San Jose – San Jose Earthquakes head coach Bruce Arena wasn’t interested in the stats following his team’s 5-3 loss to Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night at PayPal Park. According to the numbers, the Quakes dominated every category, except the one that mattered most: the score.
“Forget about possession and all of that. That’s a bunch of baloney,” Arena said in his post-match presser. “We were poor on the day. Give our opponent credit, they played hard, they converted the opportunities that were there, so they deserve a lot of credit. We played poorly and deserved to lose.”
Sporting Kansas City overwhelmed the Earthquakes’ backline with three goals in a six-minute span during the first half, striking between the 18th and 24th minutes. Logan Ndenbe opened the scoring in the 18th minute, finishing at the near post from the left wing and beating backup goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr.
Just three minutes later, captain Daniel Salloi made it 2-0, outpacing San Jose defender Antonio Rodrigues on a long ball from goalkeeper John Pulskamp and slotting it past Edwards to the far post. In the 24th minute, Manu Garcia added a third, finishing a well-timed through ball from Shapi Suleymanov.
“(The defensive breakdown) just seemed a little too simple,” Quakes midfielder Ian Harkes said “We’re just looking around and kicking ourselves because we know that can’t happen. We just shoot ourselves in the foot.”
Harkes subbed into the game in the second half for fellow midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye.
Despite the first-half onslaught, the Earthquakes fought their way back into the match before halftime. Goals from attackers Josef Martínez and Chicho Arango cut the deficit to 3-2 heading into the break.
Sporting Kansas City sealed the win late in the second half, with Eric Thommy scoring at the far post on a counterattack in the 73rd minute, then adding another in the 85th. San Jose pulled one back in the fourth minute of stoppage time on a penalty by Arango, giving him a team-leading sixth goal of the season.
Still, defensive lapses plagued the Quakes throughout the night. The five goals conceded marked their worst defensive showing of the season, surpassing the four they allowed in a 4-1 loss at Charlotte FC on March 22.
Head coach Bruce Arena said changes are coming after Saturday’s performance, noting that some players will see reduced playing time moving forward.
“Some players played pretty poorly tonight and made some big mistakes,” he said. “Those particular players are not going to step on the field again unless they can get it right and be more consistent in their play.”
Heading into Saturday’s match at Columbus, Harkes hopes his team can step up amid their current struggles.
“It’s the responsibility of everyone on the team,” Harkes said. “You have to step up and the next guy up. And I think again, it’s a mentality thing, and it doesn’t get any easier. It’s going to be tough, but not impossible, and we have to get a desperate kind of three points now.”
Photo by SJE/X
