San Jose – Josef Martínez is no stranger to finding the back of the net. After a slow start to the season, Martínez came alive on Sunday afternoon, powering the San Jose Earthquakes to a dominant 6-1 victory over D.C. United at PayPal Park. The win came on the 30th anniversary of Major League Soccer’s inaugural match.
The six goals mark the Earthquakes’ highest-scoring output in an MLS match since September 19, 1999, when they defeated the Miami Fusion 6-1.
“I think the scoreline is a little unfair,” Earthquakes head coach Bruce Arena said. “I think the first 10 minutes of the game they had an advantage on us, and I thought they came out well. In the second half, they started and got a good chance so that it could have been 3-2, and then you’d see people get a little nervous at that point.”
Despite a strong start from D.C. United, San Jose came out firing, something they hadn’t managed in recent weeks. Chicho Arango opened the scoring in the 9th minute, heading in a corner from Cristian Espinoza to give the Earthquakes an early lead.
From there, Martínez took over. The star forward delivered a hat trick, finding the net in the 16th minute, again in the 81st, and sealing it with a final goal two minutes into second-half stoppage time.
“He’s a pure nine (striker),” said Arena. “He has a great nose for the goal.”
Martínez’s hat trick moves him past former New York Red Bulls striker Bradley Wright-Phillips into sixth place on Major League Soccer’s all-time scoring list, bringing his career total to 120 goals.
Espinoza added a penalty kick in the 20th minute during San Jose’s explosive 10-minute, three-goal stretch, and Ahmal Pellegrino capped things off with a goal in the 90th minute.
Martínez’s scoring surge comes after a slow start to the season, having scored just once in the Earthquakes’ first six matches, a tap-in off a corner kick at Sporting Kansas City in Week 2. Before Sunday, he had consistently gotten into scoring positions but struggled to convert.
“I think some of our issues in our first six games, Josef missed one of the games with international duty, we haven’t found him,” Arena explained. “We haven’t noticed some of the runs he’s made. Today, it was a little bit clearer to our players, so he’s getting some chances. Could have had a fourth one right at the end, so it’s really positive.”
For Martinez, while scoring in front of the San Jose supporters for the first time was special, his big day on the pitch held a deeper meaning.
“Today is special man,” said Martinez. “It’s not because of the three goals, it’s because my son was here. That’s the most important for me.
D.C. United is a tough team, and maybe we didn’t expect to score that early, but the second and third one got easy because they pushed a lot and they left a lot of space for us, (At the moment) we have more patience with the ball, we create more chances and maybe today is a good example and we have to continue with that.”
Photo by SJE/X
