’s performance was still shocking. The home side conceded after just eight minutes when goalkeeper Daniel Vega fluffed a simple clearance, allowing Vela to walk the ball into the back of the net.
“They were better than us,” center-back Guram Kashia admitted. “We were trying but we were always a few steps behind.”
LAFC took advantage of San Jose’s sluggish back-line with darting runs through the middle, sowing chaos in behind. Bob Bradley’s man had countless one-on-one opportunities, and Steven Beitashour converted from Eduard Atuesta’s through-ball in the twenty-seventh minute. Carlos Vela notched a third from Diego Rossi’s cut-back shortly thereafter, clinching the victory with just forty-five minutes gone.
Yet LAFC didn’t let up. Vela whipped a gorgeous finish into the top corner in the sixty-fifth minute and Rossi added another moments later, widening their lead to five goals — San Jose’s largest-ever margin of defeat at Avaya Stadium. If not for an excellent save from Vega on another late breakaway, it could have been even larger.
Having allowed two goals to the Montreal Impact in their season opener, three against Minnesota United the next weekend, and four at the New York Red Bulls in their last outing, this defeat continues San Jose’s alarming defensive deterioration.
Said Kashia, the Quakes need to change their mindset to reverse that trend: “After one goal, every player is five centimeters smaller. After the second goal, we’re getting even smaller. After five goals, we were playing like kids who are a bunch of losers. That’s mental and we have to overcome that.”
It will be more difficult, however, to overcome the obvious deficiencies in their squad: a lack of pace and defensive experience. Head coach Almeyda admitted there are no quick-fixes to such fundamental issues, saying: “Magic doesn’t exist in soccer and here you repeatedly see mistakes that happened last season. My decision to come to San Jose was because it’s a long-term plan.”
This result is evidence that he’ll need all the time he can get.
